Page 25 of Stirring Up Trouble (Saddle Up #1)

Sean

“You can’t be serious, Lex.” My best friend threw his head back as he took humor in my shock. His suggestion that I go on a date with his cousin Biff, a man I knew to have six toes, a lack of proper hygiene, and a penchant for calling me Doodle Bear, was inexcusable.

I could handle a lot when it came to my friend’s shenanigans. Like the times he got us stranded when we were supposed to be on an ‘adventure’. Or when he purposefully forgot to tell me when he’d have someone come over to our apartment for a night of debauched fun.

Thanks to his efforts, I’d seen more of the female anatomy in real life then I ever cared to. Textbooks were fine. My studies had been important enough for me to force myself through it all.

Real life was a different story.

And no matter how many times I encouraged him to move on, he couldn’t seem to let his womanizing ways go. The day he fell for a girl and settled down would be the day the earth stopped rotating on its axis.

“I’m rather serious indeed, old chap.” Did I mention he was trying out a new accent tonight?

“You need a new relationship. Someone to cuddle with at night while you shovel cotton candy ice cream down your throat. Do you know how bad that stuff is for you? It completely destroys your body from the inside out.”

“Save the lecture for someone else. You will have to pry the container from my cold, dead hands.” I gave him a death glare to let him know I’d be up for the challenge.

No one dared to take my love away from me.

We’d been in an illicit affair for years.

Ever since I first discovered the flavor after being left to my own devices one summer afternoon shortly upon moving to Stonehill.

I was twelve at the time. A freshman at the local college.

I’d used my superior intellect to distract my babysitter from following me for the rest of the afternoon.

It didn’t take much what with her desire to flirt with all the hot college guys around.

I might not have had those same urges just yet, but I knew enough about human biology to know what her batted lashes and hair twirling were a signal for.

Luckily enough for me, she took the bait and ran off to the local quad for her pick of man candy. I pivoted away from her skipping form to explore the world around me. Finally free of my shadow for the first time since arriving on campus earlier in the year.

My stroll led me to Nancy’s Sweet Treats. The bakery/ice cream parlor looked like something out of an old school movie. Red high-top chairs lined up under the counter. Booths ran along the front window. A chalkboard sign hung up on the wall with a mile long list of flavors.

And then there was Nancy herself.

A mix of Betty White and Angelina Jolie, she looked like she could bring any man to his knees. Even at my age, I’d been captivated by her charm and beauty.

“What’ll it be, short stop?” At five foot two, I couldn’t blame her for calling me out. It was obvious I shouldn’t be roaming around alone and since she wasn’t reaching for the phone to call the cops, I entertained the idea that we could have a peaceful conversation.

“Name’s Sean. Are you Nancy?”

“You bet your little tuchus I am. What will it be today? Rocky road? Vanilla? Neapolitan? Cotton Candy?” I chose the latter, which led to instant approval from the shop owner and a friendship that withstood many more years of college.

“You’re thinking of her again aren’t you.

For someone so openly gay, you sure do reminisce about that old gal a lot.

” Lex’s words bring me back to the present and back to the frustration that is my best friend.

He may be several years older than me, but he was a bona-fide idiot sometimes.

I don’t care what his professors claimed.

“Leave Nancy out of it. I’m not going out with Biff.

And I won’t let you set me up again,” I added as he looked ready to tell me of some other guy he wanted to partner me up with.

“Why are you trying to get me to settle down so bad anyway? You’ve requested me as your wingman since the day I turned twenty-one. What’s changed?”

Lex looked away from me towards the bar. The move told me more than words could have. He’d found someone. Someone he wanted to settle down with. His motives for setting me up could easily be explained now.

“What’s her name? Is she a student too?” I took a sip of my whiskey sour as I peered over the rim at him. His throat worked roughly, as if he didn’t want to admit what I already knew to be true. Tousling his hair, he avoided eye contact while trying to come up with an answer.

He knew better than anyone that I wouldn’t give up easily on this.

Lex would tell me the truth one way or another.

Even if I had to trick it out of him. I didn’t want to do it, but my history of psychology and being raised in the manner I had, gave me a set of skills that allowed me to find what I needed, when I needed to, and however I needed to.

It wouldn’t hurt him. Though he'd be pissed I tricked him in the end.

Nothing he wouldn’t forgive me for, I’m sure.

“Her name is Delilah. She’s studying photography.”

“What year?”

“Junior.”

“How long have you been together?”

“Six months.” He gulped down the last bit of his Jack Daniels after blurting it out.

Knowing him, he hadn’t meant to admit any of this tonight.

Lex liked to be prepared. To know what the possible outcomes were before going in.

It was one of the many reasons his chosen specialty was absolutely perfect for him.

“How have you been keeping things under wraps for that long? Do you sneak off when I’m not around or something?

” I ran through the last several months in my mind.

There were many times where he seemed shifty.

Back then I’d equated it to nerves about his classes.

With this newfound knowledge, I could admit I’d been oblivious to the signs of his budding relationship.

“Am I really so bad that you don’t want her to meet me? ”

The question teased at one of my bigger insecurities. Lex knew it too from the look he gave me, his eyes stormy and worried.

“You know that’s not it. I didn’t really know how to tell you. Over the years, I never imagined this was how we’d be at the end of all this. We’re about to be done and out in the real world.”

He was, of course, referring to the end of our residencies. We’d managed to not only meet in college, but also wind up in the same location once we got our white coats. It had to be fate keeping us in the same place, because it made no sense otherwise.

And through it all we’d remained friends. Late study sessions in college turned into halfhearted lunches at the hospital. Through all the ups, downs, and diagonals, he’d been there.

His phone rang then, the sound of Sean Mendes blaring about love breaking through the smooth jazz of the bar we’d come to. “I’ve got to get this,” he muttered as he stepped away from the table.

I kept an eye on him as he moved toward an alcove near the coat closet up front. His shoulders relaxed the moment he put the phone to his ear. Only his profile was visible with the shadows dancing. Even then, I could see the wide smile across his face.

Must be Delilah.

Taking my eyes off his private moment, I turned my attention to the rest of the crowd for the evening. I might have been old enough to drink in the place, but I was still a little green around the ears with the environment.

Men and women were dressed nicely as they stood around the room.

Some in suits, obviously heading home from work.

Others in nice button downs that looked a step up from something casual they’d wear to dinner.

Women were much the same with their range from fancy sundress style outfits to full blown gowns.

It didn’t matter much to me though. I’d learned how little women appealed to me in college.

There hadn’t been a day without one of the men in my group getting hit on or groped by a girl hoping to land a doctor.

Some of them had girlfriends that were great, sure.

The single guys were where the crazy went down.

And with me being a good number of years younger than my classmates, I got to be a spectator to it all.

It was only more recently that women had started to approach me. I took a few out thinking it would be good for me. Each time I became more and more aware of how little interest I had in them.

Sexuality wasn’t always black and white. We as people have spent years trying to dig through our thoughts and emotions to uncover each new layer of what relationships can be. New dynamics emerged all the time.

But for me it was like one day I woke up realizing my attention to women was pointless.

I’d never been fulfilled in my relationships.

Each one ended before it could really get off the ground, so to speak.

It was always the whole “it’s me, not you” scenario because I couldn’t really pinpoint why I didn’t care for those women the way they seemed to care for me.

Men, on the other hand, fascinated me.

I don’t know when it started or how I knew that I wanted a man to hold me more than I wanted a woman’s embrace.

True enough, the male gender had always drawn my eye. I’d brushed it off numerous times believing there wasn’t much to the notion, chalking it up to curiosity and a need to know more.

I’d always been a nosy child. If there was a secret to be found, I was the one to uncover it. When it came to other things in life, I also spent more time than others researching and experimenting to know what was best for the outcome I wanted.