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Paul Now

Paul parked in the lot at Afar Kingdom near Tanners car. Before heading inside the sweet-sour heat of an active kitchen wafted over him. He entered through woven wood adorned doors then asked if there was a Welles or Greyhouse already seated at the front of house.

The hostess asked, "Is yours the party of four for Greyhouse?"

"Well... probably," He said.

The front of house led him back to the table, Who is here with them. I need to talk about Xander and Oliver but they better not be here.

The dining room bustled entering the dinner rush. Jill and Tanner sat with a tall, strong, but elegantly built hyena.

He moved to take the seat next to Tanner across from Jill and the stranger but Jill heaved herself up onto the swollen ankles she frequently complained to him about to get a hug.

"Paul, I've missed you," Jill said beaming up at him.

"I missed you too, I hope the flight was good and who is your friend here," He asked.

"We re-met on the plane, Paul this is Danielle, Danielle Paul, she is a total sweet heart I'm going to teach her some baking and she is going to teach me a new dancing style," Jill said squeezing his paws nodding toward Danielle.

"Oh... so you are a dancer," He asked.

"A pleasure to meet you," Danielle said eyes fixed through the table at her paws in her lap, "Ms Jill has been very kind, so I will show some dances my mom taught me. I'm sorry to impose on you."

He got Jill's non-verbal then and knew he wouldn't get to talk freely for a while, "It's no imposition at all, what type of dance do you do?"

"Well the Sha'abi, the Baladi, and more provocative ones, my family is from Egypt, thankfully Jill got me a cover I could not dance without it," Danielle said.

"Oh so like belly dancing," He asked.

Tanner laughed as Danielle squirmed.

"Tanner why are you laughing," Jill asked.

"Pregnant belly dancing... I like my baby shaken not stirred," Tanner said.

Danielle relaxed.

"Tanner you're such a child," Jill said, "So Paul, why is there the change in plans?"

He couldn't explain with a guest, "Uhm... Oliver's guest room won't work now so you can have my room I'll just sleep on the couch."

"For a week," Tanner asked, "Paul you can't be on the couch that long."

"I'll be there, as long as it takes to get the mess fixed up," He said, I don't need to explain myself drop it dude.

Tanner backed off in the silence that followed.

"So Danielle what did you think of Seattle so far," Jill asked.

"I have only seen this restaurant, the airport and the shelter," Danielle said.

Jill gave him a don't ask nose twitch when he perked his ears.

"The airport was busy and this restaurant seems nice. The shelter was nice but no one else there was like me," Danielle said.

The waiter came to the table before Danielle could continue, he ordered a family style platter for Jill and himself. He checked his phone while Tanner talked to the waiter.

Oliver texted, "I washed the sheets and everything is cleaned just in case you want it. I'm sorry, I didn't want to make Xander cheat, I wanted to try all of us together."

He wrote back, "But you did make him cheat, and what did you expect that I'd jump for the chance to be with you after you turned me down again and again, I'm not on Prep. You have a habit of thinking you can make decisions for me like you know better."

He wanted to keep venting on Oliver but he was in public and everyone would smell it.

"Oh, don't be alone at the shelter, you can stay with me," Jill said.

"For the whole week," he asked loudly. Getting angry eyes from Jill, "Yeah of course you can stay the week. Jill will get all bored when I go to work."

"Only if it weren't to be an inconvenience," Danielle said not making eye contact.

Jill trapped him with her eyes, "Yeah, it's no trouble at all, as long as you two can share a room."

His phone buzzed so he excused himself from the table, because he didn't want to be rude smelling pissed off in public.

He stepped outside to the parking lot reading Oliver's message, "No, I don't know better, and I wasn't making that kind of decision for you. I was making a decision for Sean, and myself. Sean needed to get over baggage and it seemed like the thing to do at the time."

He wrote, "That is making a decision for me, and at this point I don't even know if I can call you a friend. Friends don't do this kind of shit to each other."

"Then why were you always flirting like this kinda thing didn't matter to you," Oliver wrote right back.

"Flirting is just a game, this is the real thing, I'm about to be a father," he wrote pacing the sidewalk between the door and the lot.

The message marked read, Oliver wasn't writing back so he took deep calming breaths before heading back inside.

At the door his phone rang.

"Why are you calling," he said coldly.

"We should be talking in person not texting, so this will have to do," Oliver said.

"Great, I'm at dinner with Jill," He said.

"When will I see you we need to talk," Oliver said.

"See there you go again telling me things I have to do," He said.

"Fine sorry, damnit when can we talk, I don't want to leave things like this and I doubt you do either," Oliver said.

"Oliver, I don't get you, now all of a sudden calling and talking to me is important, it sure wasn't when you seduced my boyfriend," He said.

"I told you I'm sorry," Oliver said.

"You're sorry, I'm about to be a dad, and you fuck the first guy that wants to be a dad as much as I do," He said louder.

"You've only been together a little while man and known each other a couple months," Oliver said.

"Well, fuck you Oliver, now I get to see your true stripes," He said vision tunneling and his hair standing.

"No, you're a great guy but you had pretty high hopes," Oliver said.

"Is this why you called, to let me know that you think I am setting myself up to get hurt by someone, cause fucking look in a mirror you're the one hurting me you barbed dicked fucking piece of shit," He yelled.

"No, your hopes for Xander are too high man but you have a place here, with me first and maybe with Xander, and Sean too. I want to be here for you," Oliver said.

"Be here for me... you want to be here for me as what? The asshole that's undermining me," he yelled.

"I wasn't trying to undermine you," Oliver said.

"No you were fucking succeeding, I need a normal family for my child and I don't think that's going to be with you guys in my life," He yelled.

"A normal family? Your gay and having a kid with your single straight best friend who always wanted you to be straight too, how is any of that normal," Oliver said.

"Logical as ever, Oliver... Fuck you, don't call me, we are done," He said then ended the call. His phones screen fogged as he huffed blood pounding in his ears. Oliver tried calling him back. He declined the call then blocked Oliver's number.

"Our goals don't seem to line up, I'm done," he texted Xander then blocked his number as well. He took several long and deep breaths trying not to cry.

With one more deep breath he headed back into the dining room and their table. Everyone was very quiet when he came in and eyes covertly followed him to the table where their food was set. Ice prickled down his spine. Jill was no longer seated and Danielle sat like a wide-eyed statue.

He sat down and nudged Tanner, "Is everything ok."

Tanner whispered, "The windows are open."

He burned with shame the trickled down his cheeks through is fur, holding back the growing knot in his throat.