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Chapter Thirty One

Gareth

"What's for breakfast?"

Gareth stood in the Durrence's kitchen as Oliver examined the contents of the fridge.

"Hmm, not much," Oliver sighed. "And I got a text from my boss this morning asking if I can cover an afternoon shift today. At least that means more pay and a chance to shag that caracal."

"Priorities," Gareth grinned, although in his mind he was still formulating his plan to get with Ralph.

"Eh, might just be cereal I think."

"That's fine by me."

Gareth watched as Oliver retrieved a box of cereal from the cupboard and poured it into two bowls.

He sat at the table as Oliver put the bowls in front of them.

"Will you be able to evade the police while I'm at work?" the Collie asked.

"Hopefully," Gareth sighed. "Oh, and thanks for lending me some clothes."

He was wearing a pair of baggy shorts and an oversized rugby jersey that Oliver had found for him.

"No worries, they were stuff I'd been given as gifts by relatives who clearly just guessed my size and I never took them back." They finished their breakfast before Oliver got to his hind-paws. "Sorry mate, I should probably get ready soon."

"Okay," Gareth replied as he stood up.

"Good luck with Arseny, and evading the police."

"Thanks, I guess," Gareth sighed as they made their way to the front door.

Oliver opened it and Gareth stepped out.

"I'll text you when I'm off work," the Collie said with a wave. "We need to find a new usual spot to hang out."

"We do, see ya!" Gareth said as Oliver gave another wave before closing the door.

Great, no place to go now. I know he has work, but still!

Gareth grumbled and chuntered to himself as he went to retrieve his bike.

I guess lie low at Arseny's until Oliver finishes work.

That seemed like a good enough plan, even if the thought of having to be at Arseny's made him let out a small growl of annoyance.

He pushed off on his bike and began cycling.

The painter was outside Marcus' house and putting some kind of undercoat on the window boxes. There was no sign of anyone else at home but Gareth sped up anyway until his was closer to the centre of the village.

The gates to Arseny's place loomed up and he cycled through.

He felt himself breathe a sigh of relief as he noticed Arseny's car was not parked at the front.

Mum was walking down the stairs as Gareth let himself in.

"Hi mum," he called.

"Hi Gareth, were you at Oliver's again?" she asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"I was."

"Good," his mum said with something close to a smile and Gareth noticed her fur looked dulled and her eyes were tired.

"Is everything okay?" Gareth asked.

"Yes," mum replied, keeping the faint smile on her muzzle although Gareth thought he could see more emotions swimming in her eyes. "I'm just a little tired, I had trouble sleeping last night."

"Why not try meditation to music? Like you used to do before bed," Gareth suggested. "I remember you saying it helped."

"Oh, Anthony didn't like me doing that before we sleep, he prefers I just come to bed."

Gareth was about to rip into Arseny but he held his tongue, knowing now was not the time.

"Is not-da, I mean Anthony out?" he asked instead.

"Yes, he's driving Eliza back to the train station, and then he has a business meeting to attend to."

"I see."

"Are you staying in the house today?" his mum asked. "I wondered if we should take a picnic up to that walk on the hill."

Gareth was surprised at his mum's suggestion. She hadn't wanted to do anything fun just the two of them since she had married Arseny.

"Oh, that sounds nice," Gareth replied, feeling his tail wag slightly.

"I was thinking of doing something together since you'll be off to uni soon," mum continued. "Remember when we used to do walks up there?"

"I do," Gareth replied, although the memories felt like an age ago.

"Well, let me know if you'd like to," mum said before she headed towards the kitchen.

Gareth hurried upstairs, mulling his mum's offer over in his mind. It was certainly tempting and he hoped it would make her happy while Arseny was out of the house, and it would also be a good way to stay hidden for the time being.

He reached his room and threw himself down on the bed.

The idea of going for a picnic was becoming more attractive on the basis of getting to spend time with his mum.

Whatever happens with Arseny, she's still your mum.

Gareth knew his mind wasn't wrong. He stood and decided he would go downstairs and say to mum that they should go on a walk together.

He had barely taken a step when his phone began ringing. Gareth frowned and pulled it out, expecting to see Oliver's name.

Instead, was a contact he didn't recognise but he swiped to answer it anyway.

"Hello?" he said cautiously.

"Hello, is this Rupert Parkfield?" a deep voice asked.

Gareth was about to say no you have the wrong number and hang up, but then his brain clicked.

Rupert Parkfield? The man coming to look after the Lotus. Oh my god, I must be talking to Ralph Rivers!

"Hello?" Ralph's voice repeated.

"Hello there, yes this is Rupert Parkfield," Gareth replied, putting in the most professional and well-spoken tone he could.

"Excellent, I wonder if I could use your help? I was given your contact number by a local person in Little Hartbrook and was looking for someone who can look after classic cars. I heard you were the man to contact," Ralph replied.

"Oh yes, I can look after a Lotus Esp, I mean a classic car. What kind is it?"

"A Lotus Esprit."

"Oh what a lovely car," Gareth said, keeping up the posh accent. "Yes, I can certainly do that."

"Thanks, I'm around the next few days, so whenever is convenient for you."

"I'm in the village now in fact, can I come by to have a look?" Gareth replied.

"Yeah, I'm at the house. The address is Number Three Wishbrook Lane, on the edge of the village, oh and the house is called Honeysuckle Lodge."

"Okay, I'm just writing that down," Gareth claimed, even though he knew the address well enough. "Can I take your name?"

"Ralph Rivers."

Gareth felt a giddy sense of excitement as the Doberman handed his name over.

"Thank you Mr Rivers, I'll be right over."

Gareth hung up and started jumping up and down with excitement.

Oh man! Oh man! I'm actually doing this.

He forced himself to calm down and think about what he needed to do. Dressing up smartly was probably a good idea.

Gareth opened his wardrobe and looked through his smart shirts. He settled on a short sleeved button up shirt and a smarter pair of jeans; formal without overdoing it.

He wanted to walk up to the front door and make Ralph think wow, that husky boy is cute.

For good measure he also groomed the fur on his head, sprayed himself with more deodorant and put on a splash of cologne that his mum had given him three Christmases ago but he hadn't worn yet.

Gareth then turned and surveyed himself in the mirror. The shirt looked good and he could catch a pleasing whiff of the cologne.

"Go get him, tiger," Gareth grinned to himself.

He hurried from his room and down the stairs.

"Did you want to go out?" mum called.

"Oh, uh, something came up!" Gareth shouted back.

Mum emerged from the kitchen looking confused.

"Why are you all dressed up?"

"I, um, have a job interview I forgot about," Gareth replied, tugging the front door open. "Sorry, can't wait, gotta go!"

Gareth darted out of the door and closed it behind him, but not before he heard his mum utter a disappointed oh.

He felt a twinge of guilt as he mounted his bike and began pedalling away, but as he rode through the centre of the village the guilt was replaced with excitement.

The lane towards Honeysuckle Lodge appeared and Gareth could feel his heart in his muzzle.

He began rehearsing what he would say in his head.

Hi, Rupert couldn't make it. I'm his assistant Gareth.

That would be a good thing to open with, so Ralph would get to know him by his real name and not who he was pretending to be.

Gareth felt the same giddy and buoyant sense of excitement as he cycled closer and saw Ralph's white Lotus parked by the gate. To his relief, there was no sign of the painter's van anymore, nor Marcus' Audi or Frank's pickup truck.

He pulled up, gently leant his bike against the garden railings and drew himself up to look tall and confident.

"Here it goes," Gareth grinned to himself.

He strode up to the front door, knocked and waited with his tail wagging.

There was no answer.

Gareth frowned and knocked again before realising the door was open a crack. He gently pushed it open.

"Ralph!" he called, making his way inside. "Um, Ralph are you home?"

He made his way down the hallway and into the kitchen.

Ralph Rivers was sitting at the table, idly playing with his car keys in his paw.

The Doberman looked gorgeous; he was wearing a leather jacket, white t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Even under the layers of clothes, Gareth could make out how muscular he was. Gareth was transfixed by the sight for a moment before he snapped himself to attention.

"Hello, you must be Ralph Rivers," he said, trying to put the professional tone back on.

"Rupert, I presume?" Ralph said in his deep voice, fixing Gareth a grin which showed off a row of polished fangs.

Gareth gulped. Neither Ralph's tone of voice nor his smile seemed convinced that Gareth was Rupert.

"Oh, I'm actually Gareth Lyons, Rupert's assistant," Gareth said, putting on a smile and trying to remain calm.

"Rupert's assistant, eh?" Ralph replied in the same sceptical tone.

"Who is it honey?" a voice in lightly accented English said.

Gareth let out a gasp as he turned to see a handsome Elkhound walking into the kitchen from the living room.

Gunnar!

"Remember babe I was telling you about a plague I had in this house while you were in Croatia?" Ralph said with a wry grin. "I think we've found the source of it."

"Plague?" Gareth repeated nervously. "My name is Gareth, I'm Rupert's assistant."

"Okay Gareth, I think we can drop the charade now," Ralph sighed as all traces of humour disappeared from his face. "I've been on sets with some pretty bad co-stars, so you're not the worst actor by any means, but let's just say it was obvious as soon as you answered the phone."

"Huh?" Gareth said, feeling both dumfounded and panicked.

"The way you answered the phone - rather obviously putting on a fake voice, the fact you were so eager to come around right away, you already knew I had a Lotus without needing to ask any questions," Ralph said, listing the points off on his paw. Gareth noticed the Doberman's voice was bordering on a growl. He gulped again and realised his paws were shaking. "And then you show up here, just stroll on in like you know the place calling my name, oh and that brown fur looks very recognisable. You ate my caviar, wasted all my aftershave and stole my underwear, didn't you? You little thief," Ralph added with a more obvious and angry growl.

Gareth wanted to speak, but all he could muster was a sound somewhere between a choke and a whimper as the words got lodged in his throat.

"I just wanted to meet you, become friends and I wanted you to take my virginity," he gabbed. "And I didn't mean to steal the clean underwear, I wanted to find the ones you'd worn so I could smell you."

The anger disappeared from Ralph's face. He turned to Gunnar and both canines burst out laughing. Gareth looked at the floor and wished the ground would swallow him up.

"What?" Gunnar said, looking confused.

"I've had some strange requests from fans but that's a new one," Ralph said in an amused and surprised tone.

"I just really love your work," Gareth said, feeling as if he was about to cry. "I hoped we could meet and you could help me move away from here, and I could work for you."

"Work for me? I don't think I need a professional thief or a silly teenager in my life," Ralph replied, his eyes narrowed and the growl had returned to his voice. "Because of you I blamed a completely innocent guy of screwing someone else in the bed."

"Oh," Gareth replied. He felt utterly defeated and he could feel tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'll return your underwear, I promise. I just wished I could meet you and you'd like me, no one around here likes me, well apart from my mum and Oliver, but I hate being gay here. My step-dad is horrible to my mum and treats us like shit, other than distracting her with money. There's nothing, and you lead such an exciting life, and you're a major gay celebrity and I wish I could be like you. I'm s... sorry," Gareth gabbled before trailing off.

Ralph watched him in silence for a moment. His eyes were still narrow but gradually the anger in his face faded.

"Right," he eventually said in a neutral tone before something close to a smile appeared on his muzzle. "So Gareth, would you do anything for me and my boyfriend, like a true fan would?"

"Yes," Gareth swallowed nervously.

"Okay, I'm assuming you know where everything is in the kitchen, having broken into here?" Ralph asked.

"I do," Gareth said, his voice quivering.

"Very well, I'd like two cups of coffee please, one for me and one for my mate Gunnar, and then we're going to have a chat. Go on boy, get to it!" Gareth wondered whether he should just try making a run for it, but Ralph sensed his thoughts. "Don't even think about it, if you run I'll call the police and chase you down the road personally. I can guarantee I'm faster than you and I'll have you flat on the pavement before you can blink."

Gareth scampered around the kitchen, finding the fresh coffee granules and heating the water up in the kettle.

In his mind he wondered if Ralph would still call the police or do something to humiliate him in front of Gunnar.

Instead, the Doberman remained sat where he was and Gunnar took the kitchen chair next to him.

Gareth's paws were still quivering as he poured the coffee for both canines and set the cups down on the table.

"Gunnar takes his coffee with almond milk," Ralph explained. "You know what, I'll have some in mine too. Get to it!"

Gareth swallowed and nodded as he retrieved the milk from the fridge. He poured some into both cups before stirring it in.

Ralph picked up his cup and took a sip before nodding with approval.

"Not bad, you added the right amount of milk to give it a nice nutty taste," he said. "You've just saved yourself from being arrested."

"Pardon?" Gareth asked, feeling confused.

"If you'd made me a bad coffee I'd have called the police and reported you," Ralph replied with a wry grin. "Perhaps you could make a good assistant after all, although not mine."

"Oh," Gareth said, feeling unsure.

Ralph reached out and wrapped his paw hard against a spot on the table near the third chair.

"Sit down," he instructed in a firm tone with narrowed eyes.

Gareth could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he sat down at the table. He flinched, expecting Ralph to yell at him.

This is not how any of my dreams or fantasies were supposed to be. He was going to love and have sex with me.

"So, you say you've been lonely and looking for an escape?" Ralph asked.

Gareth glanced at the table and nodded.

"Yes," he sighed quietly, not hiding the fact his voice was shaking.

"Hmm, I know the feeling," Ralph said in a surprisingly calm tone. "You do too darling?"

"I do babe," the Elkhound nodded.

Gareth looked up to see the anger had again faded again from the Doberman's face.

"You both do?" he asked, feeling taken aback.

"Yup," Ralph nodded. "We've all been there, so I know how you feel. But that's not to say you're off the hook. You want to know how I escaped?"

"How?" Gareth asked nervously.

"I'm by no means saying I'm perfect, like you I was lonely and angry growing up but I didn't break into people's houses and disrespect their property," Ralph began. "I had strict parents, whoop-de-fucking do, I didn't like where I grew up, but I channelled my efforts into doing constructive things, like going to the gym or joining a theatre class. I didn't get into drama school thanks to angst or being bratty, but by being determined."

Part of Gareth's mind knew the Doberman had a point, but he also felt a little indignant.

"But there's nothing here," he sighed.

"There was nothing where I grew up," Ralph replied. "I used the opportunities I could to move away. Do you have a job, are you going to college?"

"I'm going to university this September to study English," Gareth said, keeping his eyes down.

"And there's your escape."

"However, my step-dad is making me go, so it feels like I'm losing a war to him rather than having a real escape," Gareth sighed.

"And you say you don't like your step-dad?"

"I don't, he cheats on my mum and has more or less stolen her away from me," Gareth said. A part of him marvelled at the absurdity of revealing this to his number one crush, but he continued. "It used to be just us, and then he came. Oh and he's up to no good in the village with some weird plan."

"I see," Ralph replied, taking a sip of coffee. "You know this really isn't bad," he added gesturing to the cup.

"Yeah, it's good," Gunnar agreed.

"Anyway, I'm not going to lie, your step-dad sounds bad," Ralph said. "However, again there's no excuse to use that as a reason to violate someone's property, and secondly see college as an opportunity to escape, not giving in to someone else's will."

"Okay," Gareth replied, feeling unsure.

Ralph opened his mouth to say more, but his phone began ringing.

"Don't you even think of running," he warned Gareth before he answered it. "Marcus? Where are you, are you okay?" the Doberman asked, his expression was concerned. "The Cecil Mansfield house, what's that? What, next to Frank's house. What's going on exactly? Are you're out? Okay I guess I'll see you soon," Ralph turned to Gunnar with a bemused expression on his face. "I think Marcus is coming, although I could barely make out what he was saying," he explained with a shrug before turning to Gareth. "As for you Gareth, I think Marcus would like to have a word too."

Gareth responded with his third gulp of the day.

_I wish I'd just gone to the picnic with my mum and not been so stupid. _