Gym Buddies II: Part Four
#4 of Gym Buddies II
Gym Buddies II: Part Four
"Okay, Dan, we're home now," I said as I fired up the stove. "I think we're into later territory." He'd kept quiet about the subject the entire car journey to the shop and home. All that he talked about was his fitness test, in which he got a score of 'mediocre'. I'd have said he was at least in an 'average' class and considered the thought that Tom marked us down purposefully.
"You know, I really don't want to talk about it," he said, rifling through the bags for a pair of steak fillets he'd picked out. I filled the wok with some vegetable oil and let it heat on the hob. "Can we just drop it?"
"No," I explained, "we can't just drop it. You said he asked for a threesome, right?"
"Yes."
"You, me and him?"
"Yes, Luke and I said no! We've been through this!"
"We haven't been through why," I said. I took a green bell pepper from one of the paper bags, ribbed it and diced it into squares on a glass chopping board. As I was dicing, I glanced over at the husky, careful not to cut my fingers. "So why did you say no?"
"Luke, it's really embarrassing," he said, still looking through the bags. I put the knife down and strode over to him, pulling his back into a hug and nuzzling his neck.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" He nodded as he brought out the steaks. "Please tell me." Now searching through the bags for the carrots we'd bought, Dan let out a great sigh.
"Okay, but promise not to think it's goofy, okay?" He was goofy at times, but that's probably why I loved him so much. At the minute, though, I wouldn't say anything that might upset him. Instead, I kissed his ear gently.
"Of course I won't, pup," I said. He smiled and fell into me a little.
"Well... I thought that Al wanted you," he said. "But I wanted you. I wanted you all to myself. When Al said that, it sounded like he wanted to share you." I hugged him tighter.
"I don't think that's goofy, pup, I think it's lovely." He smiled and sighed happily as I nuzzled into his fur. "You know I'd never go with Al. I love you, how many times do I have to tell you?"
"But I didn't know that then," he reminded me as he pushed the carrots into my paw. I kissed his neck again.
"I've always loved you, Dan. Now how's about we get something to eat?" I suggested, patting him on the shoulder. I went over to the stove and took the wok of oil from the hob while I prepared to cut the vegetables. Keeping a pan of hot oil was a sure way of having an accident. I returned to the chopping board and started peeling the carrots. "Dan, can you put the steaks next to the oven?" The husky did as I asked and turned around to face me.
"So, Luke, can I ask you something?"
"Anything, pup." I glanced up to see him leaning back into the counter coolly and quickly returned to the carrots.
"I was wondering, when di- AHH!" My eyes shot instinctively up to him, and I saw he was clutching his paw as he screamed. "Ow! Ow!" I dropped the knife and ran over to him.
"What happened?"
"I burned myself! OW!" He opened his mouth and put his paw inside. I took it out and quickly turned the hob off, not wanting another accident to happen. Leading him to the sink, I started running the cold water. "No, that'll hurt," he whimpered, his paw now shaking with pain.
"I know it will, but you need to. Come on," I said, slowly taking it to the faucet. He grimaced as the water ran through his fresh burn and his feet hopped up and down. His face was one of sheer pain. "Shush, shush," I cooed. After a few minutes of letting the water run past, I turned it off. The only sound to be heard was Dan's whimpering as he cried. The one sound I couldn't stand was Dan crying. "Pup, I need to look at it, okay? May I see it?"
He nodded his head and lifted his paw to me. The skin had blistered red and bubbled. "Don't touch it," he begged when he saw my paw going to inspect it closer.
"I'm moving the fur out of the way, that's all," I assured him. He closed his eyes and readied himself for any pain. I was as gentle as I could, though he still winced a little. "Okay, come with me," I said, now leading him by the paw into the bathroom. "Sit!" I pointed at the toilet while I looked through the cabinets for the 'Sore Paw? No More!' that we used last night. I scooped out the remaining contents and looked tenderly at him. "This should soothe it, Dan. Do you trust me?" He nodded, no longer wincing as he offered his paw to me.
I rubbed the wound as gently as I could, easing the lotion into him. He was putting on a brave face, but his eyes were tightly shut and I could hear his mind swearing loudly. Once he was used to the motion of my paw on his, I pressed slightly harder and massaged the cream into the wound. He winced and pulled away.
"Sorry, sorry," I insisted, easing up on the massage. Dan shook his head and let out a smile.
"No, it just stings a bit, that's all. Please don't stop," he asked. I smiled and started to rub his paw again. He tried to keep his eyes open as he watched me do this, and his head was now jerking to hold back tears. Even though I was causing him so much pain, he seemed to get a little lost in the tenderness of the moment. I opened the vanity unit and started looking for the first aid kit. Once I found it, I took out a small roll of bandage and wrapped it gently around his wrist.
"So? What were you going to say?"
"W-when?" he asked. The stammer might have been caused by the pain in his paw, but the blushing cheeks under his fur told me otherwise.
"Before you decided to cook yourself," I said with a hint of a smile.
"Okay," he admitted. "When did you start seeing me... that way?"
"Oh," I said, looking into his eyes and smiling widely. "You want to know that?" He nodded his head. "Well, it just so happens that I remember the exact moment."
"When?" he asked eagerly. I smiled as I tied the bandage off and kissed his paw lightly.
"It was your ninth birthday," I explained. I would have been ten at the time, but even then I knew that I could like someone more than someone else. "We went to that theme park - remember the one with the waltzer in the dark that had all the flashing lasers?"
"The Black Hole? Yeah, I remember that one," he said.
"Well, we'd just gone on that and you wanted to get something to eat. So, we looked around and saw an ice cream stand. And you started shouting out 'I want ice cream! I want ice cream!' You rushed over to it without a second thought, tripped and fell." His cheeks flushed even redder, and if I hadn't known him, I might have mistaken his fur for being naturally pink.
"Yeah, I remember," he said quietly. "I couldn't forget, I broke my wrist."
"You started crying, and you were clutching your paw - kinda the way you're doing now," he let go as if he should be embarrassed by it, "and we all rushed to the hospital. The minute you started crying, I knew how much I hated that sound. And then when I finally got to see you were okay, I felt so happy. You were lying on one of the hospital beds, your arm was in a cast and you had the faintest smile on your face when you saw us."
"You remember all that? From so long ago?"
"Of course I do, pup," I said, ruffling the fur on his head. "And you were falling asleep, so I sat on the bed with you and cuddled your head into my lap. Dad still had the camera with him, so I asked him to take a picture of us. Just us."
"Why?" I could feel my eyes well with tears as I lifted myself to kiss him.
"Because that was the moment. And I never wanted to forget it. Every time I want to think about you, I look at that photograph." He pulled me into a sudden hug, using more force with his unburned arm. "I love you, Dan. I wish I could have told you sooner." He wailed into my shoulder, and I felt his tears drench my fur. I rubbed his back gently. "Please don't cry, pup. I just told you how much I hate that." He pulled away from me and wiped his face down.
"S-sorry," he said through jagged breaths. "It's just that..." he took a long pause as he prepared himself to say something. "That was the same moment that I started thinking about you. I felt so safe in your arms, and I started to like you. Really like you. I thought it was just a crush, but after Al said that..."
"It was never a crush with me, pup. I always knew how I felt about you." He smiled and tilted his head. His ears dropped sweetly to the sides of his face and I looked at the bandages. "Are you okay?"
"Never better," he said, wiping a final tear from his golden eyes. "Can I ask you something, though?"
"Of course, pup," I said, my paw now rubbing his gently. Instead of wincing, as I half expected he would, he smiled.
"Well, if you wanted me, why did you let me go with Al? Wouldn't you have tried to stop me?"
"And said what?" He shrugged before answering me.
"'I love you, Dan'? You could have said that." He was right. I could have said that. He would have been exactly right if he'd have said I should have said it. My little brother was braver than I ever was, and I don't mind admitting how jealous it made me.
"I'm sorry. Is there any way I can make it up to you?" He pulled me into another one of his vice-like hugs and stroked the fur on my neck.
"Promise you'll never leave me." I smiled at the ridiculous request. Surely he knew that I'd never leave him. I just told him that I'd been in love with him for the past eight years. "Luke, promise me!" I didn't realise I'd been silent for so long.
"Dan, you know that I'd never leave you." He whimpered into my fur again, and the sounds of his tears turned my stomach. "I promise," I said. He squeezed onto me tight.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"Hey, how about we get something to eat? We still have those steaks if you want them," I offered. He shook his head and pulled out from me.
"No, if I hear that sizzling sound again, I'll jump a mile," he chuckled as he glanced at his paw.
"Okay, I know what'll make you feel better." The husky looked at me questioningly.
"How about I get you that ice cream?"