A New Beginning by Peter Styles

Author:Peter Styles [Styles, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-11-24T16:00:00+00:00

10

The morning after, Rowan wakes up half an hour before his alarm and immediately starts to worry. What did I do? All the steps that had seemed logical last night aren’t so clear-cut anymore. Everything he did to convince himself evaporates in the early morning sun like so much water. He stares at his clock, willing time to move backwards or at least freeze so that he can get his thoughts together.

It wasn’t an accident—he can admit that much. He wasn’t drunk enough to pass it off as a stupid mistake. Not that he would, of course; it would be a cowardly and terrible thing to do to a man that already has issues with self-confidence and worth.

As much as Rowan knows it’s only partly the reason, he did kind of want to help Stephen by showing him his worth. His initial plan had been to accept the dinner offer and get Stephen to open up. They were sidetracked by Jen taking them to the bar and Rowan had been terrified for a bleak moment that he was going to experience firsthand just the kind of drinking spiral Stephen was so used to playing out every night. By some miracle or chance, though, Stephen held the same drink all night and instead seemed more interested in the conversation. Rowan’s conversations, particularly. Once Rowan caught on—maybe he’s trying to stay sober for my sake—he became excited. He wondered if he could get Stephen to realize that his destructive habit wasn’t worth it. Rowan suggested dinner, however late it was and however dumb the idea, and they ended up at Stephen’s place.

That was really where his plan was supposed to end. He was only supposed to be a friend for the man—someone willing to be firm and point out his mistakes while still offering a sympathetic ear and bad jokes. It started that way, too. Their takeout and conversation were innocent enough and then Rowan spilled Stephen’s drink like an idiot and then Stephen took his shirt off and…well, one thing honestly led to another. Once they started, he half-believed that Stephen might push him away and leave him to get picked up by Jen. Rowan still isn’t sure what to think about the way things happened or the fact that Stephen looked so happy after.

If he’s being honest, it’s kind of an ego boost. Stephen wasn’t so hesitant and so withdrawn that Rowan worried he was misreading everything. After all, the man had been married to a woman before and he had a daughter. For all Rowan knows, it was something like a one-night stand or an experiment with a lonely friend. He could get nothing but a cold shoulder and forced politeness for his last weeks in the bakery. That more than anything would hurt him, he thinks—losing everything over one night.

“How hungover are you?” Jen asks when he gets into the car.

“I’m not.”

“Oh. Why do you look like you’re in pain, then? Your face is all screwed up,” Jen says, tapping his forehead tiredly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.