All Good Things - Chapter Four

[rycolfan.livejournal.com]

Title - All Good Things
Author - Rycolfan
Rating - NC-17
Pairing - Ryan/Colin, Ryan/Pat, Colin/Deb.
Summary - All good things come to an end, and the prospect of parting ways forces certain confessions...
Disclaimer - I only own the story peeps...no offense intended.
Feedback - makes me smile!

Right my lovelies, since my time will be taken up with comm challenges for a while, I thought I'd post the next chapter now.  I hope you continue to enjoy it....any and all comments are much appreciated and will make me feel better!  ^_^

 

Chapter Four


I awoke the next morning to find that Ryan had already left; his side of the bed retaining none of his body heat, just the lingering scent of his aftershave. I pressed my face into the pillow where he’d lain, screwing my eyes shut at the pain his silent departure had inflicted. I couldn’t say I was surprised that he’d gone, but it was still akin to taking a knife in the gut. I tried to cling on to the memory of the previous night, the way he’d held me and kissed me as if his life depended on it, but the daylight was cruelly chasing it away as it would a dream.

I stayed in that position for several minutes, curled in upon myself and trying to breathe. I would have probably stayed there all day, had it not been for the flight I was booked on back to Toronto and my family.  I should have felt worse for having cheated on Deb, but the truth was that our marriage had been over for a few years. We were more like good friends than spouses nowadays, staying together for the sake of Luke rather than anything else. Luke was the one thing I’d got right. 

It took all my willpower to push myself out of bed and head for the shower, and I stayed under the powerful spray for much longer than necessary. Maybe I was hoping it would wash everything away; my guilt, my anguish, and, above all, my all-consuming love for a man who would never be mine.

As I headed out of the bathroom, a towel securely wrapped around my waist, I noticed a note on the coffee table with very familiar handwriting.   My stomach dropped as I picked it up and my hands shook slightly. This note would no doubt define our relationship from this point on.

Col,

I had to go back to my room to get cleaned up and changed, and I didn’t want to wake you. I’ll see you downstairs for breakfast later.

Ryan.

It was certainly short and to the point. There was no mention of the previous night, which was almost certainly indicative of his need to put the whole thing behind him and move on. Well maybe he could, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure things could ever go back to the way they were before.

I toyed with the idea of skipping breakfast altogether, but hiding in my room wasn’t the way forward. I was going to have to face this head on.

 

 

By the time I got down to breakfast, everyone else was already there and conversing loudly. I called upon every ounce of acting skill I possessed to walk in there casually and greet everyone’s calls with a smile, although I deliberately avoided meeting Ryan’s searching gaze.

“You feeling better Col?” Greg asked from his seat beside Ryan. “You looked really rough last night man.”

“Yeah,” I replied easily, my eyes flicking briefly to Ryan before returning to Greg’s face, “much better, thanks.”

Greg nodded and resumed his conversation with Ryan but I could feel Ryan’s eyes stay on me as I grabbed a croissant from the breakfast buffet selection and turned. There were two spare seats at the large table; one in-between Brad and Wayne, and the other next to Ryan at the end. I hesitated for a moment before going to sit next to Ryan, knowing that blatantly snubbing him would have aroused curiosity and invited unwelcome questions.

My leg accidentally brushed against his as I sat down and I immediately moved a little further away, inwardly cursing my rapidly beating heart. Ryan poured me some coffee, as he always did, and placed it in front of me as he listened to Greg’s story about a drunken fan girl who’d camped outside his room. I was barely able to pay attention to anything that was going on around me with Ryan’s scent invading my nostrils and bringing arousing memories to the surface. I decided to eat as quickly as possible and then escape, to avoid potential embarrassment. 

I belatedly realized that Brad had been attempting to get my attention, and hastily pulled myself together. “Sorry Brad, I guess I’m still half asleep.”

“You didn’t have fan-girls camped outside your room too, did you?” Brad grinned.

“No, just Ryan,” Chip laughed, tossing back a couple of painkillers and swallowing them dry.

I panicked for an instant before realizing that they didn’t know anything; they were just making the usual kind of joke about our closeness, which we’d had to put up with many times over the years. I gave it my normal response, which was to roll my eyes and smile good-naturedly, as I finished off my breakfast and washed it down with some much needed caffeine.

“Seriously though,” Brad smiled, “can I talk to you about something Col? In private?”

That certainly got Ryan’s attention.  I saw his body go rigid as several of the others wolf-whistled loudly and laughed, but I was curious as to what Brad could possibly want so I shrugged and replied, “Sure. I’m finished anyway.”

Ryan looked as if he wanted to say something as I got up but he obviously thought better of it. He certainly gave Brad a suspicious glance as the younger man got to his feet as well.

“Watch it Ryan,” Drew chuckled from further down the table, “he’s after your man.”

Ryan ignored the comment, seemingly unaffected, but I could tell that he was anxious as Brad and I left the room together and headed outside for a nicotine fix.

“So,” I said casually, once we’d both lit up and taken a long drag, “what did you want to talk to me about?”

Brad hesitated, bringing the cigarette up to him mouth again, which only intrigued me further. Brad was always so sure and confident; this was most unlike him. I had the crazy idea that maybe he was about to confess his undying love, and nearly burst out laughing at the absurdity.

“Well, the thing is,” Brad mumbled, clearing his throat awkwardly, “I’ve been thinking about taking an improv show on the road for some time, and now whose line has finished I’ll finally be able to.” He stopped and took another drag as I waited patiently for him to come to the point. “I was just wondering if maybe you’d like to do it with me.”

Okay, I hadn’t expected that. Of all the people he could have asked, I would have thought that I’d be the last person he’d want. My disbelief must have shown on my face because he quickly added, “But if you’ve already got something planned with Ryan, that’s fine.”

I tried to ignore the stab of pain at the mention of Ryan’s name as I answered. “No, we haven’t made any plans. Why me though? Why not Jeff or Chip?”

Brad shrugged and leant against the wall casually, tapping his cigarette ash onto the sidewalk. “They’re great improvisers too, and they’re certainly on my list if you say no, but you and I have always worked really well together, and I think we’d make a great team.”

I raised my cigarette to my lips and inhaled deeply as he waited for an answer. It was hardly a difficult decision; whose line was over, everyone was going their separate ways, and I had no other work on the horizon. As far as I was concerned, the busier I kept myself the better. “Okay.”

A slow smile spread across Brad’s face. “You’ll do it?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Awesome,” he replied, clapping me on the back, “we’re gonna blow them away.”

His childlike happiness was infectious and I found myself smiling too, momentarily forgetting all the heartache of the past twenty four hours.  Perhaps this was just what I needed.