Chapter 2

Once all the orders were filled, the group of men squeezed themselves into the available seating and chatted, all the while keeping an eye on the time. Glen and Aiden went to a table by themselves so they could have some couple time. “How are things at the church?” Aiden asked. “Is that one guy still giving you grief?”

The priests at the Church of God’s Cross had all been very welcoming, all except one. An old priest had taken to pestering Glen ever since he overheard him refer to Aiden as his boyfriend. The younger clergymen scolded him for being so nosy, but Glen knew the old man was trying to help in his own ignorant way. “I think he finally got the message,” Glen said. “He hasn’t tried to pray over me or invite me to services for a few days.”

“Well, that’s progress,” Aiden said, taking a bite out of his sandwich. He chewed in silence for a moment before he swallowed hesitantly and added, “The Merely Players will be here in two weeks.”

The hair on the back of Glen’s neck prickled. “Stephan is definitely still with them?”

Aiden nodded. Stephan was an actor and Aiden’s sort-of ex. Back before Aiden met Glen, he had a history of getting into affairs with members of traveling troupes like the Merely Players. In fact, when he and Glen started dating, one of the first things Aiden told him was, “I’m sorry in advance if this doesn’t turn out well. I tend to associate sex with affection, so if I don’t sleep with you for a while, it’s nothing personal, I’m just trying to break the habit.” Stephan had taken advantage of Aiden’s weakness and used him as his personal sex slave, bordering on being abusive in his dominance. Aiden went along with it for a while because he thought Stephan had real feelings for him, but once Stephan and his troupe moved on, Aiden soon came to his senses and called Stephan to tell him it was over. The Merely Players had come back to Aiden’s theatre once since then, but Aiden had conveniently scheduled his vacation time for those few weeks.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go visit my parents while they’re here?” Glen asked. “You know my mom will gladly fix up the guest room for us and she’ll cook like we’re bringing my entire crew with us, so—”

“No, Glen, but thank you.” Aiden sighed. “It has been two years and I need to get over this somehow. I have you and I can rub that in his face if he tries anything. Heh, he used to tell me I had too many intimacy issues to have a stable relationship. Well, I’ll show him.”

Glen put his hand on Aiden’s arm. “Careful, sweetheart. You’re crushing your lunch.”

Aiden looked down and noticed the death-grip with which he was clenching his sandwich. “Oh.” He picked up some of the shredded lettuce that had fallen onto the table and munched it quietly.

It broke Glen’s heart to see Aiden this way. Growing up gay in a proud, large Italian family as the second-to-youngest son, the poor boy hadn’t had the best childhood, nor the worst for that matter, but it had left him somewhat starved for affection. Glen was more than happy to oblige, but he did it in respectful ways, like giving Aiden neck massages, or having Aiden’s favorite frozen pizza ready after Aiden had to stay late for productions, or just stroking Aiden’s hair when they cuddled up on the couch to watch TV. Their apartment was small and not well-furnished, but every other day Glen would promise Aiden that someday they would have their own home somewhere nice, and they wouldn’t want for anything.

Lawrence alerted everyone Max would be expecting them back at the church and they had to move it. Glen gave Aiden a farewell hug and kiss. “We’ll talk more when we get home,” he said, running his fingers through Aiden’s dark hair reassuringly. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”

“I know. I love you, babe.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart.” One last kiss and it was time to go.

Glen couldn’t help fretting for the rest of the walk back. He had never met Stephan, nor had he ever intended to, but the actor’s reputation preceded him. Throughout the first few months of their relationship, Glen had had to undo all the damage Stephan had done. Sometimes Aiden was afraid to touch him in case it came across the wrong way. Glen was patient, however, and with good reason. He’d known too many other gay men who wound up being led down a dark path by their personal demons. He had been in love with Aiden since the first time they had literally run into each other in Central Park, and couldn’t bear to let Aiden suffer.