Painted On My Heart

“So the guy that came to the gallery during Kellus’s show caused all this chaos?” Gage asked, hooking a thumb over his shoulder toward the house.

“Yep. He’s a real fucker,” Arik said and clenched his fist tighter for a completely different reason now.

“He’s the longtime boyfriend I heard about when I interviewed the woman at Trammel Crow?” Gage asked.

“Yeah, they were best friends as boys. Grew up together or something like that,” Arik answered.

“Huh. I’ve known Kellus all these years and had no idea what he was living through,” Gage added.

“He’s real private. Too private I think. His family and friends did what he calls an intervention a little over a year ago. They aren’t into the ex. When Kellus wouldn’t drop him, they put distance between them. They couldn’t take all this bullshit any longer,” Arik explained, trying to tie all the layers together.

“So he’s been dealing with this all alone?” Gage’s head shot up to Arik, staring at him intently.

“Pretty much.” Arik nodded.

“Are you sure he’s done with the guy? Is Kellus using you, Arik?” Gage asked, his words becoming more defensive as he worked through all this new information.

“They’re done. He’s absolutely not using me. I had to arrange all this around him. He doesn’t want anything from me. I had to force my way to help clean that house last night,” Arik explained.

“Arik Layne was cleaning?” Gage said laughingly.

“Fuck yeah. I was trying to clean that fucking toilet, and dear God, it was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen some pretty funky shit in my life.” Arik scowled, scrunching up his face at the images and smells etched now forever in his brain. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get past that experience.

“Why’s the ex acting out now?” Gage asked.

“The best I can tell, when Kellus stayed with him and didn’t do what his family wanted, it gave the ex all the control. He’s been using him ever since,” Arik said, and that anger he harbored about John welled in his heart. He had grown to truly hate that man.

“Are you sure Kellus’s over him?” Gage asked.

“I’m certain,” Arik said emphatically.

“They have a long history, A. Those boyhood bonds are hard to break. Are you sure you’re not gonna be hurt in this deal?” Gage asked.

“I’m certain they’re done,” Arik said firmly. He appreciated his cousin’s concern, and he got where he was coming from, but his heart was clear; Kellus was done with John.

“How can you be so certain?”

Arik assumed Kellus didn’t want people to know about his status, but he could also pick up that his cousin was putting family first, which meant no matter how much Gage liked Kellus, he’d put Arik above anything.

Damn, now he was going to have to comp that suite for Gage.

“They haven’t been together for the last year after he gave Kellus—” Arik stopped, looked around, didn’t see anyone, but still leaned in to whisper to Gage. “He’s positive.”

“What?” Gage almost yelled those words.

“Shhh, man. What the fuck? That goes nowhere.”

“Fuck, Arik. Are you kidding me?” Gage’s brow furrowed, and he crossed his arms over his chest, his entire body tense.

“Unfortunately, I’m not,” Arik said, biting at his thumbnail, his gaze trained on Gage.

“He’s been living with all that alone?” Gage asked incredulously.

“Every bit of it. His family doesn’t even know about the HIV. Holidays, birthdays, all the visits to the doctor…he’s done alone,” Arik said. Pain overrode the hate in his heart, and he did what he always did: he promised himself he’d give Kellus a better life no matter what it took.

“Fuck, I can’t take any more. Don’t tell me anything else. In the last two minutes, I’ve had every range of emotion I could have. Shit. Poor guy,” Gage said, his arms still wrapped around his chest as he kicked at the grass below his feet.

“It’s a lot to swallow. He knows it is. He keeps trying to push me away,” Arik explained.

“Well, yeah, I’m sure he’s afraid he’s gonna get hurt again. Self-preservation has to be kicking in,” Gage said.

“That’s what I figured.”

“So you can’t hurt him, A,” Gage said emphatically.

“Are you kidding me? I’m in love with him.” He stopped talking for a minute after realizing he’d just admitted the deepest secret in his heart. He let the admission fully take hold before meeting his cousin’s intuitive gaze. “He’s the perfect guy. My perfect partner. He doesn’t give in to me, not ever. He makes me fight for every smile I get from him. I’d rather cut off my hand than see him hurt.” Arik spoke from that place in his heart that he’d just laid bare to his cousin. That had Gage smiling at him like he was holding the winning lottery numbers.

“Good for you. Took you long enough.” Gage’s acceptance and his words meant a lot to Arik, although he wouldn’t ever admit that to his cousin. “So the person down the street watching the house is one of yours?”