Up in Arms

“Reed’s a multi-millionaire, you never told me.” Trevor’s voice came out small, almost a whisper.

“And I might pull out forty-five grand this year, so what? Do you think less of me?” Rylie shot back.

“It looks like I’ll be pulling out much less than you now that I’m unemployed.”

“You won’t be unemployed and if you are, it’s not of your own doing. You were seriously hurt. You’re lucky to be alive. That’s what should be considered, nothing else. My family considers you family. If it weren’t Reed here with you, it would be my mom. You aren’t going to go at this alone.”

“They aren’t going to keep me in, Rylie, and I don’t have a skill. I’m career military. What am I going to do with that?”

“They’ll do something with you. This publicity’s too big, but it’ll die down.” Rylie kept his eyes on Trevor as he spoke. They sat in silence again for several long minutes.

“Reed told me he loved me,” Trevor finally said, his voice still small.

“Yeah, I can tell. He’s different now.”

“Apparently he’s loved many before me.” The hurt of that one thought showed all across his face.

“You know that’s not true, and if you don’t know, you just need to trust me on it.” Rylie never let his direct stare falter.

Trevor tried a different approach. “Look at this tonight. They attacked him over me. I can’t let that happen. Reed did nothing to have his personal shit spread all over the place like this. It’s all because of me. Rylie, I have nothing to offer him and I’m ruining his life.”

“How can you say that? I’ve never seen Reed so happy.”

“It was only three days.”

Rylie reached out, resting his hand on Trevor’s thigh. “Trevor, look at me. You need to be looking at me when I say this. Buddy, you know all the stories. It’s just how the men in my family work. I knew the first time I saw Elise that she would be my wife. It didn’t matter that I was eleven years old and it was the first day of fifth grade. I told her that day I loved her and I have loved her ever since. Same with my dad. He met my mom and proposed by the end of the evening. He was nineteen and in Dallas for a Cowboys/Washington Redskins’ game and she was on the giant turbo screen. He searched her out, and proposed to her that same night. Same with my granddad. Surely Reed’s the same. It just took longer for him to find you.”

Trevor stayed quiet, his eyes drawn back to his lap, his brow narrowed and his lips pursed. He didn’t respond. His heart lay too heavy, thumping wildly in his chest. The magnitude of this situation caused Trevor to resist what was being said to him. All evening, the new coverage speculated that Reed was one of the best looking men on the planet, and in that Trevor whole heartedly agreed. It was in seeing him and Reed together that he realized how completely mismatched they were. At his very best, he was just an average looking man. Reed dated gorgeous people with interesting lives and jobs. Surely, at some point soon, Reed would have to tire of him and leave. It would just be better for everyone involved if it ended now before the pain of separation got too unbearable to handle.

“Look, I can see your head ticking, and it doesn’t look good. I’ve been worried for Reed for a while now. He’s been all alone for so long. Then you came into his life and everything was set straight for me where Reed’s concerned. You’re the perfect mate for him, Trevor. You match him on every level. You fill in the holes of his life. You will be Reed’s anchor throughout the years and I know you will be his best friend as well as his lover. If Reed was what they portrayed him to be on television tonight, I promise I wouldn’t have let you spend any time alone with him. Instead during my own wedding reception, I watched the two of you slip away onto the balcony and my heart was relieved that my big brother was gonna be okay.

“Look, buddy, you’re a good man with traditional values. Do you have any idea how rare that is in today’s world? You have honor and integrity. You’ll always put my brother before yourself. And Reed will do that for you, because he’s those same things. I promise. My family is your family. We love you, man. And if I know you like I think I do, what’s going through your head right now is not that Reed lied to you, but that you aren’t worthy of him.” Rylie leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees looking Trevor directly in the eyes. “But I’m telling you right now, you are worthy and you need to embrace this and trust me on that.”

“I don’t want things to change between us, Rylie. When Reed’s done with me wrecking his life, I could lose you all.” Trevor said.

“You aren’t going to lose anything and only time will show you that we Kensington men stick. It’s how we’re built.”

Trevor stayed quiet, just staring at Rylie, thinking through everything he said. Rylie sat back, pushing forward on the seat to rise. “Just think about what I’ve said. I know it’s been a lot to deal with and you’re used to dealing with your shit all by yourself. Reed told me he loves you. He said it at the hospital in Germany. He’s never said those words to me about anyone before. If you return the feeling, wipe the pain from his eyes now. He’s hurting for you, and he’s a little desperate, put him out of his misery.” Rylie rose, walking to the bedroom door. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Elise just picked me up from the airport. I’m going to have my wedding night. I just wanted to check on you first.”