This Cruel Love

“We’re watching a movie. You’re leaving,” Jackson grunted back.

“Are you naked under there?” Cillian was enjoying teasing Jackson a little too much.

“What do you think?”

“I think I’m never gonna be sitting on that couch again. I mean, I don’t mind her naked ass, but yours? Ugh.” Cillian made a face of pure disgust and Jackson snapped.

“That’s it. Get out!”

“I’m going. Chill out.” He smirked, and rose from the couch with painfully slow movements, just to piss Jackson off further. “Enjoy the movie in the background whilst you bang each other’s brains out.”

I laughed and Jackson threw a cushion at Cillian’s back as he made his escape. He might tease the hell out of him, but I knew Cillian was a good friend to Jackson. The best.

“How did you two meet?” I asked, curious to find out how two polar opposites could become friends like these two.

“It’s a long story,” Jackson replied, stroking my hair and kissing my forehead.

“I’ve got all day. Tell me, I want to know.”

He sighed and stayed silent for a moment, probably contemplating whether to say anything, then he started to open up to me.

“We met on the streets.”

“The streets? Like walking down the street or something?” I hadn’t a clue what he was telling me.

“No.” He smiled on a sigh. “On the streets. We were both homeless, Ryley. I lost my father at fourteen. I went to live with an aunt, but she kicked me out when I was fifteen, and I lived on the streets for a few years after that. I met Cill one night in an alley behind a club, getting the shit kicked out of him by some gang. He was even more gobby back then than he is now, and he was pissing a lot of people off. It wasn’t a fair fight though, so I stepped in and helped. The rest, as they say, is history.”

My throat had gone dry; I could barely get the next words out. I had no idea he’d been homeless.

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea. How did you manage to get yourself to where you are today? I mean you’re… you… and I’d never have guessed for a second that you’d been on the streets like that.” I was rambling, I knew that, but I was stunned, dumbfounded.

“No one knows what life’s gonna throw at us. I was dealt some pretty shitty stuff when I was younger. I never lost sight of my goal though. I worked my way out of the gutter, doing whatever I could to make money, to build a reputation in this city. I wasn’t the only one. How do you think I met Luca and Freddie Marquez? They ran in the same circles as me on the streets back then. I took Cill under my wing. God knows why, but someone had to. That guy was one smart-ass comment away from getting his head kicked in for good. I don’t like injustice, I like to play fair. The streets might be tough, but I kept my own code to live by, and looking after someone like Cill was part of that.”

“How did Cill find himself homeless?” I asked.

“That’s not my story to tell, angel. But I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me telling you that he had a rotten childhood. One of six kids, his father beat him pretty badly. One night, he snapped and fought back. His mum threw him out and he hasn’t been back since. He doesn’t have anything to do with his parents anymore. I don’t think they ever wanted him. He’s a good guy though. He’s kept me from spiralling into a black hole on more than one occasion.”

I hugged him close. I didn’t like to hear him talking about black holes and spiralling.

“Well, you have me now as well,” I said. “I’m fighting your corner too.”

“We’ve come a long way from that first meeting in my office, haven’t we?”

I lifted my head up and rested my chin on his chest, giving him my full attention.

“You mean when you told me about all those women begging to be in your bed?”

He groaned and covered his face with his hands. “I have absolutely no idea why I said that. I was such a dick that day.”

“Yeah, you were.” I smiled. “Why did you say that?”

He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me up his body so my face was hovering over his. “Because I was jealous. You were draped all over that little shit and I hated it. I hated how you looked at him like the sun shone out of his ass. I wanted you to look at me like that. I wanted you to want me.”

“Telling me about other women wasn’t the best way to win my heart, you know.”

“I know that, but I’m crap at making my feelings clear. I’ve always wanted you, Ryley. I wanted you so badly I’d have done anything to get you here.”

My heart swelled at his candid admission. “You’re doing okay now,” I whispered, planting a kiss on his gorgeous lips.