Colorado Game
By Androgene
Chapter 35
I didn’t tell Ross about the conversation I’d had with Kyle, and we spent that evening at the loft, watching the new Lord of the Rings - Return of the King Extended Edition DVD. I ended up watching the second half of that alone; Ross was softly snoring beside me on the couch. When the movie was over, I snuggled up to him, and quickly fell asleep.
Saturday and Sunday we went up to Castle Pines Village, to spend the rest of the weekend with Sofia, Andrew, his wife and kids and Ross’s older sister, Marcia, who was celebrating a belated birthday.
So I came back at Warner Gaming after a pretty busy weekend, with enough to entertain Jodie well into the week, with stories about Marcia’s antics, Ross’s sleeping session during a movie (which resulted in a “do’s and don’ts” rant for the better part of Monday) or Sofia’s battle of wills with her daughter.
At the end of the workday, I also told Jodie about the conversation Kyle and I’d had, asking her opinion on me feeling horrible.
“Sounds to me that you already know that; you just don’t wanna say it out loud,” she answered after giving it some thought. “Obviously he’s not at all as you thought he was. In your mind you treated him like shit and you feel guilty, because you found out that he’s actually a good guy. You can’t hold the past against him. Your boyfriend, his ex, can. But you? You can’t. You have no right to do that.”
“And who made you Oprah?” I replied, chagrinned.
But she was right. Well, up to a point, anyway.
I hadn’t given Kyle the benefit of the doubt. I had enjoyed our conversation, and when he dismissed the idea of us being friends, based on my treatment of him, after he had admitted at wanting that, I genuinely felt ashamed, because I am not that kind of a person. I used to make up my mind about people by myself. Somehow, Ross, and to a greater extent, Sofia, had made me biased towards Kyle. That made me angry. Not at Sofia or Ross, but at myself.
I pushed my chair back and stood.
“I’ll be right back,” I said.
“Where are you going?” Jodie asked, yelling after me.
“Get myself a new friend,” I yelled back.
**********
I softly knocked on the door, which stood wide open, and waited until Kyle looked up from his work.
“Mr. Norcross, what can I do for you?” he asked, making a ‘come in’ gesture.
“Accept an apology?” I replied, closing the door behind me.
He frowned, raising an eyebrow.
“Unless you did something bad and I don’t know about it yet, I have no idea…” he spoke, shaking his head.
“Last Friday, you said that you’d like it if we would become friends. But I didn’t give you the benefit of the doubt, relying on someone else’s opinion, instead of my own. That’s wrong, and it’s not who I am. So I’d like to apologize and…you know…maybe…we could try to become friends. Have dinner or go for a couple of drinks, stuff like that?”
Kyle leaned back in his chair, a surprised look on his face. Then he smiled, nodding.
“Okay… apology accepted. I’d like that.”
I smiled back and looked at my watch. 5:05pm.
“How about now? Wanna grab a coffee?”
He checked his own watch.
“Um…sure. You won’t get into any trouble over this, I hope?” He rose from his chair, turning off his monitor.
“Trouble?” I asked, frowning.
I waited until Kyle had put on his jacket, and then we walked to my office, where I picked up my bag and coat. Jodie and Mason had already left.
“Yeah… I mean, Ross probably won’t like it if we hang out together.”
“I can handle Ross,” I assured him, grinning.
“I seriously doubt that.”
**********
I came home a little after seven, finding Ross already there. Normally, he’d come home around eight or nine, and that was on a relatively quiet day, so finding him at the loft was a welcome surprise.
“Hey. You’re pretty late,” he said, smiling as I kissed him.
“And you’re early! Why didn’t you call me?” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist.
We went on to smooch a little more.
“Well, I wanted to surprise you; take you out to dinner at the club, rent a movie, have some wine…”
“Sounds good to me! Well, if you promise not to fall asleep this time,” I winked, earning a soft slap on my behind for that one.
“Silence, peasant; as the alfa male, I am entitled to…”
I rolled my eyes, laughing. When he was in this state, a normal conversation was basically not in the cards. He had a goofy streak that I quite liked.
“Oh puhlease…you keep deluding yourself while I’ll go up and change, okay?”
“Deluding myself? Why sir, it’s nothing but the truth. Do I not slave all day to bring you riches? Am I not then entitled to study the inside of my eyelids on occasion? Well, that’s just…”
That went on and on, and I listened with just half an ear as I refreshed myself and changed into a more formal outfit, knowing that the venue of choice was the exclusive dining room at the club Ross frequented.
The first time he’d taken me there, I’d worn just about the oldest pair of jeans I owned, and an old rag of a t-shirt; and sneakers. I’d felt so embarrassed when the Maitre D’ discretely took me aside, offering me a jacket to cover up the worst. The very next day I’d gone out and bought a suit, spending half a month’s wages on an Armani, when Ross told me that he enjoyed dining there on a regular bases.
“Why were you so late, anyway? Busy day?” he asked on our way out, waiting for the elevator to arrive. He hooked his pinky on mine.
We only walked like that when we were alone. I didn’t like displaying it out on the street, so as soon as we arrived outside, we let go of each other.
“No, not really… I…umm…had coffee with a friend.”
“Ah. Already making friends, eh? That’s great!”
The elevator arrived and he pulled up the door. I followed him inside, watching him press the button, and pull down the door.
“Ross…I might as well tell you…it was Kyle. I had coffee with Kyle.”
The smile on his face faded.
Previous Chapter