Page 4 of Where the River Meets the Skye

He took a seat on the couch in front of the television, turned Star Trek Voyager on, on Netflix, and pulled the lever on the side of the couch to recline the seat.

Their mismatched furniture was certainly nothing to brag about, but it worked for them. Mostly garage sale finds and a few odds and ends from Ikea, along with one or two pieces of furniture that River had made himself, like the bookshelf that stood in the corner, and the two end tables that sat on either side of the sofa.

With River’s carpentry skills, Skye had always wondered why he hadn't started his own business. His work was beautiful and Skye knew he could make a decent living with his talent.

But River had said that he wanted to help people, so he’d chosen physical therapy as a vocation instead, and Skye had to admit, he did seem to enjoy his work, and he was good at it. He’d spent an extra three years in school after undergrad to get his degree in PT, so he’d certainly wanted it badly enough, and he’d worked as a physical therapist in town for the past two years. Skye couldn’t be more proud of him.

He enjoyed his work, too, though if you had ever told him when he was younger that he’d be teaching middle school history in a small town in rural Indiana he would have laughed in your face. Yet, here he was. And yes, the students were a handful sometimes, but despite how exhausting teaching was, it was just as rewarding, and he felt like he was making a difference in his students’ lives, however small. And if any of them were struggling like he had been at that age, whether with their sexuality or something else, Skye hoped to be a source of support and encouragement for them.

It was rough at that age, making friends, figuring out who you were, wanting so badly to fit in and belong. He still wouldn't say all these years later that even he had it completely figured out, but he’d become more comfortable with his sexuality, partly because of River. River had accepted and befriended him without question and that had made his college years much easier than his high school ones, having a roommate who was so supportive. Still, none of Skye's students had ever known he was gay in the four years he’d had his job. Not because Skye was ashamed of who he was, but because it had never really come up. It was still just a close circle of coworkers who knew, plus Jenna, Nick, and River, and Skye’s mom and younger brother.

Thinking of his brother made Skye think of his girlfriend and how they would probably be engaged soon. He was incredibly happy for them both but also a tad bit jealous if he was being honest. Jaden was twenty-four and would be starting a family soon and Skye was twenty-eight and still waiting for Mr. Right to come along.

He’d hooked up with plenty of guys over the years, dated a few times, but nothing that lasted. He wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t ready for a real relationship, or if none of those guys had been the one.

He finished his meal and set his plate aside on the end table. A sigh escaped him as he thought of all the papers he still had to grade before the evening was over. He really should just stop assigning homework. Grabbing the bag off of the chair he’d thrown it on earlier, he dragged it back over to the couch, plopping himself down once again. Pulling out the papers on the American Revolution, he groaned when he saw the very first one. “Seriously, guys, how hard is it to write your name on the top?”

After the process of elimination and doing his best to try and place the student’s handwriting, he wrote Chris on the top himself, with a question mark next to it.

He wasn’t sure how long he worked on grading papers, but after getting up once to use the bathroom and another time to get a quick snack and try to clear his head a little with an episode of Queer Eye, he noticed that his shoulder was starting to ache, as was his upper back.

He graded a few more papers, but when the pain grew worse he put his things down and started to rotate his arm and shoulder back and forth, wincing at the tightness in his traps. “That’s not normal.”

“What’s not normal?” A deep voice said, and Skye turned to see River tossing his keys into the basket by the door just as he had done earlier, then sliding off his shoes and leaving them on the mat. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just sore, I guess.” Skye winced and rubbed his shoulder. “You’re home already, huh?”

“It’s nine-thirty.” River gestured to the clock.

“Huh. Guess I was grading papers longer than I thought.” He continued rubbing at his shoulder, trying to ease the tension, and grimacing as he did.

“Do you want me to rub it?” River asked. When Skye gave him a smirk, River just rolled his eyes. “Your shoulder, Skye.”

Skye chuckled. “Yeah, that’d be awesome.”

River slid his jacket off and tossed it on a chair, putting those glorious biceps on display. Skye was not drooling. He wasn’t. Yes, he was still insanely attracted to his best friend. River knew it, too. Skye hadn’t exactly been subtle over the years about how gorgeous he thought River was. He may have innocently flirted with him on occasion, and River may have caught Skye checking him out a time or two. Maybe.

“Get on the floor then. And take your shirt off.”

“Ooh, I like it when you get bossy,” Skye teased. He grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it up and over his head, tossing it aside as River made his way over to him. Then he pushed the leg rest of the couch in and slid onto the floor.

“Oh brother,” River mumbled, sitting himself down on the couch behind Skye and gently starting to massage his upper back and shoulders. “Are you hard up or something?”

“Not particularly,” Skye said with a laugh.

“Really?” River asked, and Skye could hear him smiling. “‘Cause you’re sounding pretty horny to me. How long has it been since you got laid?”

Skye chuckled. “Too damn long, honestly.” It had been months, in fact, since Skye had seen any action, but he wasn’t really interested in finding any, either, and the why part of that was bugging him, so he tried not to think about it too hard. Normally on a Friday night he'd be at a bar or a club, finding a guy to bring home or to go home with, but lately he’d found himself preferring to spend his evenings alone with River, and having sex with a random guy just didn’t appeal to him like it used to.

“Well, maybe you should fix that soon so you can stop hitting on me,” River teased. He started digging his thumb into the knot next to Skye’s shoulder.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Skye repeated, tensing up and leaning forward to get away from the torture.

“Man, you’re tight,” River said as Skye winced. “Relax, Skye, or it won’t help. Try to breathe through it. You’ve got a nasty trigger point here.”

“Riv, can you take off the ring?” Skye asked.

“Oh, sorry.” His hands left Skye’s back and Skye found that he missed the touch immediately, but a second later they were there again, ring gone, resting on the coffee table now. The ring River had worn for the last twelve years. The one that told him to “Rise.” It reminded River that he was tougher than any battle he faced. That no matter what life threw at him, he could and would rise above it.

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