Page 81 of Julien (Confessions 2)

Priest looked toward the heavy curtains that flanked the large window and said, “I had a difficult childhood.”

Robbie waited for Priest to continue, but when he didn’t, Robbie decided that maybe tonight wasn’t the right time. They were already dealing with enough with Julien, and it was clear that Priest wasn’t in the divulging kind of mood. So Robbie took Priest’s advice from last week and let it go.

Priest would talk when he was ready—hadn’t he proved that tonight? Robbie could never have imagined he’d hear half of the words Priest had said to him earlier—so he would wait. He would wait for Priest, just like he’d waited for Julien, because he knew both men were worth it.

“Do you think we should try and get him to a bed?” Robbie said.

“Yes. He’s already going to have a terrible hangover. The least we can do is make sure he doesn’t have any other aches and pains to go with it.”

Robbie nodded, as Priest crouched back down and gently shook Julien’s shoulder. “Julien? Julien…let’s get you to bed.”

When Julien didn’t budge or make a sound, Robbie said, “Got any other ideas?”

“Prop his upper body up so I can get an arm in under his shoulders.”

Robbie shifted and got his hands under Julien, and on a soft count of three, they hoisted him up so Priest could put Julien’s left arm over his shoulder and slide his right around Julien’s torso.

Once he had a firm grip on him, Priest grimaced and hauled Julien up to his feet with more strength than Robbie had any hope of ever possessing.

Robbie moved into Julien’s right side and got an arm around his waist, and when Julien’s head lolled onto Priest’s shoulders and his bleary eyes opened, a sad, defeated smile morphed his lips.

“Je suis désolé, mon amour,” he whispered. “So sorry.”

Priest frowned at him as they all hobbled along. “You know there’s no need for that.”

“But you…” Julien paused, as he stumbled over his feet and into Priest’s side. “You don’t like me like this. So how can he?”

Priest placed a kiss to Julien’s forehead and said, “You’re right. I love you, no matter what. And I have a feeling he will too.”

Robbie sucked in a breath, as Julien sighed and his eyes fell shut, and when he slumped fully into Priest’s side, Robbie let it out in a rush. Had he really just heard what he thought he had?

But before he could ask, Priest gestured to the door with his chin. “There’s a bedroom a couple of doors down. I already put our bags in there. It’s a guest room with a king and an en suite. We’ll all fit in there.”

Robbie’s heart swelled at the automatic inclusion, which was silly, but he couldn’t help the butterflies he got whenever he thought of himself as belonging with the two of these men. And he did belong with them—after tonight, there was no question in his mind. His body had become theirs that first night back in Chicago. But tonight? Tonight, he’d given his heart away.

As they reached the bedroom and lowered Julien on the mattress, Priest said, “Why don’t you go and shower? Get ready for bed. You must be exhausted.”

He was, but then Robbie looked at Julien, worry causing him to hesitate.

“It’s okay,” Priest said, and touched Robbie’s arm. “I’ve got him. Go and unwind.”

Robbie gave Priest a soft smile, and then headed over to the door he assumed led to the bathroom. When he spotted their bags all lined up side by side, he opened his to grab his toiletry bag and pajama shorts set, and as he did, Priest flicked on the bedroom lamp and then walked over to switch off the main light.

Robbie straightened and watched as Priest went about removing Julien’s shoes and socks and then draped a blanket over him, and when he sat down by the bed and ran a hand through Julien’s hair, Robbie backed away into the bathroom, giving them some privacy.

As he shut the door, Robbie stripped out of his clothes and walked to the massive shower on the far side of the room. It ran alongside a wall of windows, and while there was nothing directly outside opposite the clear panes, it was somewhat disconcerting to be looking outside while standing stark naked in a bathroom.

Robbie soon got over that, though, the shower beckoning to his tense muscles. He grabbed his favorite exfoliating sponge and body wash, walked to the enormous stall, and looked at the fancy faucets and jets on either end of it, and what looked like a computer panel.

He located the power button easily enough, but as soon as he hit it, the controls lit up and freezing-cold water shot out at him from all sides, making him shriek and reach for the red plus button—which he hoped to God was for the hot water.

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