The Outing with Rob and Olly

Rob and Olly stepped outside the store, and Olly turned his eyes skyward. The dark clouds had begun gathering, and the scent of ozone was in the air.

“I love this kind of weather.”

Rob scowled. “It’s typical English weather. Gray with a high probability of rain. What’s to love about it?”

He rolled one shoulder in an elegant shrug. “You like flowers. What would you do without the rain? It’s almost like magic, the way it makes things grow.”

As they approached Rob’s truck, he snarled. “Bastard! He’s got me blocked in.”

A huge SUV sat there, jet black with spinning metallic wheel covers, a huge flatbed, and a cab that probably needed a ladder for anyone to get in.

“So what do we do?”

Rob struggled with the angles, but eventually was able to put the bags in the boot. He slammed it hard. “We wait, I guess.” He glanced at the number of businesses in the vicinity which were still open. ‘There’s no telling where this arsehole is.”

They sat in the truck, Rob doing his best to keep a lid on his bubbling temper. Olly was on his phone, smiling and chuckling to himself. That was fine by Rob. He wasn’t in the mood for conversation.

It was nearly ninety minutes before a man finally approached the vehicle. He whistled as he got near the SUV, a fob in his hand. When the alarm beeped, Rob knew this was the jerk they’d been waiting for.

Rob clenched his fists, ground his teeth, and got out of the truck. “Oi! Where the fuck did you learn to park?” he snapped.

Olly jerked his head up, and was out of the truck in a heartbeat, joining Rob on the pavement.

Fuck, this guy is big. A lot bigger than Rob or Olly. Maybe even bigger than Vic, but not nearly as hot or sexy. He was probably in his late thirties or maybe early forties, with a bad combover and beady little eyes that were flat and dead. Okay, Rob knew he wasn’t judging the guy fairly, but his annoyance was colouring his perspective. He reached for his centre and brought up the image of Vic.  The two of them watching a DVD, Vic’s reactions to it. The image helped to calm him a little.

But not nearly enough.

The jerk pursed his lips and kept approaching the SUV, ignoring Rob completely. Rob took a step toward him, but Olly reached out and put a hand on his arm to stop him. Olly squared his shoulders.

“My mate asked you a question.”

The man rolled his eyes. “Fuck off, I wasn’t in there that long.”

“We’ve been here almost two hours waiting.”

“Well, excuse me.”

The way he said it left no doubt he wasn’t serious. Olly glared at him, then smirked at Rob before folding his arms and giving the man a bright smile.

“So tell me the truth. Just how tiny is your dick?”

The guy’s gaze snapped to Olly, his pudgy face scarlet. “What the hell did you just say?”

Olly shrugged. “Well, I’ve often heard that people buy big vehicles to compensate for their… shall we say, shortcomings in other areas. So the way I see it, your tiny dick is what made you buy this behemoth. I mean, as big as the car is, I’m guessing you must have a micro-dick, right?” He held up a hand and waggled his little finger. “It’s okay. We’re not going to mock you. Much.”

“Olly, play nice and don’t antagonize the big man,” Rob whispered urgently. Vic would be pissed if Rob got nicked by the coppers. “Just let him get in his car and go.”

Olly ‘s arms tightened around his not-too-impressive chest. “I will‒after he apologizes.”

“Like fuck I will,” the man growled.

Olly stepped forward. “Then I think we have a problem. My friend was supposed to be home an hour ago. When he called to say he was going to be late, his boyfriend was very understanding, but that’s not the point. You caused both of us to be late, and that might earn me a punishment. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, because Joe gives the best punishments that usually end up with me on my hands and knees.” He gave a slight shiver. “Regardless, you’re going to apologize for your careless behaviour. If you had simply learned to park, this never would have been an issue.”

The man slammed his hands into Olly’s chest, causing him to stumble back. Amazingly he didn’t fall. “Fuck off, you poofs.”

Anger surged through Rob, the calming image at his centre obliterated by this man who dared to lay a hand on Olly. “You know, I said that to my boyfriend once. Called him a poof in front of his mates. Did you know, he still had enough decency to give me an out. I’m going to return the favour. Like my friend says, apologize.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “Or what?”

Olly moved closer again, reached into his pocket, and grabbed a set of keys. He held them up menacingly between his fingers. “Do you know what these can do to that nice, shiny paint job? Or we could lob a stone through your window. See, we could have done all that before you got back here, but we’re decent guys.”

The guy paled slightly.

“I’m going to give you one more chance to tell him you’re sorry, and if you don’t, I’m going to walk right up to your shiny SUV and carve a big dick right on the driver’s door.”

Olly slipped the keys between his fingers and slashed at the air.

“Fine. I’m sorry, all right?” the man shouted. “Jesus fucking Christ, I’m so fucking sorry you were inconvenienced for a short time. Now run off to your boyfriends and do whatever the fuck it is you queers do with each other.”

Olly shook his head. “I don’t know. Rob, does he sound sorry to you?”

Rob grinned. “No, I don’t believe he does. I mean, he called us poofs and then he had the nerve to disrespect Vic and Joe. That wasn’t right either.” He nodded at the truck as he pulled out his keys. “Let’s just go ahead and key it.”

The man’s eyes grew comically wide. “What? No! Don’t touch my truck! Do you know how much that thing cost me? “

Olly shrugged. “What will you give us to make our hurt feelings go away?”

He fumbled in his pocket and brought out his wallet. He opened it and grabbed some notes, then threw them at Olly.

“This is all the money I have. Take it.”

Olly sighed, then bent over and picked up the money. He straightened it, then handed it back to the guy.

“We’re not taking your money, and we wouldn’t key your car. We aren’t rude and if we’d done what youdid, we’d be apologizing without hesitation. That’s the only thing you needed to do, but you couldn’t even muster up the decency to do that. Take your money, your teeny tiny dick, and leave.”

The man snatched the money from Olly’s hand, then rushed for the door, climbed in, and sped off.

Rob doubled over, laughing so hard his sides hurt. “Oh my God. That was awesome.”

Olly nearly collapsed from laughing. He and Rob clutched each other and stood in the street, howling like idiots.

Then Rob sobered and stepped back.

“What’s wrong?”

He drew in a breath. “I need to call Vic. I… shit. I was doing so well with my anger, but that guy pulled it out of me. I let him do it. I should have done what Vic said and worked my way through it. He’s going to be so disappointed in me.”

“You don’t have to tell him, if it’s going to be a problem.” Rob stared at Olly, his eyebrows raised, and Olly chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right. He’ll know.”

Rob slipped a hand into his pocket, grabbed his phone, and tapped Vic’s contact. He might as well get it over with. It would be harder to see Vic’s face crumple when Rob told him how he’d failed. He hated to let Vic know how badly he’d backslid.

“You on your way home?” Vic asked when he answered.

“Vic?” Rob’s throat tightened up. Olly was beside him in a moment, rubbing slow circles over his back.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Shame welled up in Rob and he gulped air. “I’m sorry….”

“Rob, you’re scaring me. What’s going on? Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Then talk to me, sweetheart. Do you need me to be your husband or your Dom at the moment?”

“Both?” Rob asked, his heart hurting now. “I’m so sorry, Vic.”

“Were you in an accident?” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Please, baby. Talk to me.”

The fear in Vic’s voice sobered Rob even more. “No, no. Olly and I are both okay. No accident, I promise. We had an… altercation with a man who boxed us in.”

“You’re all right, though?”

“Yeah, we’re both fine. He shoved Olly, but that was it.”

“Did you hurt him?” Vic asked. “If you did, it’s justifiable.”

Rob sniffled. “No, I didn’t hurt him. I wanted to, Vic. I wanted to put my fist in his face when he had his hands on Olly. I got so angry.”

“Okay, you’ve acknowledged the anger. What’s the problem here?”

“I couldn’t let it go!” Rob shouted. “All those lessons you taught me, and I couldn’t let it go.”

“Listen to me, Elsa. Sometimes we can’t just let it go. It’s a lovely sentiment, but we’re human beings, and we aren’t built that way. Remember, I told you even I have those days.” His voice softened again. “Do we need to go to the club tonight?”

The sensory deprivation tank sounded good. No, better than good. A chance to let all the minor and major annoyances of the past few weeks seep out of Rob’s brain, leaving him vulnerable and Vic there to pull all the pieces together.

“Is that okay?”

“I might not give you everything you want, but I will always give you what you need. I’ll call and reserve it.” Vic cleared his throat. “Are you okay to drive home? Do you want me to come and pick you and Olly up?”

What did Rob do in his life to deserve Vic? He’d been a shit person growing up, but Alex forgave him and now they were more than brothers. They were friends too. Things with his parents were looking up. Therapy seemed to be doing wonders for his mum, and when they’d gone out to dinner recently, she’d taken his father’s hand in hers and held it for a while. Then, after the night was over, she’d hugged Vic, Leo, Alex, and Rob—though he wouldn’t deny she seemed to have to gird herself for the contact. Still, she’d done it.

“Stop, Rob. Right now,” Vic demanded.

Rob startled. “What?”

“You think I don’t know you? Do you honestly believe I can’t tell what’s going through your mind right now? You are not that Rob anymore. You’ve changed. You’ve become a version of yourself that you love more and I’m crazy about. You have friends. Family. Were there missteps along the way? Yeah, sure. We all have those, but we can’t let them define us. Now, do you want me to come get you? We can leave the car parked and pick it up later.”

Whatever it was Rob had done to deserve a man like Vic, he’d always be so fucking grateful for it. And for Vic. He glanced at Olly, who stood next to him, still rubbing Rob’s back as he nibbled his pink lips. Joe was a lucky man. Olly might be a little flighty, but there were few people Rob knew who were truer friends.

“No, I’m okay to drive home. Thank you for listening to me.”

“I’ll always listen, you doof.” He paused for a moment. “Can I tell you something? It might change how you look at me a little.”

That wasn’t possible. “Sure, of course.”

A deep breath. “If I’d been there and he’d touched you? I would have taken him apart. You don’t touch what belongs to another man. I wouldn’t even have cared. See? We’re not always in control of the situation and how we react to it. You wanted to protect Olly and yourself. There is never anything wrong with that. It might not be very Zen, but sometimes we have to step up for what we believe in. Do you understand me?”

And Rob did. He finally got it. Sure, he could control his reactions to many things, but when someone hurt a friend or tried to hurt Rob? Then the gloves had to come off.

“So if I had hit him it would have been okay?”

“I can’t answer that until I hear the full story, but I trust you to make those decisions because you’re there and I’m not. I won’t say I like it, but yeah, if you thought it best, then I’d side with you. Every fucking time.”

Warmth filled Rob. “Thanks, Vic. I’ll be home after I drop Olly off.”

“We’ll have a bit of time if Olly wants to stop in for some cocoa. I’ll call Joe and he can pick him up at ours and then take him home, or he can come to the club with us. At least if that’s okay with–“

“Tell him yes!” Olly cried. When Rob turned, Olly shrugged. “I heard hot chocolate.”

Vic laughed. “No wonder the two of you get on so well. Okay. I’ll call Joe and then the club.” He made a kissy noise. “Be safe.”

The call ended and Rob put his phone back into his pocket. He turned to Olly, whose gaze seemed wary. Rob hastened to reassure him.

“I’m okay. Just needed to hear Vic’s voice. Sorry about that.”

“Psh. Nothing to it. I heard your side of the conversation, and I have to say, you handled it way better than I would have. I’m more an ‘act first and worry about the consequences later’ kinda guy.” Olly laced their fingers together, then leaned in and brushed a kiss over Rob’s cheek.

“What’s that for?” Rob asked, a bit shocked at the display of affection.

“When we met, I never thought we’d become such good mates. You, my good sir, are part of my chosen family along with Aiden and Heath and everyone else.”

“Oh? What did I do to earn that?”

“Idiot,” Olly muttered. “You’re an incredible guy, and if you need to be reminded of that from time to time, I don’t mind being the one to do it.”

Rob had never really been the touchy-feely kind of person. Something ingrained in him since childhood. Now, though? He wrapped Olly in his arms and squeezed him tight.

“Same.” A shiver coursed through Olly.

Of course he was shivering. It was bloody cold, especially after the adrenaline wore off.

“Get in. Let’s go home.” They both climbed into Rob’s Ford when something Vic said came to mind. “Can I ask you a question?”

Olly put a hand on Rob’s arm, the warmth seeping into him again. “Anything you want.”

“Would you say you’ve had missteps getting to where you are now?” Then he realized how stupid it sounded. “Never mind.”

Olly grinned and slumped down, sinking into the seat. “Missteps? Let me tell you about how I met Joe, and I’ll let you decide. So back then everyone knew me as Angel….”

 

Have you met Olly and friends by LM Somerton? If not, check them out!

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