Henry's End (14 page)

“No, but I’m happy to help.”

“Well, thanks.” The man looked puzzled. “Run? I usually hit the SkyTrack next.”

“Sure.” Henry felt immediate relief at Quinn’s suggestion. He didn’t want to say goodbye just yet, but hadn’t figured out how to make the situation continue.
Damn, I’m rusty,
he thought.

Getting into the elevator up to the SkyTrack, Henry could feel the energy, or so he thought, immediately deciding it was all in his head, though he didn’t want it to be. Quinn was the first person he’d been attracted to in months.
And how could he not be,
thought Henry, the man was just beautiful with that black hair and pale baby-blue eyes.

The elevator door opened and they were at the top of the structure, the noise from the conversations on the facility’s main floor below them just a mere din. Quinn gestured to Henry to step out of the car in front of him. They walked to the railing of the SkyTrack and began stretching side-by-side.

“So where do you guys work?” Henry wondered about the hot trio, half expecting Quinn to answer Chippendale’s.

As he pressed off the railing stretching his hamstring, Quinn glanced at Henry, his pale blue eyes doing a quick assessment of the information’s recipient.

“We’re PD,” was all he said.

“You guys are cops?” Henry’s look of astonishment could not be hidden.

With a slight nod of his head and a smile, Quinn was off, his first lap on the track underway.

Cops. Hot cops. Hot gay cops. Damn you, Schooner Moore. You’re just going to drag me back into this world by whatever means you see fit.

Thank you
.

It didn’t elude Henry as he began to run, trailing Quinn by thirty feet that he was chasing a hot cop’s ass. When he realized that, the thought made him smile, and his smile grew even brighter as he quickened his pace to close the gap between them.

Without breaking stride, Quinn turned around, his pale blue eyes crinkling from his smile as Henry caught up. Checking out Henry’s long legs, “You were made to run,” he observed.

Henry loved the man’s attention to the details of his body. It was a little scary, but he wanted Quinn to notice him. “Schooner and I actually ran track together in college.”

“Is that how you met? On the track team?

Henry smiled at the memory, “No, we were friends long before that and we used to run together every night. Finally, we decided to try out for the team.”

“I wouldn’t have taken Schooner for a runner.”

“He wasn’t. He was a tennis player, but had to give it up after an injury. That’s when we started running.”

“Is that what you usually come here for? The track and treadmills?” his breath was not even taxed as he spoke.

“No, not usually.” Henry smiled, wondering what the cop would think of his admission. “I do work with the Yoga instructor here.”

“Yoga.” He took it in stride. “I don’t know much about it, but it’s a great body and mind tool, right?”

“Very good for that.”

“I should try it sometime.” Again, that gorgeous white-toothed smile. “But I totally get that. My mind/body thing is cycling.”

Henry smiled, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Quinn confirmed as they finished their second lap on the SkyTrack and began the third. “You too?”

“I haven’t ridden in a few months, but cycling is definitely my thing.”

“Well, you need to get your ass back in shape,” he paused and looked down at Henry’s ass with a smile, “and ride with me on the Long Beach/San Diego AIDS Ride.”

“Wow. I’d forgotten about the AIDS Ride.”
I’ve been so focused on me, the world has just passed me by.
“I could probably get the Fold and Fluff I volunteer at to sponsor me.”

“It’s so much better when you have someone to do it with.” Quinn was looking straight ahead as he ran.

“Are you serious about doing it together?” Henry was intrigued by this guy, and the thought of wanting to see him again was something he thought he’d never feel with anyone and certainly not this soon. He needed to talk to Schooner. See how much he knew about this guy. Psycho cop after psycho Marine would be the end of him.

“Yeah, I’ve done it alone the past two years. Those two pussies downstairs don’t even own bicycles, so it would be great to have a friend to train with and then do the event together.”

“I’m really out of shape,” Henry confessed.

Once again the pale blue eyes took a walk all over him, “I beg to differ.”

Henry suddenly needed water for his dry mouth.

“So tell me about these guys.” Henry sat down across the big desk from Schooner and asked without preamble.

Sitting back in his black leather chair, Schooner crossed his muscular arms across his chest and smiled.

“Get that shit-eating grin off your face, Moore, and tell me about these guys.”

“Well, they’re cops.” Schooner’s grin continued to expand.

“Yes, I know that.”

“And you like cops.”

“You’re a dog.” Henry narrowed his violet-blue eyes.

And both men broke into laughter.

Finally, “No, seriously. I’m afraid of psychos. You can understand that.”

“Cops protect people, H.”

“Marines protect a whole country, Schooner.”

“You have a point there.”

“Yeah, and if any of these guys are psycho cops, I want to stay as far away as possible. How long have you known them? How’d you know they were gay?”

“So you and Quinn seemed to hit it off,” Schooner noted, shaking his head with a self-satisfied look.

“Answer my questions.”

“I’ve known the three of them for a while. I knew Derek first, when he was on the force in Laguna Niguel. He started working out at the L9 facility there about four years ago. It was probably a couple of months later, that I met Willie. After they moved down to this area, they still drove up on weekends to use that facility.”

“What about Quinn?” Henry needed to know more about the Irishman with the black hair and pale baby-blue eyes.

Schooner smiled. “I first met Quinn,” he thought for a second, “I’d say about a year ago. Maybe a little longer.”

“And how do you know they are not psychos?” Henry was dead serious.

“I guess you never really know, but these are guys that are active in the community, have good reputations, are respected by colleagues, they do sports camps and stuff. If there were any red flags at all, H, I never would’ve introduced you.” Schooner paused, “Besides I’ve had some really great conversations with Quinn about what he wants in life and what his goals are, and I think they are similar to what you want.” Pausing for effect, “And you like cops.”

“What did he tell you?”
Come on, Schooner, spill. You’ve woken the beast. Now feed it.

“He wants a loving relationship with a partner, living openly as gay men. Which for a cop, takes a lot of guts. Something this guy is not short on, unlike Psycho Marine. And he’d even like a family someday. He’s one of the good guys. I know it in my gut, H.”

Henry sat back in his chair and took a deep breath.

“So you liked him?” Schooner seemed proud of himself as a matchmaker.

“I may be damaged, Moore, but I’m not dead. The guy is gorgeous. And seems really nice. I think we have stuff in common. I don’t know that he’s into me though.”

“He seemed pretty into you to me. But hey, what do I know? I’m just the straight guy here.” He laughed.

“You really thought he was into me?” Henry needed the reassurance.

“Well, how did he leave it?”

“We’re going to meet back here on Wednesday, and we’re going to ride together in the Long Beach/San Diego AIDS Ride.”

“I didn’t know you were doing that.”

“Neither did I,” Henry smiled.

Schooner just shook his head, his All-American boy smile beaming, “So, let me see if I’ve got this straight. No pun intended. He made short-term plans with you. He’s meeting you here on Wednesday and he made long-term plans with you. You guys are riding in a charity event together.”

Henry nodded, “Yeah and we’re going to do some training together since I haven’t ridden in over six months.”

“He’s seeing you this week, he’s made long-term plans to keep you in his life and figured out a way to be part of your life between now and then. Yeah, H, I’d say he likes you. Damn he’s good, that was a pretty swift move on his part. I like it.” Schooner seemed impressed.

Henry just looked at his old friend, feeling hopeful beyond belief. He wanted to get to know this guy, he was excited to get to know this guy. Never did he think that he’d get to this point again, to be trusting enough to open the door even a crack. And Quinn had made it so easy to do. There was none of that crazy testosterone filled danger surrounding the guy, even though he could be brandishing a weapon at any time.

Henry smiled at Schooner. Just as he had done for his emotionally flailing friend years ago, this time Schooner took the reins, steering Henry back onto the right path, but making him do the hard work to free himself from the darkness.

And as Schooner had promised him, once again, the two friends had run through it.

It was the third weekend
that Henry and Quinn had loaded mountain bikes onto the back of Quinn’s jeep and driven west to Mission Trails Regional Park to train in the Fortuna Mountains. The first week they stayed on the eastern half of the park with its rolling grasslands and easy trails, working on building stamina for distance to complete the 100 plus mile charity event. The following Saturday they met again, tackling a combination of the eastern and rugged western halves of the park.

Today they had decided to take on more challenging trails and as they struggled up a brutal climb known at The Alley, Quinn turned back to a trailing Henry, flashing his beautiful white smile and yelled, “You ride like a pussy.”

“A pussy?” Henry screamed back with a smile. “Fuck you.”

“You should get so lucky,” Quinn was nearly out of breath as they reached the Fortuna saddle, giving them a quick reprieve as they rode through the notch between the North and South Fortuna Mountains. Turning right, they began their ascent up the trail to North Fortuna’s summit.

“You ride behind me because you like to watch my ass,” Quinn yelled back, having regained his breath.

“Damn right I do, you’ve got a great ass.” Henry was smiling as he struggled up the trail, the burn in his thighs almost overwhelming.
I’m flirting.
The thought took him by surprise.

“So do you,” Quinn called back.

Reaching the summit, they stood there alongside their bikes, silently taking in the spectacular view to the west. Quinn had been right, Henry thought. It was nice to have someone to do this with, share both the experience and the rigors of training. Cycling had become a lone endeavor for him for so many years that he thought it might be hard to share the experience with someone else. But standing alongside Quinn Callahan on a mountaintop, with the bright sun making his impossibly blue eyes appear even bluer, Henry felt a sense of peace and happiness he’d never shared with another person before.

Bumping Quinn’s shoulder, “A pussy, huh?”

Quinn laughed, “That got your thighs pumping those pedals.”

“Pussy,” Henry grumbled and quickly got on his bike, speeding out ahead of Quinn. “Let’s see who’s the pussy now,” he called the taunt over his shoulder.