The Layout is a local bar that Gil and Galen favor. It has a nice atmosphere, and always plays a mixture of new and old music. It was the kind of place that was pretty nondescript. A rundown shithole you can pretty much find in any city. The beer always tastes bad, and for some reason or another it always smells like stale ale. But you will never catch any tourists hanging around. And for locals, it is a familiar waterhole. The faded wallpaper and cracked seating makes us feel at home.
Allen, Lisa and Levon -- Lisa's husband -- join us in the festivities, while Samuel and Mina had to respectfully back out. They have yet to tell anyone that Jasmine is missing, and are still sticking close to home in case she calls or shows up.
We make our way to the dance floor, Gil leading the way as I trail behind him. I don't do the dancing thing, but since this is his day I had swallowed my protest and got up anyway. My beer is in one hand, and my other rests on Gil's hip as he moves in front of me. I can smell alcohol and B.O from the bodies pressing close to us, and I resist the urge to elbow people when they get a little too close.
The music is so loud, I can feel it pulsing through the soles of my shoes. Others bump into us as they dance and grind against each other. The lights are turned down and people crowd around tables that line the walls.
When the song finally ends, Gil grabs my hand and pulls me back to the table where our friends are seated, laughing and bickering with one another. Galen passes his brother a shot before passing one to me. I eye the red liquid suspiciously for a moment before wordlessly tossing it back.
Taking a seat on an empty stool, I wrap an arm around Gil's waist as Gil manoeuvres himself between my legs. Levon passes us another round of shots, and holding my glass up, the others pause briefly before drinking their own.
As I look at the faces around me, I can't help but smile slightly. Gil leans over to talk to his brother; Lisa and her husband talk quietly amongst themselves, laughing at a private joke the rest of us will probably never understand; and Allen continues to annoy a red faced Galen, pinching his cheeks and cooing at the man as if he were a baby. Today had started with mourning death, but at the end of the day we were celebrating life.
A part of me wonders if we should have held off our party. If this is disrespectful to Bradley in any way? I can't help but think: shouldn't we all be home reflecting and mourning right now? Everyone mourns in their own way. I'd rather be out drinking and having fun with people I know, than at home drinking away the memories of someone I had lost.
"It's a few days late but . . . Gil, Galen, Happy Birthday." I toss back another shot as the others wish the twins a happy birthday and toss back their own shots.
The shot is bitter and sweet at the same time. One of those speciality drinks that I could never understand. I would have rather taken a shot of something straight than have them mix it with all of that extra shit.
"Happy Birthday, guys." Lisa pipes up, giving Galen a hug and then reaching across the table to give Gil one as well. It seems like the twins had already forgiven her for the part she had played in their interrogation. "This is from Levon, Natalie, and me."
Lisa passes Galen a box, and then passes Gil a similar one. The twins both rip into the boxes.
Inside of Gil's box are new gardening tools. He had been saying he needed to get some new ones, but hadn't got around to replacing his old set yet. His face lights up when he sees the gift and he reaches over to hug Lisa.
"Thank you so much," says Gil, turning around to show me the box. I smile back at him.
My eyes move across the table to Galen to see what he has gotten. Inside of Galen box is a new bookbag, and inside of the bag is a travel kit. Galen is always on the road, flying from one place to another, for work. Or at least he claims it's for work.
Galen's smile is as bright as his brother's as he hugs Lisa. "It's awesome. My old bag was falling apart on me."
"I'm so glad you both like the presents. It was so hard trying to pick something for you." Lisa says, smiling as she takes a sip of her drink. She looks towards Levon who gives her an encouraging smile.
I almost feel sorry for Levon. This isn't his scene. He is the kind of guy that would rather be home alone for a quiet night than in a bar with all of the noise and lights.
Allen reaches inside of his pocket pulling out two envelopes. "I guess it's my turn next."
He passes one to each twin. They take it from him, ripping into the envelope. Inside of Gil's envelope is a gift card to Red Lobster for a hundred dollars.
"Thanks Allen." Gil hugs my best friend as he tucks the gift card away in his back pocket.
"What's yours for?" Lisa asks Galen as he glares down into the envelope.
Galen raises his head, and stares at Allen with the same intensity he had the envelope. "You shouldn't have."
Allen shrugs modestly, pinching Galen's cheek again. "It was nothing, Galen."
"No. You really shouldn't have."
Gil leans towards his brother. "Well, what is it?"
"A certificate for a hundred dollars at Adam and Eve." Galen holds up the envelope and rips it in half. "Don't get me stupid gifts, Pervert!"
I shake my head as Allen laughs. Adam and Eve is a popular online adult toy store. Allen just enjoys harassing Galen. That's the only reason he would get something like that.
Allen's smile is lopsided. "Okay, okay. Here's your real gift."
Allen passes him another gift card to Red Lobster just like Gil's.
"Asshole," says Galen, pocketing the gift card. "You need to find yourself a better hobby."
Lisa and Gil laugh at the exchange between the two of them, but I just shake my head. They both are idiots in my opinion.
"So," Galen draws out the word, making a point to ignore Allen when he makes air kisses at him. He leans on the table so that his face is closer to me. He has to raise his voice just so we can hear each other over the music and the hum of the crowd. "What did you get me?"
I tap my chin for a moment.
"You've been allowed to live to see thirty-four. Isn't that gift enough?" I ask and earn a scoff from both of the twins. I laugh slightly shaking my head.
Galen pouts. "Gil gets an expensive ring and I get air. How is that fair?"
Gil holds up his hand admiring his ring, or maybe just rubbing it in his brother's face that he had gotten something. Galen glowers playfully at him.
"Gil gives great hea--" I am elbowed in the stomach before I can finish that statement.
"I want . . ." Galen pauses to look around the bar before pointing. "Her." He points out a pretty, busty brunette woman who is dancing in a circle of her friends. "Or maybe her. . ." He turns in the opposite direction to point to a blonde girl who is much taller and thicker than the first girl. "Oh but then I wouldn't mind him." He points to a bulky guy that is leaning against the bar talking to a few of his buddies.
"Happy hunting. And may the odds be ever in your favor." I copy the Hunger Games raising three of my fingers in the hair, and whistling the theme tune. Galen only raises one of his back in return.
"Oh!" He suddenly turns back to me a wicked grin on his lips. Galen's eyes are brighter than Gil's. He doesn't have as many freckles as his brother. His hair has been cut to be tapered in the back, but hangs long in the front. It has always been my opinion that Gil is the more attractive brother. Maybe it was because Gil came out softer, more gentle, and Galen was anything but.
"You should have gotten me a stripper." Galen says, his green eyes lock with my blue ones as if daring me to say something against the idea.
"I want a stripper!" Gil yells out. "Strippers! Strippers!"
He sways slightly and I know he is probably reaching his limit when it comes to drinks. He can hold his own, but we've been tossing back shots and rinsing them down for the last three hours that we have been at The Layout.
"You do know I have a gun, right?" I threaten him and he turns around. His hand falls to my crotch.
"You're so sexy when you're all threatening." Gil whispers, a smile on his pink lips. I lean forward pecking his mouth quickly.
"You're both idiots." Allen shakes his head as he takes a sip of his beer. He's one to talk.
Allen had been the first person to know about Gil and I. He's been my friend since we were children so of course I told him first. I had been so. . . unsure, about what I was doing in the beginning. Allen was the person that told me love was love. If I loved a man or a woman it didn't matter. I suppose after he put it that way, it made more sense to me: I loved Gil, that was all that mattered.
He had been with me when I came out to my family. A silent support beam. Plus, when my brothers started to poke and tease Allen always had something to say. He is the kind of guy that went with the flow of things. Tonight, he has quite, and from the distant look on his face, I know that something is wrong. I feel a pang of guilt for being wrapped up in work and not taking a moment to be a good friend to my best friend. I will ask him what is up when I get him alone.
"Do you really want to know what I want, Drix?" Gil asks, his fingers laced together around the back of my next. My hands tighten around his hips. His shirt lifts slightly and I run my fingers along his smooth flesh.
"Tell me, Gil," I say aloud, my voice low as I whisper into his ear. He pulls back slightly. His eyes are glazed over in that drunken way of someone who was intoxicated. "What do you want?"
"You."
His mouth presses against mine before his words even register, and my tongue slips between his lips, tasting beer and hot wings. He runs a hand through my hair, and my fingers grip him tighter in response as I hold him closer.
Gil moans into my mouth and I hear the sound of gagging. When I pulled back I see Galen with his finger in his mouth making the gag sound.
"Oh sorry. I just vomited in my mouth," Galen says, scowling at Gil and I. Allen laughs.
I roll my eyes at the both of them. "Wouldn't be the first time. I imagine you do that looking in the mirror every morning."
"Ignore him, Drix," says Gil, poking his tongue out at his brother. "He's just jealous you didn't give him a gift."
Galen reaches over and slaps Gil in the back of the head, and Gil, huffing in indignation, reaches over the table and slaps him back. I grab Gil's hand knowing that the two of them can get lost in each other, going back and forth poking and hitting one another. Even if it is their twisted way of showing affection.
"We can get out of here if you want," I tell Gil. I am ready to go home. I can think of a better way to spend the rest of our night then in a bar with other people. "I'll give you the next part of your gift." I nip the tip of Gil ear and he moans again.
"Hey, hey, hey, Horndogs! You two can't leave until I say you can," Galen protests. Gil and I roll our eyes at him. "Bullies."
Lisa laughs, merrily. "You three are hilarious."
It wasn't the first time that Lisa had said the three of us were funny tonight. I don't think we were doing anything all that funny. The drinks were probably just going to her head.
I protest. "It's not me. It's them."
The twins were the crazy ones. Somehow, I just always got wrapped up in their nonsense. I guess it is the same way Allen always got wrapped up in mine when we were younger.
Allen chimes in. "You fit in with them."
Reaching over he grabs the other end of the mozzarella stick Galen had just taken a bite of. Allen pulls it away from the redhead's mouth, the cheese stretches almost across the table, before it snapped. Before Galen can protest the stolen food was lost in Allen's mouth.
"Don't start what you can't finish," Galen warns him. Allen's lips twitch but he doesn't say anything as he slowly chews his food.
I shake my head not wanting to know what I just witnessed between the two of them. "Here."
I dig in my pocket taking out a square box from my jacket pocket, and pass it over to Galen. He yanks the top off quickly and looks at the necklace that rests inside of it. Galen is the kind of guy that always wears bracelets, necklaces, and rings. I wouldn't call him flashy, but he puts thought into his appearance.
The necklace I had gotten him is simple. It's a black onyx stone with a silver chain. The redhead smiles down at the gift, takes it from it's box and rubs his finger down the stone.
"Let me help you put it on," I tell him and Gil moves from me so I can walk around the table to Galen. He passes the necklace to me and I wrap it around his neck. Leaning into him so my lips are near his ear. "You know I could strangle you right now and no one would stop me." I teased him.
I suppose to most people looking in, the kind of friendship I have with the twins is odd. We have threatened death or bodily harm on each other since we had met.
"You could. But then I didn't take all of those self defense classes for nothing." Galen teases me back and I laugh as I clasp the hook behind his neck. Moving back from him, I frown when I see what looks like a scar peeking up from the collar of his shirt.
I pull the back of his shirt down exposing more of it. There is an interlocking pattern on his back, that rests between his shoulder blades. It looks deep, but Had scarred over with age. Something that he's had for years, but I've never noticed it before. It looks like a series of knots all tied together in a diamond shape. "Did you hurt yourself?"
Galen yanks away from me before I can study it more. He reaches out his hand trying to touch the spot but falling short. "Don't just touch me," he hisses, and I frown more. This wouldn't be the first time that I had touched him. It is never anything sexual about our touches. Galen is my friend and my boyfriend's brother.
"What's the big deal?" Lisa asks and Galen casts his eyes to the ground.
It's unlike him to look so . . . shy, about something. Or maybe it's shame that I see on his face.
Why have I never noticed his scar before?
As long as I've known Galen I've never seen him without a shirt on. Even when we go swimming he always wears one of those swim shirts. Has he been hiding this?
"It's personal. It's just . . . something from a long time ago," he says still not meeting anyone's eyes.
Gil moves to his brother and wraps his arms around Galen's shoulder. "It's something our parents did so . . . please don't ask about it."
Galen sighs as he looks at Gil. "You don't have to defend me. You don't have to talk about them either."
I don't think I ever heard Galen or Gil mention their parents before. They acted as if they weren't born, they just existed. Normally when I brought up the topic it was always quickly changed.
"If it's a painful memory then it can't be helped." Allen says, taking a sip of his beer. "Sorry to bring it up Galen. Hendrix say sorry."
I look to Allen and then to the twins. Gil is still holding onto his brother. Both of them are looking down towards the floor. Had I made them remember something awful?
It seems like such an elaborate pattern on Galen's flesh. How had he come to get it? What had their parents done to him? Why was it something that they felt the need to hide it from me? It was only on Galen. I've seen every inch of Gil and there is nothing like that on his flesh.
And then, it hits me. There they go again. Hiding things from me. They both are full of shit. Neither one of them is as fragile as they would have the world think. This is their way to deflect. Just like Gil did this morning when I brought up him lying.
What were they hiding so desperately?
Every time they act like this, it just makes me want to pry deeper. For today though, I would let it go. We were here for their birthday. I don't want to stir the pot.
"I'm sorry if I brought up painful memories. I want both of you to enjoy tonight. Gil . . . Galen . . . I'm sorry." I told both of them sincerely.
I can be just as good of a liar. Of course, Gil and Galen know that. My eyes lock with the two green pair across from me. Did they know that I didn't believe it? They never mention their parents. What did having a scar like that have to do with their parents in the first place?
"Good boy." Allen ruffles my hair like I'm some family pet. I slap his hand away.
My eyes shift to Lisa who is taking another drink of the cocktail in front of her. Her eyes are on the twins and I can see her mind ticking. She is an agent just like me. No doubt she's thinking about the interviews as she observes at the twins. Even if they are friends, there is still something about their story that makes you question them.
"Anyway, I love the necklace," says Galen. "Thanks, Dickhead."
I roll my eyes. I get him a gift and still get insulted. Gil only laughs as he comes back around the table to where I have reclaimed my seat. Once again, he settles between my legs and I kiss his neck.
"You're welcome, Assface," I reply.
Lisa shake her head at me. "Honestly I don't know how you guys call each other friends."
I look towards Galen and think about the question for a moment. How did I call him my friend? Maybe, it was because we can insult each other without taking offense to anything the other one says that we became such good friends.
"Who said Special Ed over there was my friend?" Galen asked.
"You two act more like lovers." Allen says, and Galen and I both glare at him. He pretends he doesn't feel it as he takes another sip of his beer without a thought.
"So Hendrix ended up with the wrong twin. Though it's hard to picture Hendrix and Galen together." Lisa puts her two cent into the mix. "I wonder who would kill who first?"
My glare shifts from Allen to Lisa. There is no way that Galen and I act like lovers. The two of them are just trying to have a go at us. Plus Lisa made a fine point. If Galen and I ever gotten together one of us would kill the other in their sleep.
"I'll let you borrow him on the weekends," Gil speaks up and I nip his ear for egging the others on.
"I'd like to think that I can do a lot better than Hendrix." Galen counters and my brows pull together.
"The hell does that mean?" I ask.
"Means I'm out of your league," he says lazily. "You should be happy that Gil is dating you. We're like a ten and you're like a three."
I scoff at his logic. I'm not a vain man but I did well enough in the love department to know that I was considered good looking by most people's standards. There is no way I'm a three.
"Gil, I told you to make sure your brother stays on his meds."
Lisa and Allen laugh but I only shake my head at the lot of them. Still, a smile tugs at my lips while I take a sip of my beer. Everyone seems like they are enjoying themselves. That is what I wanted more than anything. For the twins and everyone else to have fun at this party.
Gil pulls away from me and grab his brother's hand. "Let's dance." He calls out before pulling Galen away from the table. "You too," he takes Lisa's hand and pulls her as well. Levon rose from the table as well following behind his wife. I watch the four of them push into the crowd. Following their hair until they find a place to settle and start dancing.
I smile slightly at the sight.
"You're enjoying yourself," Allen speaks and I look back at him.
"I'm happy he's happy."
It was just that simple.
I was happy that even if this party is a few days late, Gil is still enjoying himself. He had let his hair down and was jumping around and dancing. Lisa and Levon looked uncomfortable as Galen danced with him.
"What's with you?" I ask, my eyes moving over Allen.
He pushes his glasses up on his nose. Gray eyes reflecting a storm that must have been raging inside of him. "My mom is sick. Cancer."
I take a sharp intake of breath. Mrs. Robinson is like a second mother to me. She was also my mother's best friend. I had been so busy I hadn't had time to talk to my mom. She probably thought Allen had already told me.
"I'm sorry, Allen."
He picks up his beer taking a sip again. "I'm moving back to New York. I already found a job there and I'm going to stay at mom's house. I have to . . . I have to be there for her."
I frown looking at my friend.
"You've known about this for long enough to find a job but I'm just hearing about it." I didn't hide the annoyance in my voice.
"I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't want to think you were obligated to do the same." Allen sighs, pushing his fingers through his hair.
"You're my best friend, Allen. I've never felt obligated to do anything for you. Maybe to laugh when you trick but I wouldn't really call that an obligation. More of one of the perks of being a friend."
"Asshole, I'm trying to have a serious moment here." Allen shakes his head again. "When I moved to Las Vegas I asked you to come with me Hendrix. It was really scary being in a big new place by myself."
I pick up my own bottle and take a drink. "I can't uproot my life, Allen. I'm not a kid fresh out the academy anymore. It wouldn't be fair to ask Gil to move to New York. Plus . . . my case."
Allen shake his head. "I'm not asking you to move. I still have a few months before I leave anyway. I have to sell my house. Turn over my patients. A lot of other things. I just . . . you know. Going to miss you and all."
"I'll miss you too."
We both glance over at each other for a moment and then turn away.
"This conversation never happened," Allen says, and I laugh slightly. Saying that you are going to miss your friend wasn't very . . . manly.
"What conversation?" I ask and he taps his beer to mine before we both drain the ends.
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