Chapter I
19 June 2015
Dave,
Its been a while since I last heard from you. I hope that life in Toronto is doing well. While the family was not overly impressed that you did not come back home for the summer, I hope that this job you have working for an investment banker is going well for you. I am still bragging about how my son managed to jump from a career ending hockey injury to working as an investment banker. I do hope that you are enjoying this job and do try to phone more often.
Dad
-x-x-x-x-
Dave,
Remember dinner plans tonight at Churchmouse and Firkin! Need your input on possible bf. Oh and for the love of God BRING A FUCKING DATE if at all possible, or I'm setting you up with the homely fellow…you know the one that does really bad drag on the side!
Ryan
-x-x-x-x-
"So still living the double life there Dave?" came the question whispered silently near his ear, Dave jumped slightly out of his chair and whirled around glaring at the speaker.
"Really, Dave you have to stop moaning every time you get a message in from your friend or lover, everyone in the office can hear your sighing and muttering," the speaker continued.
"Really Santana, mind not reading my emails over my shoulder," he growled back annoyed at the Latina's abilities to get under his skin. "Now if you do not mind I have to get started on prepping a file for Greg."
Santana shrugged, tugged on her skirt and walked over to her desk and sat down tapping away on the keyboard slowly cooling the hot mug of coffee that rested by the mouse. Dave, looked up and noticed that she had brought the mug near her mouth, slowly blowing her breath over the steam. She sipped the hot brown liquid making sure to blow over each sip before letting it touch her red lips.
His and Santana's shared office was located in the heart of metropolitan Toronto, near the bastion of Canadian financial markets on Bay Street. While the window on their tenth floor office didn't give them much of a view outside of the other tenth floor offices around them, they counted their lucky stars that they had managed to do a lot better for themselves then most classmates from either William McKinley High or even the University of Toronto. Both of their positions at Bay Investments, while not overly solidified, were stable; Dave helped with clients files and made a little on the side through his investments. Santana was the highly capable office assistant that managed to juggle work and her private life quite well.
It had been a surprise to each other when Dave was announced to the office that he was a new acquisition and Greg pointed out that both her and Dave had come from Lima, Ohio. Santana had pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes when Dave's look caught hers. Confused at what she was trying to get across, Dave giggled and let lose his infamous nervous tick tongue movements.
But that had been almost three months prior, and Dave and Santana had managed to develop something of a plausible working relationship despite the incident at prom over four years prior. Something that both of them refused to talk about.
By lunch Dave, was beginning to panic about the email from Bryan. Bring a date, he thought to himself, great and where do I find one. He stood up and scanned around the cubicle farm that was the office and saw nothing that he would be willing to take with him to dinner that night. Panic and sweat began to develop when his computer chimed announcing that he had mail. Sitting back down he opened the email and noticed it was Santana. Quickly scanning the email that asked if he wanted to take her out tonight because she had nothing better to do, he typed back an affirmative yes reply to her and wiped the sweat of his brow.
Calming down he wasn't overly surprised to see Santana come over to him and sit on the side of the desk that was built into his cubicle.
"So what time is this thing tonight?" she asked looking at her nails.
"Remind me why you want to come along?" came back the loaded question from Dave's mouth.
" I was wondering why you didn't ask and all you gave me was a very quick yes. Made me laugh…reminded me of how easily it was for Puckerman's clothes to come off when I wanted sex," she purred and finished looking at her nails. Laying a hand on Dave's shoulder she leaned in and quietly rattled off, "look I owe you one for what happened back in high school and after the shit that was caused at Prom, honestly I felt for you. No one has the right to out anyone Dave."
He looked at her as she noticed a slight twinge of pain cross his face. "Thanks for the thought," he replied, "and the dinner should be around seven tonight. Do you just want to come back to my place and go from there?"
"Well its Friday, so sure but you buy the first round of drinks tonight," she smiled and quickly patted Dave's shoulder and walked off.
Dave sat there looking at the screen in front of him and began to look through it, thinkings back to what was supposed to be the best night of high school, which instead had become a nightmare. Damn Hummel, damn that annoying faggot, he thought to himself. He had to go and get drunk and profess very loudly at the dinner that he and Dave had kissed and that Dave was infatuated with him. Dave's father was mortified, Dave was in shock and the rest of the graduating class sat in stunned silence. Dave still had nightmares about the shit kicking that he had taken afterwards from all of the jocks while everyone pointed and laughed. It was all his father could do to get him enrolled at the UofT and as far away from Lima. As to Kurt, Dave had confronted him one last time on the steps of house and told him it would be a cold day in Hell before he ever spoke to him again. All of the nice things and the help that he had given to Dave was forgotten about. Kurt had broken his trust and the pain in his heart would never be healed.
By three thirty the office was shutting down and Santana was cleaning up her desk for the weekend when Dave stopped by. Casually chatting about the nice weather she grabbed her purse and quickly looked at herself in her compact. Slipping her arm into his arm they walked to the elevator and waited for the car to arrive. Stepping onto the car, Dave hit the button for the lobby and noticed that the speaker was playing Pop Goes the World by Men Without Hats. Humming softly to himself he saw that Santana was mouthing the words. Catching each other in the act they laughed and giggled, belting out pop goes the world overtime they heard it.
"Thanks for the smile Dave," Santana giggled out, "you really are a nice guy…to bad your gay"
"I'm sorry I didn't hear that last part there," Dave lied and blushed in the face.
"Oh nothing," she replied and quickly changed the subject to what plans either of them had for the weekend. Dave stated that he was headed off to the Beaches to do some biking to keep in shape. Santana nodded and drifted off onto some conversation about hitting up the Eaton's centre. Walking the block up to the Toronto City Hall they caught the streetcar to Cabbage Town and Dave's apartment there. By the time they had reached the top floor of the three story building, Dave's guest was complaining of being thirsty. Rolling his eyes he reached into his pants and pulled out his keys and opened the door. Santana walked in and was impressed with what she saw.
Dave had taken the small two bedroom place and made it into an almost replica of an Ikea showroom. Dropping his bag in the closet he kicked off his shoes and headed left towards the kitchen. Santana took the opportunity to check out bookshelves on the wall in front of her. Nothing really out of the ordinary, she saw, although Dave seemed to have an unhealthy amount of Dragonlance Saga and MMA books. He called out if she wanted a glass of wine, to which she replied yes and turned around to sit on the love seat that was front and centre in the room. Coming over with the bottle and two glasses, he placed them down on glassed top coffee table in front of the seat. Falling into the cushions, he poured a half glass each of pinot grigio, and mumbled something about VQA and from the Niagara region. Santana sipped the wine letting it play around her mouth before swallowing it. Dave followed her lead and placed the glass down on the table.
"I've been meaning to ask," he began, "you don't still talk to anyone back in Lima? Outside of family?"
Sipping the wine again, she stated "Well after Kurt fucked everything up not really. I mean I still get emails from Brit every now and then…she and Artie are still doing good…got married last year, but I didn't go to the wedding."
"How come?"
She stopped and looked at the wine, then Dave, then back to the wine. "I guess," she muttered more to herself, "because I didn't want to go alone and it wasn't right to spoil her happiness"
Dave looked at her and put his hand on hers.
"Life sucks and I'm sorry about you and Kevin," he responded, "It must have been really hard to stay after he left you."
Brushing his hand aside, she stood up and downed the glass of wine, striking her diva pose.
"Well, I bounced back and I refuse to look back," she stated, "besides my pride would have never allowed me to crawl back to Lima. Last thing I needed was the Queen Bitch Quinn to look down her nose at me. But we should get running there Dave, we don't want to miss dinner."
Smiling he grabbed the glasses and re-corked the bottle and placed them in the kitchen. When he returned she had got her pumps back on and was ready for the night on the town.
Deciding to walk from the apartment in Cabbage Town to the Gaybourhood, Dave half listened to Santana talk about this and that. His mind was more focused on how the dinner would hopefully go. Ryan was an old friend from university that had managed to call Dave on his closeted attitude but had showed him that not all gay guys were stereotypical fags. They had gone on a couple of dates to football games (with Ryan having to explain the differences between the NFL and CFL rules) and hockey games (Ryan was a die hard Leafs fan), but it had never gotten farther then just a kiss on the cheek and a bear hug. Something about a drunken conversation about how Dave was still not over Kurt and wanted him to forgive him. Just as they were rounding the corner at Church, Dave swore that he saw someone from his past drive by.
"That cannot be," he stammered which brought Santana's conversation to an end and she looked at him.
"Be who? Or are you just eyeing some guy," she pouted.
"I just thought…no it couldn't have been…prob just my mind playing tricks on me," his response made her look at him like he was sun addled, but shrugging her shoulders she grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him across the intersection before he could get himself run over. Pride was about a week away but it seemed that everyone was ready to start celebrating the High Holy Homo Holidays early. As they strolled up Church Street, Santana continued to chatter on about heading out for drinks afterwards while Dave kept looking around like a caged animal. Getting to the Churchmouse, she stopped him walking and spun him around really quickly and looked at him in the eye.
"Be yourself and lets have fun, its been way to long since I have had a chance to go out and let loose a little," she cooed, brushing off something on his chest. Throwing her arm through his, she perked up and stated that they should smile when they walked into the pub. Realizing that she was right, Dave smiled and grabbed the door for her. And then the nightmare began for them again. It was the beginning of that horrible prom night. There sitting at the booth with next to Ryan was Dave's object of desire and hatred. There sat quietly chatting to basically his private school counterpart sat the one man that Dave had been running away from since high school.
"Oh for the love of God," Santana hissed, "you got to be shitting me…"
Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson sitting together in the booth next to Ryan and his date. Kurt and Blaine, the damn bastards that confronted him on the stairs at school; Kurt and Blaine who tried to help Dave to balance himself and be okay with himself. Kurt and Blaine who got hammered at Prom and screamed out that Dave was queer like them. They hadn't changed one bit.
"Fucking hell," she began, crossing her arms, "Kurt and that queer bait boyfriend of his."
"Yah," Dave sighed, "I know, lets not keep Ryan waiting."