Chapter 3

Adam jolted awake when his brain registered the incessant buzzing of his phone. Looking around he remembered that he wasn't at home and was in fact in a hotel room, apparently alone, where the night before he had participated and possibly initiated his first gay experience.

'Oh god.. what if Rachel finds out?' his mind screamed as he grabbed at the still buzzing phone to shut off the alarm he didn't remember setting. In fact.. how did he get tucked into bed? Adam groaned and tried to sit up but the world was still spinning. He threw his arms over his face to block out the light filtering through the curtains.

After a few moments to collect himself, Adam stood and found his pants and sweater neatly folded on the bathroom counter. He did his best to tame his hair down and rise the taste of alcohol out of his mouth before getting dressed. As he moved around he'd catch a hint of Tommy's scent, deep and heavy just like this voice, on his body and it made him shiver. He'd only admit it to himself but that single act was probably the most intense experience he had ever had. And now this was the most intense hangover he'd ever had. His brain felt too big for his skull.

Adam left the hotel as quietly as possible and caught the first bus in the direction of his home. He swayed in the seat hoping that the rolling of his stomach wouldn't develop into him vomiting on public transport.

It took 45 minutes to get close enough to walk and as he got closer dread coiled in his stomach. On the ride over he had called and taken a personal day from work and dropped Kyle a text telling him that he wasn't feeling well and that he'd call later. Now he had to hope that he wouldn't walk into a house with a panicked girlfriend waiting to scream at him. This hangover was bad enough without the screaming.

He was surprised when he opened the door to find his house empty. He called out for Rachel to make sure she wasn't there but there was no reply.

'She must have slept at her place.' he thought as he dropped his bag on the couch and made his way to his room where he stripped to take a shower.

He stopped dead when he noticed the large bruise on the tender flesh between his shoulder and neck. He silently prodded the sore area and the memory of Tommy sinking his teeth into him rushed back. His blood rushed south so quickly his knees felt weak.

What's wrong with him? He likes girls. He has a fucking girlfriend! Granted they hadn't had sex in more than a month but he has a girlfriend. One that he enjoyed having sex with..when it happened. One that he would now have to hide proof of his own infidelity from for the next week at least. There was no way he was going to be able to explain that type of mark away.

He adamantly ignored his half hard penis and showered washing the night before off his body. He was a little surprised to find out that Tommy had apparently cleaned him up before putting him to bed seeing as there wasn't any dried come flaking off of him. Leave it to him to have a one night stand with a gentleman he initially thought was a thug.

'Way to set the bar.' he thought letting the heat of the shower ease the pounding in his head. After his shower and digging in the fridge for anything greasy and comforting, he pulled on his Pjs and slid into bed to sleep off the rest of his hang over, swearing that he'd never touch alcohol again.

"Oh Adam I..." The look on Rachel's face.. he would never forget that. She looked scared shitless and trapped. He tried to give her a way out. Why wouldn't she take it? Why is she staying? He's strong enough to do this on his own if he needs to.

Adam pretended he didn't wake up when Rachel got out of bed and didn't come back that night.

"I'm going to throw up." Kyle really did look green in the face. Adam had tried to calm him down and conveniently left out what had happened to him the night before. They got coffee and went on about their day. Adam pretended that he wasn't annoyed by all he condolences and special treatment he received. Most of these people had ignored him the day before. What makes him so special today? Several times that day he pulled out the card for the therapist the doctor had recommended.

"I'm moving in." Adam stared at his panicked mother and did the best he could to calm her down. He hated to see her like this. It was like she had just been caught by the tide and was being swept out to sea. He stood in the kitchen and held her while she sobbed on his shoulder.

Later that night he sat on his couch staring blankly at the TV. Rachel was at yet another gallery opening. Or so she said. Good for her not letting her boyfriends cancer get in the way of her social calendar.

'That's not nice.' he tells himself. 'She can do whatever she wants. She's not here to be your servant'

Adam fiddled with his phone and noticed something odd. He seemed to have an extra contact in his list. When he scrolled to see what it was he froze his brows curling in confusion.

It was Tommy's number. Tommy must have put his number in his phone while he was asleep. His finger hovered over the number. He wasn't sure if he meant to delete it or call it. He sat there for a lone time before he moved again. He stared at the number until it was burned into his mind.

Tommy had left his number. What was he supposed to do with that? Call him and tell him he was a great fuck? Tell him that he has made him question his sexuality? Adam shifted on the couch trying to ease the stitch in his lower back that seemed to never stop these days. It was a constant reminder that his body was eating itself. Adam tossed the phone to the other end of the couch and turned his mind off, letting himself get sucked into some mindless TV show. Adam would forget him soon enough. He knew Tommy has probably already forgotten him. Adam pretended that that thought didn't bother him.

Adam found himself typing out texts to Tommy but before he could hit send he'd delete the messages and slap himself for his stupidity. He shut off the TV and went to bed. Later when Rachel crept in and whispered his name, he pretended to be asleep.

Tommy pounded the bag again, his muscles were burning and his t-shirt was clinging to his chest, as he finished the 8 count set. With a frustrated huff he pulled off his gloves and tossed them on the bag. Paddy Conlon was busy packing away his things when Tommy approached.

"You go ahead. I'm going to get a shower and take a run. I'll call you later." Tommy said simply waiting for the older man to nod before turning away, grabbing his bag and heading for the showers.

Tommy was thankfully alone in the showers as he let the surprisingly hot water wash some of the tension from his shoulders. Things had been tense for the last few days after Paddy's relapse in Seattle. They hadn't even spoken for two days afterward. Today Tommy had told him that he was going to work with another trainer.

He felt bad, but knew it was what had to be done. He couldn't continue to go into matches and find that his trainer/manager was no where to be found and when he did find him, he was in the bottom of a bottle. He wanted a relationship with his father but a working relationship was not good for either of them and he thought Paddy would understand, but judging by the look on his face he didn't. At least not yet.

When Tommy got dressed he pulled out his phone, a basic utilitarian flip phone, and checked his messages. He didn't know why he bothered, but that there was a chance that Adam had found his number. His in-box was still empty.

He sat on the locker room bench and ran his fingers through his hair. His first experience with a girl hadn't made him like this so why was this guy different? Sure he'd never been with a guy before but was it really all that different? He hadn't even looked at a guy before. Not really.

Back in Iraq there had been that Private, Joe was his name. He has enjoyed his company and had admitted to himself that the young man wasn't hard on the eyes, with his tall lean body and dark eyes. Eyes that were so much like Adam's. Eyes that he had later seen glassy and dead. Tommy shook the image out of his head and lifted his bag to his shoulder. He left the gym and decided to walk rather than jog back to his apartment.

He had just recently moved into his own place, finally earning enough to put the deposits down, after he had paid off his fines from the court marshal. He had spent 30 days in the brig after the trial. 'A slap on the wrist' they had told him. Now he was free from the military, free from his fathers house, but not free of the memories of the desert. He still saw his fallen brothers in his sleep. He saw the therapist the courts had ordered him to, but he never opened up enough for it to do any good. He hated the way the medicine they gave him made him feel so he poured it down the sink. The only thing that seemed to keep his demons at bay was the clash of bodies. And the only safe outlet he had was in the ring.

So he kept fighting. And he kept winning. Soon enough he was signed to a decent agent and he took on Colt from the gym as a manager. They kept him busy, kept him fighting, kept his mind quite.

When Tommy climbed the stairs to his third floor apartment, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Tommy would never admit to the clench of excitement in his chest as he pulled it out. It was his brother. His father had probably already called him and ranted about how his own son could fire him. Tommy chuckled at his on stupidity and flipped open his phone and greeting his brother.

With the phone pinned between his shoulder and ear, he unlocked the door to his sparsely furnished apartment. Brendan was being the supportive brother he had always needed, even though he knew he could and probably should open up to him he still felt hesitant in telling his brother anything of any importance.

"So who's going to be training you now? Not that I don't understand why you got rid of dad, but we both know your not the easiest person to work with." Brendan's voice was tinny over the small speaker.

"I talked with Colt. He's willing to stick to my training schedule and techniques. He says he can handle managing me and training. We'll see." Tommy muttered as he pulled off his trainers and sat down on the well loved couch.

"Colt's a good guy. You know Em and Rosie are asking when their uncle Tommy is going to come see them again. I'm starting to think they like you better than me." Brendan teased.

Tommy couldn't stop the grin that pulled at his lips. "Tell them I'll see them soon and that next time they build a pillow fort they have to allow boys in. It's hard to have a tea party while sitting outside." They both chuckled. Neither of them understood why Tommy was so good with children but they seemed to flock to him. And he didn't mind their attention too much.

They talked for a few more minutes and Brendan made Tommy promise to come the next week to visit. He flipped the phone shut and tossed it on the table. After a moment he reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

He still had Adam's MRI scan hidden there. He pulled it out and ran his thumb over the name and birth date. He wasn't sure why he felt so close to a near perfect stranger and he really didn't care. Even if he never heard from Adam again he'd still be one of the special people in Tommy's life. They were two broken people who met, and for Tommy at least, felt a little less hollow for a few hours.