Chapter 61

Aden and Geoff met on the beach. Geoff had already done his warm ups and waited wile Aden caught up. They started out with a gentle pace to warm up before digging in and pounding their feet in the hot sand underneath their trainer-clad souls.
"So what have you got planned?" Geoff asked eventually, panting from the run.
Aden grimaced.
"Lots of stuff." He gasped. "This is the first run I've been on since coming back to the bay." He grimaced. "I think my lungs are about to explode."
Geoff would have chuckled if he'd had the spare breath.
He stopped and handed Aden his water bottle.
The other man sank down to sit on the sand and took a long drink. He pulled off his T-shirt and wiped his face with it.
"Do I look as red as I think I am?" he asked Geoff.
Geoff finally sank down beside him and shook his head.
After a time passed Aden looked over at Geoff.
"Roman knows a few places to go to." He said.
Geoff nodded.
"I want to make a few things clear." Geoff said.
Aden smirked.
"I had a feeling this run was going to be used for a chat like this." He grinned.
"We haven't been the best of mates Aden. But I trust you as my brother and as Nic's brother." Geoff began.
Aden looked at the sea for a long moment. He started when Geoff's hand rested on his shoulder. He found it strangely comforting and some of the guilt he felt about sleeping with Nic all those years ago lifted.
"I want to look back on this night as yes, a wild time but without guilt. So no getting me plastered and I wake up in some blondes bed." He began. "Unless it's Nic's off course. The rest I don't care about."
Aden laughed.
Geoff stood and stretched. He reached down and pulled Aden to his feet.
"Bible Boy, I don't like you." Aden said to him as they began running again.
Geoff grinned at him with out comment.
"Have you handed out all the invites?" he asked him when they'd stopped their jog.
Aden nodded.
"I've got a car booked to take us into the city. You, me obviously, Roman and Miles." Aden told him. "Very low key."
Geoff looked over at him and nodded.
"I'm sure that with you and Roman it will be anything but low key. " he said.
Aden grinned.
"I've never actually been out with Roman so I'm pretty sure I might need your protection Bible boy."
Geoff laughed.
"Ok, now I'm getting worried." Geoff admitted.
Aden looked over at him.
"Maybe we should get Nic to have a word with him so he goes easy on us." Aden suggested then grimaced.
"If that wasn't hiding behind a woman's skirts then I might do it." Geoff said. "But I have a feeling that Roman would laugh at us and we'd end up with a hangover that lasts until my first anniversary."
Aden chuckled.
"I'm not sure that would be medically possible to drink that much but I think he would find a way. The man can drink." He said softly.
Geoff shaded his eyes and looked at the blue car that draw up outside the surf club.
"What is it?" Aden asked.
Geoff turned to him.
"What would you do if you found out someone had hurt Belle?" Geoff asked him.
"I would be tempted to violence. A lot of violence." Aden confessed.
Geoff nodded.
"Its not my place to do what I'm about to do Aden and Nic may just be a little upset with me." Geoff looked at him. "So I may need you to help smooth things over."
"Bible boy what happened to I don't know vengeance is mine sayith the Lord or turn the other cheek."
"Very good passages in the bible." Geoff told Aden." But I'm tending to lean towards you hurt Nic here is my fist."
"Bible boy you are my hero." Aden grinned at him.
Geoff nodded.
He stood and walked over to the blue car and the person getting out of it.
"Well well well!" Darren Hughes exclaimed. "Geoffy Campbell." He said.
"Darren Hughes." Geoff exclaimed. "You are a lot early for our wedding."
"Yeah well I wasn't do much of anything. Thought I would come check out the bay." Darren said.
Geoff nodded.
"Well let me show you around." Geoff said softly. "This is the surf club and if you follow me I'll show you the best bit of beach."
Aden smiled as he heard Geoff's tone of voice.
Darren followed them slowly and was unprepared for Geoff when he suddenly turned around and hit him.
"Waoh!" Darren Exclaimed. "What the hell was that for?" he muttered after suddenly finding himself flat on his back.
"That was for Nic." Geoff said. "Now you have a choice you can stay there or you can get up but I warn you that if you get up I may just hit you again. You hurt my future wife."
"She was asking for it. I don't know what she told you but she was all over me." Darren exclaimed.
Aden took a step toward the prone man.
"I highly doubt that. And you should know that is my sister you are talking about." Aden told him menacingly.
Darren wiped the trail of blood from his split lip.
"And you should know that her Dad is ex army." Aden added.
Geoff grinned at him.
"She wanted it. She was a slut." Darren gasped.
"I don't care if she'd slept with a hundred guys you have no right to force yourself on her." Geoff told him.
"I didn't." he said. "She begged for it."
Geoff looked at Aden.
"You're right." Geoff said. "I'm sorry."
He held his hand out and Darren took it and stood up. Aden glanced at Geoff and saw him smile slowly.
"Here let me help you brush some of that sand off." He said and suddenly grabbed the other man by his T-shirt. He lifted him off his feet and snarled in his face.
"Get out of Summer Bay or I'll tell her Dad what you did and you really don't want that. Really." Geoff snarled. "You make me sick."
With a burst of strength he threw the other man backwards and he fell back on the sand.
"One more thing. If I ever hear that you've done anything similar to anyone else I will hunt you down and hand you over to Nic's father."
Geoff turned and walked away. He was breathing heavily and his heart was racing. He had only even been that angry once before and that was the time he'd punched Aden.
Aden followed him into the surf club.
"Geoff." Aden said softly.
Geoff sighed.
"I know." He said. "I shouldn't have done that."
Aden nodded.
"But I understand." Aden told him. "I sorta hope he stays around because I'd love to see the little weasel have to deal with Roman."
Geoff laughed.