Hi, all! I was really hoping to post this yesterday/Sunday but I couldn't quite get myself in the right zone, so it's a tiny bit later than intended. Apologies for that (I reckon it's okay since I'm the only one who knew I planned to post before right now) but hopefully the extra time has worked for the better.

I'll be honest, I'm little iffy about this chapter. It's super dialogue heavy and I won't be at all upset if anyone says that it doesn't work as well as the others, it's just all part of the learning process, so please do let me know if it's not good/it doesn't work! Otherwise, thank you so much for coming this far, enjoy!

Well, what a load of shit that had been. Wishing himself a night free from dreams and thoughts of River had been nothing short of a complete failure.

Matt Thorne, handsome bastard that he was, had been rather prominent, too.

Jerking off in the shower, much to his dismay, ended rather sadly with Greyson having a flaccid dick and no hope of it growing hard again. The same images of River, Matt and Skylar assaulted his mind, making any possibility of pleasure race away from him at speed.

So, as he sat behind his desk that morning, more on edge than he'd been in a long time, he waited.

It had been a little under an hour since Matt had called him and confirmed that he was ready to come and talk. About twenty minutes later, due to some traffic, Miroslav had confirmed that he'd collected the man who, even in sleep, wouldn't leave Greyson's mind the fuck alone. So yeah, now, he waited.

As soon as he got the call to say that they were in the parking lot, he informed the reception desk that he'd got a meeting and that he wasn't to be disturbed. He wanted privacy so he could pick this guy's brains properly.

It was Phia, one of the receptionists, who knocked on his door and swung it open as he called out.

"I have Mr. Thorne here for you, sir." She said politely, a pretty smile on her face.

Smiling warmly back, Greyson nodded and stood from his desk. "Thank you, Phia, that's great." He said, waiting as she stepped aside and let Matt in, heading back to her desk.

There he was.

As much as Grey hated to admit it, Matt was a good looking guy. He had that whole strong, dark, rugged thing. While was hasn't quite as tall as Boof, he was still pretty massive, having almost a half foot on Greyson, plus the added muscle mass that came with making someone so tall look anything but lanky.

With a lopsided, almost familiar grin, a scarred hand reached out. "Greyson, hey, man." He greeted. The two visible scars, Grey knew were cigarette burns.

See, when he and River had become friends, so too had he and Matt. Granted, they weren't as close, but Little Mattie Thorne had spent many a day at their place before they were nearing the end of high school. Alas, with the falling out of Greyson and River came the physical fight between Greyson and Matt. Yeah, seriously.

So, tight lipped, he smiled back with a clenched jaw. "Mr. Thorne." He greeted, knowing that his voice was cold. Matt's smile faltered for a second, looking almost confused. "Please, sit. Can I get you a drink?"

Still looking uncertain of what was going on, the large man did as he was told, sitting in the chair opposite Greyson's. "I'm good, thanks." His voice now matched his face. Uncertain. Worried, almost. Good. "Hey, listen... have I, like, pissed you off? I'm just getting a super weird vibe." As he spoke, he waved a hand in the general direction of Grey, motioning to him and the aforementioned vibe.

As the other man spoke, Grey rounded his desk and took a seat. What the hell was this guy's game?

"What could you have done to piss me off?" He asked heavily. "I mean, aside from calling me at whatever hour of the night that was last night."

There was a moment of silence, one in which the two men simply looked at one another, each trying to suss the other out.

Matt scratched his beard lightly in the silence. It was short and a little scruffy, but honestly it suited him. Greyson's stubble, however, was bordering on looking untidy next to his nice suit.

"Okay, look," Matt started after a long second, clearly having realized that Greyson wasn't going to be the first to speak up. "I wanted to come here and thank you, or your dad, I guess. The cops would have really fucked me over without that lawyer. I'm still looking at a fine, but they've taken the possibility of jail time outta the equation." Unexpectedly, he sounded genuine and sincere as he spoke. Even the small smile on his face held nothing but gratitude.

"You called me last night at almost midnight." Greyson said back, fighting the urge to scoff at the other man. "You couldn't have said that over the phone?"

Seemingly finding the whole thing a little amusing, Matt shrugged. "My mother taught me to always apologize or thank someone in person." He replied simply.

A darkness reared its ugly head in Greyson. He wanted to point out that Matt's mother, just like River's, had been an abusive woman with substance issues and, in keeping with that logic, shouldn't have been someone he took advice from. What a cruel thought. He hated himself for having it.

Instead of saying anything so unkind, he simply made a noise in his throat. It was a light rumble, an agreement of sorts. "Wise words." He said levelly.

A smirk appeared on Matt's face. Greyson hated it. He'd almost forgotten how alike the man across from him and River were. "The best advice a junkie could give, you mean?" He asked easily.

There it was. Exactly what River would have said. Exactly what he and River would have laughed at together. "I wouldn't call your mother a junkie." He stated stiffly, but the smirk on Matt's mouth grew deeper. "You really just did all this to apologize?" He then asked as he considered a little too late that maybe he'd come at this all wrong.

Naturally, Matt nodded. "Calling so late was maybe a little dumb, I'm sorry for that." He shrugged as he spoke. "We were kinda drowning our sorrows, you know? Mourning the gym and whatever relationships we all had with Jerry. I wasn't looking at the time, I guess I just thought it'd be fun to have you over." Fun? In what world, Greyson wondered, would it have been fun to go to the apartment of the guy who he'd fought the last time they'd spoken? The guy who had more pieces of River than he had even realized. That sounded anything but fun.

Then something else hit him in the wording.

We. River had been drinking.

He nodded, quieting the darkness in his gut, ignoring whatever it said they'd all been doing together after a few drinks. "I wouldn't have wanted to intrude on your evening." Grey said, his voice stiff. God, had he really been such an asshole over all of this... for nothing? "I don't think River would have wanted me there." He then added, feeling immediately stupid for it.

A loud laugh, barked out, shook the space between them. "You think that?" Matt asked incredulously, brow raised.

Honestly, that shook Greyson for a fucking second. Was here really doing this? Was he really talking to Matt Thorne about River? "I know that." He said. Okay, he was doing this.

With a snicker, Matt rolled his eyes and lounged back in his chair. "Then you don't know her as well as you think you do." His chuckle was as dark as his deep, rich eyes. He and River were so freaking similar, it made Greyson's skin crawl.

"Excuse me?" He growled out at the larger man. Seriously, who the fuck did he think he was?

Naturally, Matt's smirk only got deeper. Oh, he was enjoying this. "Let me guess, she told you she wants space, right?"

"Maybe." How the hell had he known that? Oh, that's right, because he'd dated River. Asshole.

Snorting, Matt shook his head. "Mayb- Whatever. Look, she did that all the freaking time when we were together, okay?" He was looking at Greyson like he was stupid, like he should have known all of this. Only, how could he have? He couldn't, he hadn't ever dated River. Sure, he was sleeping with her, but she'd made things abundantly clear when last they spoke.

"Great, but we're not dating." As if he could have forgotten that if he'd freaking tried to.

"River's clingy, dude." Matt stated after just a moment of piercing silence. "You think I'm kidding, right? Wrong. She's clingy as hell and she hates herself for it." There was a light sadness to his voice, one that told Greyson just how much the other man cared for the woman on both of their minds.

Cling, though? That sure as hell didn't sound like any version of River that he knew. "I don't think..." He started muttering, but trailed off a second later.

"She sends you away because wanting you close makes her feel weak." He said simply, shrugging. "She just lost her job, her bike got trashed, she's barely got enough money for rent. Next month, whether she likes it or not, she's not getting a cheque from the gym. She'll have to move out and stay with me or with Sky. Oh wait, we're in the same fucking boat. The one person who can help her, your rich ass, is making her feel pathetic-"

"She's not pathetic." Fury rose inside him, but as he snapped, the other man simply smiled. What the hell was he finding amusing about any of this?

"Dude, you think I don't know that?" Matt scoffed loudly, looking at Greyson as though he was some kind of stupid for a second before he shook his head lightly with a huff. "Look, everything's going wrong for her right now. She's pulling away from you because if she asks you for help, she has to admit that there's some shit that she can't do alone." As he laid the truth out right in front of him, Greyson felt as stupid as Matt had seen him as.

River had always been so independent. This was just like the freaking vending machine all over again, only now River knew she wouldn't be able to pay back the proverbial dollar.

She was drowning and she needed help, but she was too proud and ashamed to call out. So, as she so desperately needed money while she didn't have a job, she was pushing him away to avoid having that conversation.

While Greyson's father had assured him they he and his mother would find some kind of work for her, that clearly wasn't happening fast enough. Or, if it was, he wasn't privy to it.

He could offer her the role of being his PA, but he knew she wouldn't accept that. She'd have rather found herself a job elsewhere than take the handout of a job that she hadn't worked for and wasn't qualified for. As insane as it sounded, Grey actually understood. If was pretty much the same thing that he'd demanded to know of his father. It really was so very similar, just as how he'd been determined to quit had he not gotten this job on his own merit.

Just like River and Matt were alike, he had to remember that so were he and her. Poor kids fighting for their spots in the world, it just so happened that he had money now.

Silence sat heavily between them for a moment. Stupidly, Greyson couldn't find the freaking words to say. After all, anything he could think of would only make River's insistence to do things herself sound petulant. If he said he'd give her a job, it would sound like he was minimizing her problems and solving them with money. So, what could he do but wait and be as supportive as she would allow?

It set that ball of nerves writhing in his gut again, this time stabbing at him as it went. It was a fucking horrible feeling, one that he wished would leave him the hell alone.

Across the room, the same bottle that he'd tried to offer to Boof was staring at him. It was a simple bottle with a somewhat shoddy looking label, one that would look cheap and possibly homemade to most. Only a real connoisseur would know otherwise. To him, it looked homemade, but he had been happy to trust the expert when it and a few others had been gifted to him.

"You sure you don't want a drink?" He asked Matt again, this time hoping that he didn't seem quite as hostile.

Watching him peculiarly, Matt shook his head. "I'm good, man." He said, carefully smiling his thanks.

Hm, well that was no good. "I've got a bottle over there that's worth as much as my car." Okay, he wasn't just trying to show what a rich asshole he was. He didn't even like the booze that he had in his office, but this whole stupid situation, it called for a drink, right? "Matt, come on. It's not like you've gotta work today." Ouch. Had that been too far? Eh, he didn't really care all that much, he just needed something right now.

The strong, dark features on the other man's face shifted briefly in annoyance. "Thanks for the reminder, asshole." There was clear anger in Matt's tone as he spoke. For the first time, Grey had actually offended or upset him a little. It was to be expected, having prodded the bear right in the fucking wound, but he hadn't been able to help himself. "Fuck it. Sure. This stuff, though? It better change my fucking life." He then said, shocking Greyson a little.

Thank god. "Oh, it will." He assured, though he wasn't certain of that.

Quickly, already knowing that he didn't have any scheduled meetings for the rest of the day, Grey pressed a button on his desk and used it to tell Phia to block off his day. With nothing able to worm its way into his otherwise free schedule, he was free to do what he wanted. He'd do his work at home, so nothing was going neglected.

The bottle of life changing whiskey was old. It was something that Elliot had gotten a couple of cases of through a job deal and had given a bunch of bottles to each of them in the family.

Honestly? Greyson didn't like whiskey all that much. He wasn't afraid to admit that he liked fruity drinks, cocktails and such, but the stronger stuff? Straight spirits? Well, he didn't see the appeal, least of all when they tasted so foul.

As he got up and grabbed the bottle, he could feel Matt's eyes on him. Though he didn't hear the large man turn in his chair, he knew that the burning on his back was indeed the piercing gaze of someone who was still a little uncertain about him. The feeling was absolutely mutual.

Bottle in one hand, glasses in the other, he returned.

Sat opposite Matt once more, Greyson poured them both a drink.

With the hostility out of the air, he was finding himself curious. Before him sat possibly the only other person who knew River better than he did. Well, someone who knew the parts of River that he didn't. He wanted to know all of her, every bit.

He waited for Matt to take a sip before he spoke, allowing the other man to make his mind up about the drink. An appreciative noise later, he figured it was fair game.

"Why did you guys ever break up?" Greyson was first to speak, having had a small sip of his own drink. It was a question that had been on his mind from the moment that, through the grapevine, he'd found out about their split those years ago.

The warmth was light and immediate, snaking through him from his lips downward.

Matt stilled at that, glass coming away from his lips. "Mm..." He started, really looking across the desk for a second before responding. "I feel like she'd have told you that if she wanted you to know." His tone was level, no hint of discomfort, but Greyson wasn't satisfied.

Naturally, his words weren't what Greyson had wanted to hear. "Sounds scandalous." He said with a small smile, hoping that he'd kept the disappointment out of his voice.

At that, Matt laughed. It was a hearty, deep sound that came right from his chest. "It wasn't." He said simply into the air, that small smirk never leaving his lips.

Great. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it." It wasn't as if he had much choice.

"I guess you will." The large man shrugged, seeming happy with himself. Then, in a moment of something curious, he downed the rest of his drink and set the glass on the desk. Leaning forward, arms braced before him, he looked Greyson up and down, leaving the other man feeling oddly shy for just a second. " What's the deal with you two? I mean, you're fucking, right?" He asked easily. There was no accusation in his voice, not even a note of prying, just friendly curiosity.

The blush that took Grey's cheeks was instant. It hit hard and fast, though he prayed he could act as though it was the drink flushing his cheeks. "I feel like she'd have told you that if she wanted you to know." He said steadily, following suit and taking the rest of his glass in a single mouthful.

Watching him for just a second, Matt's smirk grew deeper until he finally erupted into a bout of laughter. "Fuck, okay, you got me there." He barked out between booming laughs.

More silence passed between them, though it was comfortable this time. Greyson refilled both of their glasses in spite of the foul taste and his own flushed cheeks. Matt relaxed back into his chair. Greyson followed suit.

After a long moment of looking around the office that they were in, Matt spoke. His voice was clam and gentle, almost mournful.

"River wanted to have sex with other people and I didn't." He stated into the air.

Admittedly, Grey was kind of stunned.

Matt was quick to continue though, not looking to leave the situation hanging before the other man like a carrot on a stick.

"She was real honest and upfront about it, didn't cheat or anything stupid, she just came and told me one day." With a small sim, his smirk turned to a somewhat sad smile. It was deep and full of love, though there was clearly not so much as a thought of resentment. "Man, loving River Nivalis is the easiest thing anyone'll ever do. It's near impossible not to. She, uh, she's got this thing though, right? She hates relying on anyone, hates needing people, you know? So, she tells me all this and I just... I couldn't hold her back." Absently, he thumbed at his glass before looking at Grey across the desk.

That much, Greyson knew to be true. River had proven time and time again that she couldn't stand having to rely on anyone for just about anything. He couldn't help but think about her paying back freaking single dollars for vending machine snacks again, something that he seemed to be thinking about a lot.

Beneath Matt's gaze, he felt pinned. "She wanted other people even though you guys were together?" He asked, perplexed. Fuck, was this the thing he needed to hear, that River was probably already screwing other people? Or, more specifically, that she was wanting to screw other people.

Matt shrugged. "She wanted experiences." He clarified, though Grey was still confused. "She... I don't know. I was happy for us to just be us, right? Man, I was a teenager and I was in love, you gotta know what that's like. I thought we'd be walking down a freaking isle someday. She didn't feel the same though. She loved me, I know that, but she wasn't ever in love with me. She wanted to experience pleasure and make memories, not be in some relationship with me; someone who honestly would have probably married her right outta high school."

"So you're in love with her?" The words hurt as they came out.

Fuck, did he want to hear this?

"No." Matt chuckled, shocking him. "Don't get me wrong, I was. Man, I was so fucking in love with her, but then I ended things and moved on. I had to get over those feelings so we could stay friends, so I did. I love River to pieces, she's amazing and all that stuff, but I'm not in love with her, not anymore."

Holy shit.

His breath came a little easier now with the knowledge that Matt Thorne wasn't in fact still in love with River. That was the end of any competition he'd been feeling, right?

Clearing his throat, he took a small sip. He had half a mind to drink more, liking this warmth that was coiled in him, but he held himself back. "I'm sorry, man." He said after a moment. "I mean, that must have really sucked. I can't imagine hearing that you're not enough for someone." He almost couldn't imagine River capable of having said such a thing.

Only, as he expressed his sadness for the other man, Matt was chuckling and shrugging, unbothered. "It's not that I wasn't enough. She'd have stayed with me if I'd said I wasn't comfortable with it. Hell, maybe she'd have actually fallen for me somewhere alone the way, but that's not love, you know? I loved her enough to want to give her what she wanted. It wasn't ever about me not being enough, she just wanted to have fun."

In all honesty, Grey couldn't see the difference in that moment. If Matt had been enough then River wouldn't have wanted more, right? Hell, he didn't know. Maybe it was something that would make more sense to him in time.

Only, then it came to him.

Seemingly sensing it, Matt then spoke again. "What about you and Heather? I mean, you were together for a long-ass time."

Fuck, it was the same, wasn't it? "We weren't happy, I guess." He started off. It wasn't the whole truth, but it sure wasn't a lie. Looking at Matt though, he figured he could say more. "I'm pretty sure were were miserable. I stayed for so long because she was rich and pretty, figured I owed that to my family. Turns out none of them liked her though and I couldn't tell until I saw how much they all fucking love River."

While the situation hadn't been the same as far as one loving person releasing the other from possible misery, it truly was the same in that it had been about letting someone go in the hopes of them truly finding happiness. Sure, Grey and Heather weren't on good terms or whatever, but he still wanted for her to find happiness, he just didn't need to know about it.

"Easiest thing in the world." Matt said again, referring to loving River.

Chuckling, Grey nodded and looked at his drink. "Ain't that the truth." He agreed without thinking. Fuck. "She, uh, she just said that we were drifting apart or whatever, that she wanted more out of life. Heather."

"And you loved her enough to let her go."

"No." Grey couldn't help but bark out a laugh, earning a raised brow. "I was actually pretty indifferent toward her by the end. I was a good boyfriend, you know? I did all the things I was meant to do, but she wasn't ever happy with me. I thought I loved her. I said it enough. I just... we were convenient. There was no love, not for a minute." The truth, said aloud, was a cold, damp feeling in his chest. It was sad if nothing else.

Fuck, the truth felt like a kick to the damn ribs now that he thought about it.

Four and a half years wasted on a loveless relationship, all for what? He couldn't see what it had all brought him other than misery.

Matt nodded and sighed.

"You know," The larger man started, sighing deeply. "For what it's worth, she wouldn't have let you back in if she didn't care about you. The way you guys fell out-"

"The way you and I fought." Greyson interrupted, pleased to see a chuckle and a smirk from the other man.

Interruption aside, Matt continued. "The way you fell out fucking tore her to pieces. She's scared to lean on you in case she loses you again." The weight of Matt's words weight down on Grey's shoulders. It wasn't the time for jokes, he could feel that now. While the gentle giant before him was happy to smile and to joke, River wasn't part of that joke, not for either of them.

"What the hell do I do?" He then asked, wanting the wisdom of someone who had successfully -kind of- dated River.

Matt smiled. It was genuine and warm. "Just be there for her." He said as though it was the clearest thing in the world. "When she reaches out, which she will, be there. Let her have space when she needs it and just make it fucking clear that you'll be there when she comes back." As Matt talked, Greyson listened.

In that moment, sitting across from River's ex, he decided that he'd do anything. Anything at all to get her back. Anything at all to make her feel safe. Anything at all to help her in any fucking way.

When Matt finally left, headed home in Miroslav's car, it was almost the end of the work day. While Greyson still hadn't had any word from River, he was at least feeling a little better about it now. Instead of obsessively checking his cell every few minutes in hopes that he'd simply missed a message from her, he instead sat there, content in the knowledge that she would get back to him in her own time.

However long it took, he'd wait. Anything at all, that was the deal. If he had to wait a week, he'd wait.

Not an astonishingly long or productive chapter but I really wanted just a little something to give Greyson and Matt time to clear some air. I realized that I hadn't properly established him as a previous friend of Greyson's when talking about Matt and River (oops... I'll chalk that down to the learning curve!) and so I honestly wanted to just give them some sense of familiarity but also that whole feeling of absolutely not knowing someone/not knowing what they're up to and whatnot.

I know Matt may have seemed a little suspicious before now but I absolutely never intended for him to be any kind of bad guy (I like to think that River has decent taste in those she keeps/kept around her) but he was always meant to be a little intimidating for Greyson as River's ex. Hopefully that came across well enough, but if not then feel free to tell me and I'll keeping my best to improve. That goes for the whole story, of course. This whole thing means a lot to me, as does any and all feedback, so thank you so much if you do decide to share any thoughts etc on here. Otherwise, have a grand day and I'll hopefully have you back next time around!