He patted Darren on the shoulder. “Nothing. It’s fine. And sure, I’d be happy to give you some pointers. They also have some great classes at the gym.”
A tentative smile touched Darren’s lips, but his eyes were still clouded. “I don’t want a class. Other people, you know?” He shrugged, and Simon guessed he was referring to his shyness. It must be hard for someone so shy to try something new around strangers.
“So a couple of private lessons, huh?”
“Yeah. If that’s okay?”
Simon nodded. “But why the secrecy?”
Darren shrugged again, his thin shoulders rising under this thick work shirt. “I just don’t want anyone to know. I don’t want the questions or anyone to ask me about how I’m going with learning. I’ll probably be terrible at it anyway.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” Simon smiled. “Boxing is a great cardiovascular activity and great for building strength. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
“I hope so.” Darren didn’t look too sure.
“How about we get together for coffee sometime in the next few days and we can discuss exactly what you want to get out of it, and come up with a plan? I’ll have to work around my roster, of course—see what days I get off and whether they work in with your availability.”
Darren nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I’ll fit in with whatever you need me to do.”
Simon patted Darren on the arm, then took the steps two at a time. They entered the kitchen, letting the screen door slam behind them.
Patrick was rinsing glasses at the sink, and looked up as they entered. “Hey, where have you two been?”
“Ah… I was just helping Simon take out the trash,” Darren said.
Simon shot him a look. Darren’s eyes were wide, the plea not to say anything obvious. Darren didn’t want Patrick to know Darren had asked him for help with boxing, that much was clear. But why? What possible reason could there be for Darren to want to keep that from Patrick? He nodded imperceptibly. Maybe when they caught up for coffee next week, he’d find out more.
“Yeah, just getting rid of the pizza boxes,” he eventually agreed.
Patrick’s eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth as if to say something.
“Let me give you a hand.” Simon rushed to pick up a tea towel from the countertop. “Is Mike still in the living room?” he asked Patrick as he dried a glass.
“Yeah, looking for something on the TV, I think.” He swung around and spoke to Darren. “Why don’t you go give him a hand?”
Darren looked uncertain.
“Go on,” Simon prompted. “We can take care of the cleaning up and we’ll be in as soon as we’ve finished here.”
With a last glance over his shoulder, Darren left.
As soon as they were alone, Patrick turned to Simon. “What was that all about?”
“What?” Simon focused on rubbing the tea towel inside another glass.
“That.” Patrick nodded at the doorway, obviously referring to Darren. “It doesn’t take that long to put out the trash, and neither does it take two people. What gives?”
Simon itched to talk to Patrick, but in all honesty, he didn’t know what was going on himself and he didn’t feel in a position to break Darren’s confidence. Not yet at least. Once he knew what was going on, he’d make sure to tell Darren that he didn’t want to have any secrets from Patrick. If Darren wanted to keep Patrick in the dark, then he’d back out from the boxing lessons. He figured if the boxing was that important to him, Darren wouldn’t care.
“Darren just wanted to talk to me about something. I’ll tell you about it later.” He dried the last glass. “It’s nothing, really. Definitely nothing for you to be worried about. C’mon, let’s go see what movie they’ve chosen.”
Patrick scowled, but he pulled out the plug, letting the sudsy water run down the drain, before grabbing the damp tea towel from Simon’s grip and drying his hands.
Simon felt guilty but was grateful when Patrick followed him to the living room and took a seat next to him on the couch without saying any more about it. He’d just make sure he spoke to Darren soon, then have a big talk with Patrick—he definitely didn’t want Patrick to have any worries or doubts about their relationship.
