“I’ll join you,” I said, adjusting my glasses. My mind should have turned to lecture preparation, I knew, but I felt too eager to catch a little more time with Asher, while I had the chance.
It surprised me, actually, how happy I was walking out to the shed with Frankie. The weather was gray, as it always was that time of year, and it was nothing more than a regular Saturday, same as any other. But still, that feeling that everything was right pervaded the afternoon. Frankie’s new side job was taking off, and Ava had already made herself friends, and we had settled into an exciting, comfortable rhythm with Asher in our lives.
“Are you finishing up already?” Frankie announced as we approached. “That must have gone quickly.”
Asher had a gray thermal shirt that hung loosely off his lithe muscles. Flecks of sawdust were stuck in his sandy hair, and he wore a heavy pair of denim that hung off his hips, held up only by an old belt. The air was cool, but sweat glistened on his forehead, and I was struck by desire to reach out, caress him, and feel the heat of his body in my hands.
“Oh yeah,” Asher said, turning his eyes away like he had earlier. “I’ll have to come back tomorrow to finish, but we should be on time.”
Frankie turned to me, picking up on Asher’s mood as well. “I’m glad it went well,” he said. “Do you want to go over plans one more time before you take off?”
Asher glanced over his shoulder, then shook his head quickly. Even though I only caught a flash of his expression, my heart thudded and clunked when I saw the hurt in his eyes, pain rippling across his face.
Something is wrong.
“I should be all set,” he said with a shaky voice. “We can talk tomorrow.” As he talked, he reached up, stretching to return the drill to the shelf. When he did so, his shirt rose up, and I saw a large blue-and-red bruise, spreading across his lower back and wrapping around to his stomach.
“Asher,” Frankie gasped. “What happened?”
Asher startled, then glanced down. He pulled the bottom of his shirt up to see the bruise himself, then winced. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” I said firmly. “And it looks fresh.” I stepped forward, closing the distance between us. “Have you seen a doctor? Tell us what happened.”
Frankie reached out, but hesitated. I watched his hand poised in the air, his fingers arched and ready to land on Asher’s back.
“Asher…” he said softly.
“It’s okay, Asher,” I added. “Whatever it is, it’s okay.”
He turned slowly, and when he faced us, I saw the tears that stung the corners of his eyes. Frankie lowered his hand, patting Asher’s back. Asher sucked in a ragged breath, then turned the rest of the way to face us, stepping between our arms.
“My friend,” he said. “I made a mistake…”
I extended my arm and pulled him close. Asher lost himself in our embrace, his body falling against our chests as he shook, something between a sob and tremor escaping his lips.
“Let it out,” Franklin said. “Let it out.”
My chest ached to feel his trembling body, and I summoned all my strength to hold him. No matter how casual we wanted things to be with Asher, his pain was real, and I knew that Frankie and I were the right men to hold it for him.
To help him love himself.
A new feeling fluttered in my chest as I stroked the back of his head, something I wasn’t quite ready to name. “We’re here for you,” I said. “Both of us are. Now come inside.” I looked up to Frankie and caught the aching care in his gaze. “Come inside and tell us what’s wrong.”
