by Inge Mayhem
“He's great,” Tyson replied, keeping his eyes on the road. “I really mean that; it isn't because he's my favorite player. He really is a great guy, and I'm glad you are going out. I just hope it ends up a lot better than mine. At least one of us deserves happiness.”
“Come on, Tyson,” Florence said, when she noticed that he had started to mope again. “This is about forgetting that asshole, okay?”
“Okay,” Tyson replied.
He drove to the eatery, and both of them stepped out of the car quickly.
Noah was already waiting for both of them. He sat at a lone table, and waved excitedly at them, when he saw them walk in.
As they got even closer, the large man stood to meet them, placing a kiss on Florence’s cheek. To Tyson's surprise, he was engulfed in a big hug by the hockey star.
“Hey buddy,” Noah greeted him. “Have a seat.” Tyson sat on the opposite side of the table from Florence and Noah, who sat side by side.
“No talk of Shawn today,” Noah announced. “Today, we'll have fun.”
They placed their orders, and while they waited for the food to arrive, Florence decided to use the restroom, giving Tyson the opportunity that he had waited so long for.
“There's something I wanted to ask you,” Tyson said, once he noticed that Florence was well out of earshot.
“I knew this was coming,” Noah said, with a pained laugh. “Look, I know this is about Shawn, but remember I said that we weren't going to be talking about him at all today. You need to forget about him.”
“I know, I know,” Tyson sighed. “But I feel you know a lot more than I do. Right from the beginning, you told me not to trust Shawn. Was this what you meant by that?”
“Tyson, I knew you were a good person from the moment I saw you. The reason I know Shawn is untrustworthy is because of a past that I am not particularly proud of. It's not one that I'm ready to revisit just yet. I think we should just give it a rest; talk about it another day. But know this: nothing that happened is your fault. You're too much of a nice person to be associated with his kind.”
Tyson wanted to ask what Noah meant by Shawn's kind, but before he could utter the question, Florence came back.
“So what were you guys talking about?” she asked, as she sat back down. Their meals arrived, and they dug in, especially Tyson, who didn't even realize that he was that hungry until the food touched his tongue.
Tyson considered telling Florence, but a subtle look from Noah changed his decision. He then opted to change the subject.
“That's not important,” Tyson stated. “But there is something I wanted to talk to you two about.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“I got an invite, actually Shawn and I got an invite to a party, just before we split up.”
“And from your tone, I'm guessing that this party is really important.”
“Yes it is,” Tyson confirmed. “It's a wedding party, for Brad and Michael.”
The confused look on Noah's face revealed that he didn't know the couple in question, but Florence's face lit up in realization.
“Those are the people from before. It was their house you broke into, wasn't it?”
“You broke into someone's house?” Noah queried. His confusion grew even more. He turned to Florence for an explanation, but she mouthed that she would explain everything later.
“Yeah, it’s a very long story, and that's going to be for another time. Right now, I have to go to this party.”
“So what's the problem?” Noah asked. “You seem like you're willing to go.”
“Shit,” Florence said, palming herself in the face lightly. “Shawn is going to be there.”
That was why Tyson was having second thoughts. Shawn had not contacted him since the day they broke up, and it had taken all of Tyson’s self-control and all the encouragement that Noah and Florence could give him, to stop him from trying to get in contact with Shawn.
Since he hadn't seen Shawn, he had no idea what seeing his ex would do to him. Either way, he wanted to avoid it, but he knew he couldn't. It was going to be such a special celebration for Brad and Michael. Tyson couldn't imagine himself not showing up, after the pair had helped him so much. Just the fact that they had forgiven him so easily made him understand that they were good people. He couldn't just bail on them.
“Do they know that you are broken up?' Florence asked. “They set you up with him, so maybe they've heard the news by now.”
“I don't know, I haven't really been able to get in contact with them. The last time we talked, I told them how excited we were for the party.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Noah asked.
“Yeah,” Florence agreed. “Just tell us whatever it is that you need, and we're here for you.”
“Well, they did say that I could invite you,” Tyson said to Florence. “I've mentioned you quite a number of times. I even told them that you were the one who convinced me to go and apologize in the first place. They were pretty excited when I said I would get you to come.”
“I'm touched,” Florence said. She was clearly pleased, judging by the wide smile on her face.
“I also asked if it was okay for you to bring a guest, and they agreed. So Noah, you can come too. I would really appreciate the company, it would help a lot knowing I have friends around. I don't know how I will react to seeing him again, without the moral support.”
“We'll be there,” Florence assured. Noah nodded eagerly, by her side.
“Yeah we will,” he said. “You can count on us.”
Tyson felt the sweet sensation of relief, as it washed over him. His nerves were calmed and he was visibly relaxed again. It felt nice that he had friends that had his best interest at heart.
Florence had always been that way, but the most surprising aspect to Tyson was how much Noah seemed to have his back.
He had never imagined that the star would be so down-to-earth and approachable. Since the day they met, Tyson couldn't even begin to think of a better person for Florence. He wanted Florence to be happy, and she clearly was. It was good to see that at least one good thing had come out of meeting Shawn.
They continued to talk for a while, laughing about random things. Florence even told Noah how she had almost made Todd pee his pants. She was in the middle of the story, when her mouth fell open.
“What is it?” Tyson asked. He turned in the direction that she was staring and saw him. Bruce Biller, in casual clothing, walked into the burger joint.
“It's Bruce,” Florence said. Tyson studied the man. Unlike all the other times that they had met the fighter, this time he looked normal. He didn't look angry; he didn't look to be in a mood; he just looked like a normal guy, ordering a burger.
“Do you think that he would be fine with us meeting him now?” Florence asked the guys.
“I don't know,” Noah wondered. “Can you risk him being rude to you?”
“Yeah,” Tyson affirmed. “He's not the friendliest guy in the world. Maybe he's just not a people person, you know?”
“I don't even know what to think,” Florence admitted. “Did you know that he lost the next match after the one we watched? From being undefeated to losing twice to minor opponents.”
“Well, either way, we're done with our food," Noah reminded them. “No use waiting; we could just leave. If we say hi and he responds, then we can talk to him.”
“Alright,” Florence agreed. “Let's do it.”
The group stood up and walked towards the entrance. Just as they got to it, Bruce turned and almost bumped into Tyson.
“My bad,” Bruce said, with a smile. “I always hit people there; I'm sorry.”
Tyson couldn't speak. Bruce's good attitude had taken him off guard. The fighter addressed them with a smile, and Tyson had to admit that it was the most gorgeous smile that he had ever seen.
“You don't remember us?” Tyson asked.
“I'm sorry, I meet a lot of people,” he replied. “How do I know you
?”
“We came backstage to meet you at one of your fights,” Florence stated.
“Yeah,” Tyson added. “We came with your doctor, Shawn.”
Tyson had never seen a smile disappear that quickly before. It looked like a scene from a movie, because before Tyson could say another word, he was being held by the collar, with the fighter screaming in his face.
“Where the hell is he? The bastard!”
Noah came to the rescue, yanking both men apart. Noah was clearly the bigger man, but Tyson had little hope that he would be able to beat the trained fighter in a brawl.
“I hope I don't see any of you again!” Bruce yelled, before shoving past them roughly and walking away.
“What the hell was that?” Tyson asked, still trying to understand what had just happened. He looked to see Florence, still shaking slightly from the exchange. It was clear that none of them had expected that. Tyson wondered why Bruce had reacted so badly when he mentioned Shawn. One thing was clear though; Tyson knew that he did not like Bruce Biller, not one bit.
Chapter 8
Party
Tyson began to have second thoughts the moment he walked into the backyard of the Wrights.
Brad and Michael Wright's house was bigger than Tyson remembered. That had been a good thing at first, because when Tyson had arrived with his friends, he couldn't see a single person he recognized.
The house was huge, even though it only had two bedrooms and two bathrooms. There was so much space, beginning with the front lawn, although no part of the party took place there.
Tyson, Florence, and Noah had arrived late, and the sheer number of cars that they saw on the street and the amount of people that were in the house, was a clear indication of the estate’s size.
It was an evening party, but the evening had slowly given way to the cover of night, and by the time that the group had gotten to the party, it was completely dark out. The only source of illumination came from the well-lit house.
Tyson could easily see the party turning into a wild frat night, if the guests were a decade or two younger. Luckily they comported themselves quite well. There were so many people, it was a complete cluster of bodies.
“Welcome, thank you so much for coming.”
Brad had been the one who had greeted them at the door. He gave them all warm handshakes, until he shook Tyson’s. As he held Tyson's hand, he drew him a little closer and whispered in his ears. “I heard about what happened between you and Shawn. Maybe it's for the best, Shawn has always just seemed odd to me.”
Then he let go of him and told them to feel free to socialize. Tyson didn't know what to make of the entire interaction, so when his friend's didn't ask what that was about, he made no move to try and tell them.
“You came,” Michael said. This time Michael engulfed all three of them in hugs, without even waiting for a proper introduction.
“It's so nice to see you all. You must be Florence,” he said turning to the girl. “I've heard so much about you already. And you,” he turned to Noah. “You must be her date. You look really familiar though: I think I've seen you before.”
Noah chuckled. He was used to hearing that a lot.
“Oh! Oh!” Michael suddenly yelled, turning a few heads. “You're Noah Branson, the hockey player! I watched your last game, it was fantastic. Look everyone: Noah Branson is at the party!”
Before Tyson could blink, they were completely surrounded by people, who were happily drawn over to the star. Tyson was able to escape from the crowd, but Florence and the person in question, Noah, weren't so lucky.
Tyson then walked towards the back until he found himself in the backyard. It was very large, and some of it had already been developed for gardening. Nothing edible from what he could see; just a simple, and yet extremely beautiful, flower garden. Tyson sat in awe for a while, wondering how something so simple could be so calming.
He turned around to see if his friends had broken free from the clutches of the eager crowd. Sadly, they hadn't. As Tyson's gaze wandered, it focused on the pair that were celebrating. Through the back window, he saw them standing together in each other's arms, completely ignoring everyone around. He saw the passionate kiss they shared: he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. He wished that he had what they had, but no such luck. It felt like that wasn't meant to be in the cards for him.
Tyson decided to focus on something else, but that turned out to be an even worse idea. He saw him.
Shawn stood, with a sweet smile on his face, as he talked to two men on one side of the backyard. When Tyson saw him, all his emotions came back immediately. He wanted to run and hug the man, and tell him that he was sorry for everything. But the smile on Shawn's face only served as a reminder: how quickly and drastically that smile had changed on the day they broke up.
Tyson couldn't take it anymore; he couldn't bear to watch Shawn. With his emotions clouding his line of thought, Tyson moved through the house, as quickly as he could, not even trying to call on the people he had come with. He knew that they were having fun, and he wanted to be the last thing that stopped them from doing so. They didn't have to suffer because he was upset again.
So under the cover of darkness, Tyson decided to walk back to his car and wait. At first, he wanted nothing more than to find an escape from the entire environment, but he knew that wouldn't be fair. So instead, he decided to either wait until he got his feelings in check, or spend the rest of the part in the car until Noah and Florence were ready to leave.
Tyson stood beside his car, silently musing about how his life had gotten to this point. Images of his past flashed into his mind. The day he had met Drew, the night he had helped Drew out. The night that Tyson had been kidnapped, and how he had been held against his will, only to meet and fall in love with one of his captors, Victor.
That relationship had ended abruptly and before Tyson knew it, he was all alone again. He thought he might have found solace in Shawn, but that didn't seem to be. Not only had Noah warned him, even Brad felt like Shawn was bad news.
Tyson tried to shift his thoughts to all the good things that had happened instead. It didn't seem fair to only dwell on the bad parts of his life.
He had gotten a job and subsequently, a promotion too. He had met and become friends with one of his favorite athletes. Apart from his failed attempts at love, the rest of his life seemed to actually be going okay.
As Tyson pondered on this, he started to feel a little bit better. He wasn't a failure, and this wasn't his fault. He resolved in his heart that he would try again, maybe not with Shawn, but he wouldn't give up. He would find love and a happily ever after, just like he had always dreamed of.
As Tyson reflected about all this, he didn't notice the man in a black hoodie, standing next to him, with a metal bar raised above him.
This is the end of Revenge. Click here to start reading Full Circle, the fourth book in Long Habor City series on Amazon now!
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Also by Inge Mayhem
Wild Hearts Series
Lone Cowboy
Thrills of Danger
To Have and To Hold
The Affair
Final Escape
Long Harbor City Series
Redemption
Déjà Vu
Vengeance
Revenge
Full Circle
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Copyright © 2021 by Inge Mayhem
About the Author
Inge Mayhem loves binging on Netflix, reading voraciously and drifting off to a fantasy world.
Inge was born in Sweden but grew up in the U.S and currently living on a range with 2 dogs, 3 horses and a few chickens.
Inge enjoys cheese, whiskey and conjuring up male/male romance stories (in no particular order)...
