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We laughed before I teased, "you'll be exactly the same way when you find your own special man."
I wasn't prepared for the explosive reaction which followed.
Wendy stood and pushed her chair backward with such force, it crashed to the floor. Her dinner was only half eaten.
"There will never be a fucking man in my life, special or otherwise! Any man who lays his fingers on me again without permission will find them, and his fucking cock separated from the rest of his body by way of the sharpest knife in the kitchen."
I sat with my mouth wide open as I witnessed her outburst, tears flowed over her cheeks. I was stunned when she stormed off to the guest suite and slammed the door hard enough to rattle a couple of windows.
"What the fuck was that about, what happened to her?" Luke was as stunned as me. He pushed his empty dinner plate to the middle of the table, slid his chair back and turned to face where I sat. I did the same so we were facing each other as we spoke.
"I have no fucking idea. It appears I've been living under a rock when it comes to best friend. Until she told you the other day, I had no idea she had family." I gathered Luke's hand in mine and kissed his knuckles. He brushed his lips over mine. "I'm worried about her."
"Do you want to know what I think, going on my police experience?"
I nodded.
"I think Wendy has been abused, maybe even raped. I also think it's a close friend, or family member, as she refuses to have contact with them. I remember she said she has four brothers, I believe her family may have said she was at fault for whatever happened. They've more than likely turned their backs on her. What was she like when you first met?"
Fuck, I hated the thought she'd been abused in some way, or God forbid, raped. But what Luke said made sense. When I thought back to different things that had happened over the years, subtle things, Wendy's reactions had me believing what Luke said was true. I recalled what she'd been like when we'd first met in Uni.
"Wendy was quiet, jittery, nervy, and watchful. I put it down to her being a shy, country girl. I knew she'd come from a small country town called Baufort. I didn't ask about family, and because she never mentioned them, I believed she didn't have any. She didn't go out of her way to make friends, but she gravitated to me when I admitted her that I was gay. I think the knowledge made her more relaxed, I wasn't a threat…. Fuck!" The penny dropped. It was pretty obvious now that she had suffered abuse and felt threatened by heterosexual men.
Luke nodded. "Did you notice how she changed toward me after learning I was gay? Yesterday and this morning she was snappy, almost nasty. Tonight, she was quieter, more understanding. I no longer posed a threat, just like you."
I dragged my fingers through my hair. "How the fuck did I miss this. We've been best friends for fifteen fucking years. How the hell did I not know?"
"You were studying and running a station, babe. You're busy and Wendy isn't exactly open about herself."
"I need to speak with her."
"Be careful, babe. Give her time. She's not ready to let anyone in, not even you. She may never be, and if you push, she could run. Let her know you're aware of something in her past which is causing turmoil in her life and when she's ready to let you, or us in, we'll be here for her."
"When did you get to be so smart?"
"Lawyer. Cop. Remember? I'm not just a pretty face. Unlike most football jocks, I have a brain and I like to learn."
"You're also very observant."
"Goes with being a cop."
"Luke?"
"Yes."
"Did you mean what you said earlier about thinking you might be in love with me?"
"Yes, I did."
"I think I might be in love with you, too. Do you think it's too soon to ask you to move in with me?"
"Move in? As in share a room, your bed?"
"Yes."
"Kyle, babe, we've known each other, sort of, for nineteen years. You've been a part of my soul ever since I first saw you in school and you've been in my thoughts ever since. Even though we'd hardly spoken, and not seen each other for fifteen years, you were always in my heart. I would like nothing more than to move in with you. To start building the life together I knew we were meant to have."
"I never stopped dreaming of you either, it broke my heart when you didn’t come back here after Uni. I don't know why you would have, I just wanted it so badly."
