Foxe Hunt (8 page)

Skyler said nothing. And then a hint of…
something
…finally filtered through his thoughts. Evan’s phone message on Skyler’s cell. Evan hadn’t seemed depressed on that. He seemed hopeful and said as much. When was that? Skyler excused himself to the bedroom and grabbed his cell, calling up the messages. There it was. Evan had called only hours before he and Sidney went to his mother’s for dinner, probably while Skyler had been in the shower. What could have happened in those brief hours to have changed his disposition so drastically?

Unless…

Skyler looked through his bedroom doorway to his desolate friend sitting on his sofa. No, it wouldn’t help matters to tell Jeff that Evan may not have committed suicide at all.

As it happened, Sidney already knew. “He had scratched at someone awfully hard. There was blood under his nails and a bruise on his wrist. Someone forced that gun into his mouth.”

“Oh my God!” He swerved. Never have a phone conversation while driving, he admonished himself, especially when it involved a conversation about murder. He straightened the car and turned the corner for the high school.

She sighed. “I’m sorry, Skyler. I keep forgetting you two were…close.”

“Was it…was it his gun?”

“Yes. A Berretta M9. He had a few. Standard Army issue. We don’t know what happened yet. We’re trying to piece it together.”

“Have you told Jeff?”

“Yes. He seems to be taking this news better. It’s easier when there’s someone to blame and it isn’t the deceased.”

“What about his house? Does he have to clean that up himself?”

“No. I gave him a card for a company that does that sort of thing after a crime.”

“Jeez. There’s a business for everything.”

“I gotta go, Skyler. Call me tonight if you need to.”

“Okay. Thank you for helping him, Sid.”

“Yeah. I’ll call you.”

She hung up and he pulled the Bluetooth from his ear just as he pulled into the faculty parking lot. He parked and hurried up the steps to his second floor classroom. No time for coffee in the staff lounge. He’d have to go without until break at ten. The door to his room was open, probably left that way by the janitor.

He slipped inside but as he turned toward his desk, he froze.

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A large bouquet of exotic flowers was sitting on his desk in a glass vase. He set his leather satchel down next to his chair and reached for the FTD card. Someone sent flowers?

Looking forward to another wonderful night out.

K

He stared at it a long time before a warm feeling thawed the rawness that had settled in his chest from the past few hours’

events. Had it only been yesterday that he had bid a long and sensuous farewell to his “date” on Sunday afternoon? He couldn’t stop the smile that crept over his face and looked at the card once more before slipping it into his shirt pocket.

He checked his emails and tried to ready himself for class, but thoughts of Jeff intruded, keeping an edge on his already tender emotions. When it got a little overwhelming, he glanced up at the bouquet and smiled. He so wanted to do something with Keith tonight, but he wanted to keep his schedule open in case Jeff called him. He hoped Keith would understand.

As it was, he became too busy to leave his classroom. He ate a power bar for lunch that he kept in his satchel for emergencies and tried to catch up. He called Jeff several more times between classes but always got his voice mail. He thought of calling Sidney but he knew she’d call him if she could.

The bell rang for the last class of the day, and the sounds of many feet followed it. Laughing students pushed into the room and settled at their desks, tucking away backpacks and cell phones.

Heather, her raccoon eyeliner making her eyes appear brighter, stopped dead before his desk. “Ooh. Mr. Foxe! Who gave you the flowers?”

The rest of the class made catcalls and whistles.

Skyler felt his face redden and he ducked his head behind the computer screen, checking for emails. “What makes you think anyone
gave
me those?” he asked innocently.

Rick Flores sauntered in and stared at the flowers as he slid into his front row seat. “Whoo hoo. Check out the flowers. A Foxe hunt
59

secret admirer?” He looked toward Alex at the back of the class and winked.

Heather sat as Amber joined her and pouted, looking at the spray of anthuriums, birds of paradise, orchids, and harakeke.

“He won’t say. The man is being coy. I wonder if it’s a teacher here.”

Another round of “oohs” and whistles accompanied that and Skyler, unable to stop blushing, launched himself from his chair and headed for the front of his desk, ostensibly to begin teaching but hoping to hide the large bouquet from view.

“Enough speculation. Just leave my personal life out of it.”

Amber nodded her head with finality and glared at everyone in the room. Of course he knew she didn’t want to own up to the fact staring her in the face that Skyler had interests elsewhere.

“We’re going to see the second half of
Some Like it Hot
today, remember?” He wheeled the TV into position and slipped in the DVD. With the remote he found the place they left off Friday and started the movie.

He snuck to the back of the class and noticed Keith walking by the windows in the corridor, peeking in. Skyler slipped out the backdoor and caught Keith by the sleeve. The taller man turned a brilliant smile on him. “Hey, Skyler.”

His stomach gave a little swoop and he smiled up at Keith.

“Hi. Thanks for the flowers.”

“You’re welcome.” He stepped closer but seemed to catch himself. He glanced back at the class through the window. Skyler looked too but they all seemed enthralled by the glow of the TV.

“So have you thought about getting together tonight?”

His spirits plummeted. God how he wanted to! “Oh… A friend had a really awful thing happen and I think I have to be available to him.”

Keith’s face fell. “Oh. Well…naturally you have to be available.

To him.”

There was a hint in his tone that Skyler chose to ignore.

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“Maybe tomorrow night?” Skyler suggested.

“That might work out. I’ll let you know.”

They stood awkwardly for another moment, Keith leaning toward him seeming to want to touch. But Keith finally turned, and with a little embarrassed wave, left.

Skyler watched him go, wondering for the umpteenth time if his seeing another teacher on the sly was such a good idea.
Take
it slow
, he told himself.
Play it cool
.

§ § §

When Skyler got home after class he set the delivered flowers from Keith beside the other flowers the man had brought for their date, then kicked off his shoes. He tried to call Jeff one more time but got his voice mail yet again.

Sighing, he fixed himself a dinner of pasta with fresh tomato, garlic, and basil. He washed it down with a little Pinot Grigio and took a full wine glass with him to his desk and began reading and correcting essays.

The phone rang. Relieved, Skyler dived for it, but it wasn’t Jeff. It was Philip. “Oh. It’s you.”

“Well thanks a lot,” said Philip.

“No, I’m sorry. I thought it was Jeff.” And he told the whole terrible story.

“My God, Skyler. That’s horrible.”

“Yeah. I was sort of hanging around keeping the evening open in case Jeff called me. I feel so bad for him. For both of them.”

“Well, it’s about ten now. Do you think he’s going to call?”

“I don’t know.”

“Want me to come over and keep you company?”

Skyler looked around the lonely apartment and decided that company was a good idea. “Yeah. Come on up.”

Philip arrived not too long after. The large exotic spray of Foxe hunt
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flowers sitting next to the smaller arrangement on the kitchen counter dominated the room. “I didn’t know I was supposed to bring flowers.”

“Oh,” Skyler said, toying with the petals on the small autumn bouquet. “Keith brought this on Saturday. For our date.”

“And this one?”

“Um…Keith sent those today.”

“Sooo. How
was
that date? Jamie didn’t call me so I assumed the worst.”

“I didn’t call Jamie.” Skyler wandered into the living room and sat on the sofa. Philip made himself at home, poured some wine, and joined him.

“So what’s up, Sky?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel about the whole dating thing. I don’t know how I
should
feel.”

“Was the date that bad?”

“Bad? No. It was that good!” He snatched up his wine glass and knocked it back.

Philip frowned and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Wait a minute. The date was good… and that’s bad?”

“No. Yes. Well, not really. I mean, the guy’s a spectacular lover.

He is the poster child for stamina. We were at it half the night and a good portion of the next day. So that was great.”

“Uh huh. I’m failing to see—”

“But what does it all mean? Where does it all go? Is it just a reflection of a heterosexual lifestyle? Am I trying to emulate something I’m not?”

“Whoa, whoa there, dude. Just hold on. You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Let me see if I can put this in some sort of perspective. You had a spectacular first date with a guy you’ve been crushing on, he brings you flowers—”

“He bought me dinner.”

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“He bought you— Ah shit, Skyler. You’re just being an idiot.”

He glared at Philip and threw himself into the sofa cushion.

“Gee, thanks, Philip!”

“No, I really mean it. This man is perfect and you are fucking it up because you are afraid of commitment. It’s a classic case, really.”

“I’m not afraid of commitment,” he muttered, still crunched up tightly against the sofa, arms clenched over his chest.

“Yes, you are. Of all the members of the S.F.C., you and I were the closest to becoming boyfriends. Am I right?”

Skyler cocked his head and glanced at Philip. He was still quite attractive even with his bland brown hair and honey-colored eyes.

“Yes.”

“And why didn’t we?”

He shrugged, feeling a bit cornered.

“We liked each other, we have the same taste in things— except for your unnatural obsession with Motown music, which I will never understand—and we were pretty darned good in bed, as I recall.”

Skyler nodded, loosening his arms a little.

“So why didn’t we?”

He stared hard at his friend, trying to recall what did happen to their love affair two years ago. They’d fucked almost nonstop for a week. The following week Skyler began stopping by The Bean. The week after that they started to do other things and never slept together again. They’d never had what one would consider a date. Not like he and Keith had done Saturday night.

“I honestly don’t know, Philip,” he said seriously.

“You wouldn’t commit!” he said, finger pointing at Skyler’s chest. “It was one or the other with you. I wanted to stay all night, you wanted to kick me out. You wanted to come to The Bean and hang out but then you wouldn’t come home with me.

It seemed like as soon as you got to know someone or was on Foxe hunt
63

the cusp of knowing them, you’d back away. Not that I mind just being your friend. I love you, dude, you know that. But it could have been more. You just wouldn’t let it. Are you going to do the same thing with Keith?”

It was as if Philip was someone he’d never met before. He stared at his friend anew. No one had ever put it to him like that.

Maybe Sidney tried but it never sunk in as it was doing now.

“Jesus,” he whispered. “Is that what I did? Really?”

Philip bobbed his head and drank his wine. He scooted toward Skyler and more gently, he asked, “How do you really feel about Keith?”

He dredged up a deep sigh and did his best to contemplate Keith Fletcher objectively. “He’s…gorgeous.”

“Yeah, I got that part. But what do you
feel
about him?”

“Well…I like him. I do. He makes me feel…special. I feel more differently about him than I have for other tricks. I mean…

he’s not a trick.”

“Hmm.” Philip silently drank his wine.

Skyler jumped on the comment. “‘Hmm’? ‘Hmm’ what?

What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ve never before heard you say that anyone you brought home wasn’t a trick.”

“He didn’t feel like one. He felt more important than a trick.

But maybe it was the whole date thing.”

“Maybe. Or
maybe
,” he said, gesturing with wine glass, “it’s something about
him
.”

Thinking about it, Keith did seem different. His being a teacher might have had something to do with it. His sensitivity.

His good looks. He seemed a little domineering but that was okay.

It was probably the jock in him. And that was a bit appealing, too, he had to admit.

They talked a bit more, and Skyler ended up turning on the TV and flipping off the lights. Sitting comfortably on the
64 Haley Walsh

sofa sipping wine with Philip was very nice for a change. It had seemed like ages since he and Philip had a chance to be alone without the rest of the S.F.C. being there.

The doorbell. Skyler glanced at Philip and then the clock. It was 11:15. He rose and opened the door never expecting to see Keith standing there.

“I took a chance that you’d be up.” Mute, Skyler stepped aside to let him in. “I thought maybe you wanted some company while you waited for your friend to call…”

Philip switched on a light and Keith whipped his head toward the source. His eyes homed in on Philip. “I see you
have
company,”

he said tightly.

“Hi there!” said Philip, waving like an idiot. He slid his shoes on and stumbled toward Keith offering his hand. “I’m Philip Price, Skyler’s friend.”

Keith took his hand warily and shook it once. “Keith Fletcher.”

Philip’s brows disappeared into his hairline. His lips mouthed “holy shit” and his eyes did a quick appraisal of the taller man.