Written Into Love Read online

  Written

  Into

  Love

  Written Into Love

  by

  Joe Lechene

  Copyright © 2019 by Joe Lechene

  All rights reserved.

  Cover by Pro_ebookcovers @ www.fiverr.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  First Edition: January 2019

  This book is dedicated to the LGBTQ+ kids, teens, and young adults that don’t have a home to call their own.

  Table of Contents

  I

  II

  III

  IV

  V

  VI

  VII

  VIII

  IX

  X

  XI

  XII

  XIII

  XIV

  XV

  XVI

  XVII

  XVIII

  XIX

  XX

  XXI

  Epilogue

  Authors Note

  About The Author

  I

  I couldn’t help but laugh as the two boys ran up and down the hall chasing each other. It really was cute watching them have a good time. After what they went through, they deserved to be happy together. I tried to return my attention back to my computer screen, but I failed miserably. My thoughts kept returning back to when I first met the boys.

  …

  It was a cold day in the New York City winter. I was walking down the street wearing way more clothes than I could stand. As I walked down the snow-covered sidewalk, I saw them sitting against a building with a cup out in front of them. They looked so cute together, but so helpless at the same time. Both of them appeared to be emo’s, but as long as they were happy, I couldn’t have given two shits. Never in a million years would I have ever considered giving money to some bums on the street. However, my heart broke when I saw them. It was obvious, at least to me, that the two of them were a couple. Although, most people would have passed them off as two homeless kids. It was against my better judgment, but I pulled a twenty out of my wallet and put it in their cup. The older looking of the two flashed me a smile and quickly pulled the bill out of the cup, stuffing it into the pocket of his skinny jeans. He mouthed a ‘thank you’ to me and I nodded my head in return. All I could do was smile and keep walking down the street.

  The next couple of weeks went on the same way. I would pass them on the sidewalk and throw some money in their cup. This went on for about a month before I couldn’t take it anymore. The temperature had dropped overnight, almost colder than a human being should be meant to bare. The two boys were still sitting in the same spot on the sidewalk when I walked up to them. I started to pull my wallet out, almost out of habit, when I stopped myself. If I was cold, wearing a parka and long underwear, then these two must have been freezing. I slowly knelt down on one knee and faced them.

  “Guys, why don’t the two of you join me for breakfast? It’s on me and besides, you’ll both end up sick from being out in this cold.”

  The younger one looked at the other and smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. I could tell from the look that he was giving, that the younger wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Even after a month of giving these boys money almost every day, I had yet to hear either of them speak a word. It almost shocked me when the older one smiled at the other.

  He replied, “We really do appreciate the offer. And, under the circumstances, we’re more than willing to accept.”

  A sense of relief washed over me when they didn’t try to put up an argument. I was almost calm when the younger one stated, “Just don’t try to pull any funny business over us. We can take care of ourselves.”

  He seemed so sincere and overly protective of his presumable partner. It was so cute that it took all that I had not to laugh in front of them. All that I could force myself to do was stick my hand out and smile at the two boys in front of me.

  “I promise, no funny business,” whatever he meant by that. “Just a good cooked meal and someplace warm to sit for a while.”

  The younger of the two smiled at me and took my hand, allowing me to help him stand up. His little hand had to be cold under the thin gloves that he was wearing. For some reason, I thought that he was going to be shorter than he was. But, he stood as tall as me, about 5’10”. The older of the two stood up, just slightly taller than we were. Nothing else was said as the three of us started walking down the crowded street.

  It was a short walk down the snow-covered sidewalk before we reached the diner. I frequented this place about once a week for breakfast. The food was pretty good, although a little on the pricey side. Of course, nothing in this city was cheap. The diner was fairly busy, but it didn’t take that long for us to get a table. They sat down at the table across from me, taking off their coats, and hanging them on the back of their chairs.

  It wasn’t until this point that I really took a good look at them. Both appeared to be rather skinny under their long sleeve black thermal shirts. I was starting to wonder what they were using their money for because it didn’t look like they were eating. Both boys were rather cute, even with their neck-length black hair. The younger one appeared to have dirty-blond roots. He must have been dying his hair jet black. They picked up their menus and started flipping through them as the waiter came over to us.

  The young waitress greeted us, “Good morning. What can I get you to drink?”

  The boys looked like they were in a state of shock or something when she asked, so I decided just to order for them. “Three cups of regular coffee and two glasses of orange juice for them please.”

  She replied, “Sure thing, coming right up.”

  I wasn’t positive, but I could have sworn that I saw the older one smirk before looking back over the menu. It was only a few minutes later when the waitress returned with a tray carrying our beverages on it. She served them their glasses of orange juice before placing three empty coffee cups and a container of cream in front of us. Then she sat the tray down and filled our cups up with piping hot coffee.

  She pulled her order pad out of her apron pocket along with her pen. “Are you guys ready to order?”

  “Um, I’m not sure about them, but I think so. I’ll have the deluxe breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, and white toast.”

  “Same for me,” the younger one said.

  “Me too,” the older boy added.

  The waitress finished writing the orders on her pad before replying, “Okay, I’ll have your orders out shortly.”

  Their voices were timid, although somewhat excited at the same time. Both of them slowly poured some cream and sugar into their coffee as I started to sip mine just black. I was starting to get the impression that neither of them had been in a restaurant in quite a long time. It was cute watching the boys hold the mugs with both hands as they slowly sipped on the hot drink.

  “You guys should drink your orange juice too. It’ll help keep you from getting sick out there.”

  The younger nodded at me before setting his coffee mug down and taking a healthy gulp of his orange juice. The older quickly followed suit, almost drinking the whole glass before putting it back on the table. As much as I enjoyed just watching them, curiosity was starting to get the better of me.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, I have some questions. First, what are your names? Mine’s Ian.”

  The older looked at the y
ounger, who just gave him a simple nod, before replying, “I’m Erik and this is Tristan.”

  “Well, it’s nice to officially meet you both. That’s one of the things that I’ve been wondering for a while now.”

  Tristan looked down and asked, “What was gonna be your next question?”

  “Well,” I said as I casually scratched the back of my head. “I was wondering…” I was abruptly cut off by the waitress bringing our orders to the table.

  One thing about this place, it didn’t matter how busy they were, they were always fast. The boys barely let the plates hit the table before they were digging into their breakfasts. They must have been starving since they had half of their food gone before I even finished putting the jelly on my toast. All that I could do was smile as they scarfed down the food in front of them. That was when I started to feel really bad for them. They had to be starving and from the size of them, I wasn’t sure how they could eat so much at once. Neither one could have more than a 27” waist, and they were inhaling a full breakfast. I had just started on my pancakes when they finished what was placed before them. I decided to throw caution into the wind and pick up the conversation where I had left off.

  “So, are you guys like together? I mean, I don’t really care if you are. I’m gay myself. In fact, I write gay smut novels for a living.”

  Tristan responded, “Wow, is there actually money in that?”

  “Strangely, yes. At least, enough to keep me comfortable and pay my bills. Anyway, that wasn’t the answer to my question.”

  Erik looked over at Tristan and raised his eyebrows at him. I would have almost taken that for an immediate ‘yes,’ but I wanted to hear it directly from one of their mouths. Needless to say, I was kind of surprised when he nodded back at him. Erik took another sip from his coffee mug before answering me. “We are, but we aren’t out to anyone. Actually, I think that you’re the only other person that knows.”

  “It’s cool guys. Believe me, your secret is completely safe with me. I would never tell anyone. So, where do you guys live?”

  Tristan replied, “We’ve been staying at the teen shelter a couple blocks down.”

  I knew exactly which one he meant. It wasn’t exactly known for being the best place to stay. From my understanding, it was dirty and the workers didn’t care about anyone that was staying there. There had even been the occasional reports of an accidental death from that place. These guys just seemed entirely too sweet to be stuck staying in a place like that. Instinct immediately took over and I threw my caution out the door into the frigid cold.

  I took a deep breath before putting my thoughts into words. “Okay, from what I’ve heard, that place really sucks. The two of you deserve something better than that. So, here’s my proposition. I have a spare bedroom, it isn’t much, but I think that the bed is a queen. It’s available if the two of you should decide to take me up on the offer.”

  Erik asked, “What’s the catch?”

  “I’ll help you guys get jobs so you don’t eat me out of house and home. Help chip in for the groceries. I know that it isn’t much, but it’ll give both of you a decent place to stay until you get on your feet.”

  Erik looked at me like he was questioning my motives, of which I had none except for helping the two of them out. Besides, it would actually be cheaper having them just live with me versus putting money in their cup every day.

  Tristan looked down at his empty plate and sighed, “I don’t know.”

  “On the plus side, it’ll give you two your own space to be alone together.”

  “Fuck it,” Tristan exaggerated and looked at Erik, “I’m sold. How soon can we move in?”

  “Um, as soon as you’re ready.”

  Erik shrugged his shoulders and said, “It looks like we’ll be taking you up on your offer then. Not sure about the job thing, but I’m sure that we can work it out. Besides, that place is a complete shit hole. We can’t even sleep close to each other.”

  “Good, I’ll help you guys get your things. After, I eat the rest of my breakfast.”

  The boys smiled at me and we finished what was left on our plates before I settled up the bill. When we were all finished eating, I followed the boys back to the shelter and helped them gather up their things. Which was really just some clothes and a few personal possessions. When they were ready, they followed me back to my apartment and I introduced them to their new home.

  …

  That day was almost two years ago and I haven’t regretted doing it a day since.

  II

  Over the past two years, Erik and Tristan had become almost an extended family to me. Shortly after they moved in, I got them interviews at a restaurant a few blocks away from the apartment. The manager was an ex-boyfriend of mine, but we were still good friends. Of course, being cute young guys, they were hired as waiters right away. Once they had somewhat of an income, they chipped in each week for the groceries. Although, since they usually worked in the evenings, the only meal that I usually had with them was lunch. Even after chipping in for food, I made sure that they had enough left for the necessities that they needed.

  I did find myself acting like a parent to them at times. Considering that Erik was nineteen and Tristan was eighteen, my thirty-two-year-old ass had to teach them a few things. For a while, they were both guilty of leaving messes around the apartment. That was something that I fixed pretty quick. Neither one was all that great at doing laundry. They picked up pretty quick on that after a few lessons. And keeping their room clean, that was probably the hardest. It seemed like once a month I had to get on them to clean up their room. After a couple months though, they kept the mess to a minimum.

  For the most part though, when they were home they stayed in their room. Except when they came out to go to the bathroom. That was really the only real downfall to our living arrangement, the guest bedroom didn’t have a bathroom attached. However, if it wasn’t for that, there would have been days that I didn’t see them at all.

  There would be times when I was working on a novel that I wouldn’t sleep until I got everything that I was thinking typed out. I was always afraid that if I went to bed, I would forget the idea that I had come up with when I woke up. Even if what I typed was a jumbled mess, it could always be fixed later. That was one of the things that I liked about writing the most. As long as the story was sound, the technical part could always be corrected after the fact. Besides, I had a kick-ass editor that could fix even the most horrendous of my mistakes.

  On the evenings that I was stuck to my computer, Erik and Tristan would pretty much leave me alone to my work. Although, every once in a while, I had to take a night off and give my brain a chance to come up with new ideas. Not really one for going out, I would take the time to lay on the sofa and watch a movie or something. Once the guys got home from work, they would usually join me, cuddled up on the love seat. It was always Erik holding Tristan between his legs with his back against his chest, usually covered up with a blanket. Now, I might not be a genius, but I could tell how deeply Erik cared for his lover. He was always protective of Tristan, even if it was by accident.

  Everything about our little living arrangement was perfect. That was until the fighting started. It all started one night when the boys came home from work late. I was up late, as usual, trying to get another chapter on my latest smut novel finished when I heard the door open. Normally, the two of them coming home from work wouldn’t have stopped me from typing. However, the way that they were moving made me stop and get up from my desk. When I looked out into the hallway, I was shocked to see Tristan trying to hold Erik up as they sluggishly walked to their room.

  Tristan had a couple of cuts on his face and his hands had some scrapes on them. Erik, on the other hand, had bruises already forming on his face. Dried and wet blood was covering both of hands. It was hard to tell if it was his or mixed with someone else’s. He was also limping on his left leg. It broke my heart seeing the two of them looking like this. I wasn’t s
ure if I should try to help them or call for an ambulance.

  It took everything that I had to ask them, “Oh my God, are you guys alright?”

  Erik just looked at the floor as Tristan answered me, “We’ll be fine. I just need to get him cleaned up and into bed.”

  “Do you need help? What happened?”

  “I got this,” Tristan replied. “A couple guys jumped us when we left work. Believe me, they look way worse than we do. I’ll get him cleaned up and into bed though. Thanks for offering.”

  Tristan helped Erik walk into the bathroom and they disappeared behind the door. I was actually so freaked out that I called my ex-boyfriend, who happened to be their boss. I told him what happened and he genuinely freaked out on the other side of the phone. He kept insisting that the area around the restaurant was safe and nothing like this has ever happened before. After calming him down, at least as much as I could, he offered to walk them out on the nights that he closed.

  Shortly after getting off the phone, the two boys came out of the bathroom. Erik had a towel wrapped around his waist as Tristan helped him walk to their bedroom. This wasn’t the first time that I’d seen him without a shirt. However, it was the first time that I saw the bruises on his ribs and abdomen. Some of them looked like they were healing, leading me to believe that this wasn’t their first fight. Tristan had helped him into their room and shut the door before I had a chance to question it.