Footsteps of the Past (Second Chances #2) - Felice Stevens Page 0,12

something’s going on with my stomach.” He rubbed his abdomen, which made an alarmingly loud noise. His chuckle turned into a wince of pain. “Oh God, there it goes again.”

André took off for the bathroom, and Chess heard the door slam. Ten minutes later, pale and walking slower than before, André shuffled into the kitchen and sat carefully on the chair Chess held for him.

“For a minute I thought I was dying, the cramps were so bad.”

Chess smoothed the now sweaty strands of hair sticking to André’s brow. “Do you want me to call a doctor? What could it be from? You haven’t eaten anything since you got home.”

Giving him a wan smile, André rubbed his face. “I have to assume it’s the meal I had on the plane. I chose the salad, fish, and vegetables. I wanted to eat healthy after so many nights of banquet food and drinking.”

His neck prickled with awareness at André’s words. “Oh? You were drinking too much?” André rarely indulged in more than a glass or two of wine or champagne. Chess had asked him once if there was a reason, but André had merely shrugged and said, “I like to keep my wits about me.”

A rueful smile crossed André’s lips before being replaced with a grimace of pain. “Unfortunately, I might’ve. I messed up.” He picked up Chess’s fingers and kissed them. “It was a stupid mistake that won’t happen again. Especially now that we’re here together.” A twinkle lit his eyes. “I’ll put you in charge of keeping me in line. Oh, shit. Again?” Alarm replaced the teasing, and he jumped up and sped off.

“Go lie down when you’re finished,” Chess called after him.

The bathroom door banged shut again, and Chess winced, then picked up the scones and put them away. After pacing for several minutes and debating with himself, he sat on the couch with his phone and brought up the group chat with his friends.

Chess: Hey.

Spencer: What’s up?

Elliot: Hi.

Wolf: What’s wrong?

He chewed his lip. Leave it to Wolf to see right through him, even with a single word.

Spencer: Why do you always think something’s wrong?

Wolf: Because I remember André is supposed to come home today or tomorrow. And if that’s the case, why would Chess be talking to us?

Spencer: Damn, Wolfie, you’ve got a good memory.

Wolf: That’s because I haven’t spent years killing off my brain cells like you have.

Elliot: Is André home? Is there a problem?

In all their years together he’d never outright lied to them, but neither had he revealed his unhappy, unhealthy childhood. When Elliot had told them the shocking story of his birth and the subsequent reconciliation with his parents, Chess’s heart had been as thrilled for his best friend as it was broken for himself, as there wasn’t ever going to be a second chance for him.

Knowing they were waiting, he hesitated, still unsure whether to tell them about the pictures, especially now that they’d disappeared. He didn’t want to spread a lie or talk negatively about the man he loved, but he couldn’t keep it to himself any longer. He needed someone’s opinion. He rolled the information around in his head before responding.

Chess: André is home but brought a stomach virus with him, so right now he’s dying a slow death in the bathroom. But I have another issue.

Spencer: What?

Chess: You know André doesn’t really drink. He told me now he slipped up this time.

Elliot: Uh-oh. Meaning what?

Chess: Yesterday I was tagged in some Instagram photos showing André dancing at a party or bar. His fingers faltered, but then he decided to hell with it. In one of them he was kissing some man I’ve never seen.

Spencer: What the fuck. Are you sure it was André?

Wolf: Who sent you those pictures? Email them to us.

Elliot: What did André say?

Chess: I haven’t mentioned it to him because I don’t have them anymore. Whoever sent them must’ve untagged or blocked me…IDK. All I know is they disappeared, so I have nothing to show him.

Wolf: You need to say something.

Spencer: Wolfie, you’re the last person to give advice. You almost fucked over Elliot and Win’s relationship. Remember that mistake?

Chess didn’t often listen to Spencer’s advice, but in this case he did have a point. Not everything was always as it seemed. André didn’t act guilty or worried, and he’d easily confessed to having had too much to drink. He’d come home as loving as ever.

Elliot: You can still ask him, but I can’t believe André would do