Death Changes Everything

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2Even though it had been nearly three A.M. by the time Ian and Danny got to their room in the Hollywood Hotel, Danny woke up at eight A.M. and couldn’t get back to sleep. After tossing and turning for a bit, he got up, showered, dressed, and fixed himself a cup of coffee using the courtesy coffee in the hotel room. As he drank his coffee, he watched Ian sleeping. So many memories came flooding back to him.

He thought about the first time he saw Ian. It was the first day of school their freshman year at Hollywood High School. He was sitting in Ms. Greene’s freshman English class when Ian walked into the room. Ian was stunning with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned swimmer’s body, but there was something more than just his looks. Ian had an air of confidence, which was rare for a freshman on their first day of school. Danny couldn’t take his eyes off him. When Ian sat at the desk next to him, Danny got an instant b***r. Ian smiled and said, “Hi.” Danny was so smitten by Ian’s dazzling smile and friendliness, he could barely get out a reply.

It wasn’t until a couple days later that they had their first real conversation. Danny was sitting alone at one of the tables in the corner of the quad, and a couple of the soccer players came up to him and started harassing him. They had been calling him faggot and c**k sucker when Ian walked up and said, “Just because you want to suck his c**k, doesn’t mean he wants to suck yours.”

The bigger of the two players turned to Ian, getting ready to hit him, and said, “What the f**k are you talking about? I’m not a fag.”

Ian remained very calm as he replied, “I never said you were, but I’ve heard all about what happens in the locker room after soccer practice. Not everyone on campus is as into c***s as the soccer team is.”

Several students who had gathered around to see if a fight would start, laughed at Ian’s comment. Someone in the crowd said, “The whole school knows how much the soccer team likes to play with each other’s balls.” That caused a second round of laughter, and the soccer players quickly walked away.

As the crowd dispersed, Ian asked Danny, “Mind if I join you?” That was the start of a friendship that had lasted all through high school.

Danny thought about how much he really liked Ian. He would have loved to have their friendship blossom into a romance. He had always wondered if Ian was gay. There were many times he felt the situation could have turned s****l, but he was too afraid to say anything or make a move on Ian. He had been worried that if they did anything, it might ruin their friendship. So, he just lusted after Ian, mentally taking pictures of him for his spank-bank. Watching him sleep now, all these years later, he couldn’t help but notice Ian had gotten so much hotter in the last fifteen years. In spite of the fact Ian was married to a woman, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Ian might be gay or bi.

“Good afternoon! I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up,” Danny said as Ian slowly sat up in bed.

“Good morning. What time is it?” Ian asked, rubbing his eyes and stretching.

“It’s 1:30 in the afternoon. You must have been exhausted to sleep that long. How are you feeling?”

Ian yawned as he said, “I’m still tired. Even though I was exhausted last night, I couldn’t get into a deep sleep. I kept waking up, thinking about Debbie. I couldn’t get rid of the image of the coroner wheeling her out of our house. I kept seeing the blue and red flashing lights as I came home. My mind was racing, trying to figure out why anyone would kill her. Around 4:30, I took a sleeping pill just so I could get some rest. By the way, you snore like a freight train.”

Danny sheepishly said, “Sorry about my snoring. I guess I should have warned you about that.”

“I thought about waking you up and reminding you that you were here to protect me, not annoy me with your snoring. Some bodyguard you are, sleeping on the job,” Ian said with a smile. His smile still lit up the room, his eyes still shone bright with warmth.

“There’s a police officer outside the door. Detective Johnson thought it would be better to have that extra layer of protection. I’m really here just for moral support, which I guess is good because if I were the bodyguard, you’d have to punish me for sleeping on the job,” Danny said before he could stop himself. His memories of how much he lusted after Ian caused his flirtatiousness to just slip out.

“I guess it’s good there is a police officer outside. I don’t know if you’d like the punishment I’d give you,” Ian said, surprising Danny with his flirty response. Then getting a little more serious, he asked, “Are you ever going to tell me what the other detective showed you, that caused you all to suddenly be concerned about my safety?”

“It’s just standard procedure in a case like this,” Danny replied flatly.

“Seriously, you’re a horrible liar! I can tell by looking at you that you’re not telling me the truth. Besides, if you’re going to lie, at least make it believable. Do you seriously think I’m gullible enough to believe that every murder victim’s family gets police protection? Whatever it is, please, just tell me. I can handle the truth, no matter how much I may not like it, better than being kept in the dark and wondering.”

Danny sighed in resignation, “We found a note, presumably left by the killer, that said, Sorry I missed you professor. This should have been you. I’ll get you next time.”

Ian thought about the note for a minute. His bright smile faded, his eyes filled with tears as he said, “Thank you for telling me. I appreciate the honesty. Do you think Debbie was killed by someone who was actually trying to kill me? That she’s dead because of me? That this is all my fault?”

Danny got up and walked over to Ian. “No, it isn’t your fault! Don’t even think that. I didn’t want to tell you for fear you would react just as you are reacting. For all we know, the note is just an attempt by the killer to get us looking at people who might target you, rather than your wife. Most likely it’s an attempt to steer our investigation away from the real killer,” he said, trying to prevent Ian from feeling any type of guilt over his wife’s death.

“Obviously you think the note’s real, or else you wouldn’t be here, and there wouldn’t be a police officer outside the door,” Ian protested.

“The uniformed officer is there because we have to take every precaution. I’m here because I truly do want to help you through this. I consider you a friend and am here for you. I’m not here because of any threat, but because I know this is a difficult time for you. I want to be here for you,” Danny said as he hugged Ian.

Ian cried on Danny’s shoulder for a while before saying, “Thank you. I really do appreciate it. It’s great to have you here, I really have missed you and thought a lot about you over the years. I want to continue this conversation, but right now I really need to pee.”

As Ian walked to the bathroom in just his briefs, Danny couldn’t help but notice just how sexy Ian’s body was. His broad shoulders, his perfect pecs dusted with blonde hair, his flat stomach, and his sculpted legs were all proof he worked hard to stay in shape. Danny’s eyes took in all of Ian’s amazing body before focusing in on his impressive ass. Danny’s c**k got hard as he thought of how much fun he could have with Ian, if only he weren’t straight. Danny reminded himself he had to keep this professional, and that Ian had just lost his wife. In an attempt to stop lusting after him, Danny said, “You must be hungry. What would you like to eat? Detective Johnson will be coming in a little bit, I can ask her to stop and get you something to eat, or if you prefer, I can order from room service.”

“I’m not really hungry but I could go for some coffee. I’d even be happy with the coffee the hotel has in the room,” came Ian’s response from the bathroom.

“You don’t want that. It’s really lousy coffee,” Danny replied.

“What you mean to say is, I already drank the coffee, so there’s none for you,” Ian said, his warmth and sense of humor shining once again.

Before Danny could answer there was a knock at the door. “It’s Jess. I come bearing gifts.”

Danny answered the door and saw the detective carrying drinks and bags of food. Detective Johnson said, “I figured you’d be hungry and I know how much you like Fat Burger, so I stopped and got lunch. I wasn’t sure what Mr. Hughes likes on his burger so I had them put everything on it and figured he can take off what he doesn’t like. Where is he?” Jessica Johnson was one of the best detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department. As a woman, it had been a struggle to be respected as a detective, but her skills and talents helped her break through the misogynistic wall. She could be as tough as anyone else, but she had a very kind, caring side too. She was always the first to jump in and help anyone who needed help, so it was no surprise she had brought lunch without being asked.

“He’s in the bathroom,” Danny replied.

“Have you been able to talk to him? Did you find out anything useful?” Jessica asked, her professional side kicking in.

“No, he just woke up a few minutes ago. He was still in shock last night so we didn’t talk much. He knew something was up with the protection detail, so I told him about the note.”

“You didn’t tell him everything, did you?”

“No. I just told him what it said. I didn’t think he needed to know it was written in his wife’s blood,” Danny explained.

Ian walked out of the bathroom in just his briefs and saw Jessica. “Oh s**t! I didn’t realize we had company. I’ll get dressed right away. Sorry about that.”

“No worries. I was married for several years, so it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. I brought lunch for you,” she responded. Although Jess was straight, it wasn’t Ian’s hot body she was looking at. She was watching Danny as he drank in Ian’s body, his eyes fixating on the rather impressive bulge in the light blue briefs. She gently hit Danny on the arm, and whispered, “Keep your thoughts professional.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” Ian said as he hurriedly threw on a T-shirt and pair of shorts. He sat down at the small hotel room table and just stared at his food.

“Do you like burgers and fries? You aren’t vegetarian, are you? I’m sorry if you are. I can go get you something else to eat if you don’t want this,” Jess said apologetically when she noticed Ian wasn’t eating.

“No, this is fine. Fat Burger is my favorite place to get hamburgers. I really appreciate you thinking of me. I’m just not very hungry. I’ve got a million things running through my mind,” Ian replied as he politely picked up a French fry, dipped it in some ketchup, and ate it.

Danny had been starving, so he didn’t wait for Ian before he started eating. He swallowed the bite of hamburger he had been chewing and asked, “What’s going through your mind? Talk to me, I’m here to help.”

“It just dawned on me that I need to make arrangements for Debbie’s funeral. I guess I should probably talk to her sister and get her input on all of that. Oh s**t! Has anybody even told Dana? Where’s my phone? I should probably call her.” Ian said, jumping up and searching for his phone.

Danny pulled Ian back to the table. “It’s okay. I’m sure Dana already knows. If she doesn’t, wouldn’t it be better to tell her in person? We can stop by later and talk with her and plan the funeral. But right now, you need to eat something. You haven’t eaten since sometime yesterday and you’ll need your strength to get through all of this.”

“How would Dana know? Did a police officer go and notify her?”

“It’s been on the news and in the newspapers. Your wife was a fairly prominent figure in Los Angeles. We’ll take you to see Dana after lunch. I’m here to help you through this, so please, sit down and eat something,” Danny said gently.