Josey Green sat at his desk a month later, tapping a pencil against his sketchpad as he tried to bring his mind back to the task of drawing a troupe of dancing squirrels. He’d buried himself in his work after his encounter with ‘Tor’, but clearly that wasn’t a sustainable solution to his heartbreak problem and he was starting to feel the burnout. Which was a shame, because this story was one he’d been looking forward to illustrating.

There was a tap on the glass of the office’s inner window that looked into the common area shared by his team and Josey raised his eyes to Melissa’s worried face. She was the head of the illustrating department at Bright Horizons Publishing and had practically adopted Josey as a favorite nephew. Right now he was certain she was about to give him a lecture on the consequences of overworking himself. Again. With a groan, he scooted his chair to the door and poked his head out.

“I know,” he sighed. “You don’t have to say it.”

“Good,” Melissa replied. “Then let me get your coat and send you home with a kiss on the cheek.”

“It’s ten in the morning, I can’t go home,” Josey protested.

“Then go somewhere else, but you can’t stay here,” Melissa said. “Josey, you need a vacation. You’re ahead of schedule on all your projects and frankly, those circles under your eyes are making ME tired. Go do something fun and don’t return for two weeks – I need my best illustrator back, not this sad rag-doll who’s been haunting the office lately!”

Josey sighed again. He’d told himself it was silly to be so heartbroken over a stranger who, honestly, had been kind of rude. It wasn’t that he’d been particularly attracted to Tor – true, the man had been tall with darker blond hair that probably blazed like gold when it was properly clean – but Josey had been looking forward to meeting his soulmate for years. He’d been able to see his red string since he was nine years old, which was exceedingly rare, as most people didn’t see the string until they felt the tugging right before they met the person at the other end. But Josey had been able to see his string for ages, even if he’d never able to follow it before (it faded off after a couple of steps). The little red string had been enough to assure him he wasn’t alone, that there was someone out there who would care for him as much as he cared for them. It’d been the only thing that kept him going after his parents kicked him out of their house when they learned he was attracted to men. Seventeen year-old Josey Green would’ve faded away into nothingness without the red string to remind him that he had something to be brave for, that he had yet to meet that person meant just for him.

“Then I met him,” Josey thought glumly, “and he didn’t want me.”

A throat nearby cleared and he looked up at Melissa, who was holding his coat.

“Just another half hour,” he pleaded. “Let me clean up my emails and then I’ll be out of here.”

“You have fifteen minutes and then I’m dragging your ass downstairs,” Melissa replied and she threw his coat at him. “I’m going to tell Mr. Krispik to throw you in a taxi and send you to City Center Park, where you’ll spend the day sketching tourists. No arguments, Josey!”

Josey actually laughed as she stomped off, which felt good.

“A field trip might be what I need,” he told himself, yet he still took his time as he turned to log off his computer, closing programs one by one after saving all his files. He was just about to boot down the machine when his office phone rang. The caller ID said it was the front security desk.

“Jeez, she wasn’t kidding about Mr. Krispik,” Josey muttered under his breath, but he picked up the phone. “Mr. Krispik, I still have a few more minutes before Melissa’s ultimatum. Please don’t make me get into the taxi yet!”

“Er, I have no idea what you’re talking about Mr. Green,” came the older security guard’s voice.

Josey coughed with embarrassment. “Never mind, how can I help you Mr. Krispik?”

“A visitor just arrived asking for you,” Mr. Krispik answered. “He says that he’s a friend…were you expecting anyone today?”

No, Josey hadn’t been expecting anyone, but something about the way his heart thumped erratically made him cautiously ask, “Did he say his name?”

There was a crackle on the other end, before the reply, “He says it’s Tor.”

Josey closed his eyes and tried to tamp down the flare of hope that coursed through his veins.

“It’s alright, Mr. Krispik, he’s a friend,” he said. “Could you please sign him into the visitor book? I’ll be right down to get him.”

There was a pause before Mr. Krispik said, “Are you sure he’s a friend, Josey?”

“Yes, Mr. Krispik, I’m quite sure,” Josey replied and he hung up the phone so there wouldn’t be any more questions. Of course he didn’t know if Tor was a friend, but he hadn’t tried to hurt him before, so he certainly wasn’t an enemy. If anything, Tor had gone out of his way to make sure Josey made it safely back to the main streets…he couldn’t be all bad, right?

“I just hope he’s not hurt,” Josey thought as he grabbed his ID and scurried out of the office. “He was pretty adamant about not wanting to meet again, so I can only imagine he’s here out of desperation!”

Josey did his best to calm his heartrate and set his face to a neutral expression in the elevator ride down to the lobby. Bright Horizons Publishing was on the 10^th floor of a sixteen-story building, so he had enough time to smooth his hair and set a polite smile on his face before the doors opened and…there he was. Tor, standing at the security desk. He was wearing the same dirty parka as a month ago and looked more or less the same, except for an ugly scrape on his cheek. Josey took one look at it and lost his composure; he practically flew across the lobby to reach him.

“Oh no! What happened?” he said, grabbing his own hand to restrain himself from touching Tor.

Tor glanced down at him; did Josey imagine that flicker of relief in his deep grey eyes?

“It’s just a scrape,” he answered gruffly.

“Whatever you call it, we have a first aid kit upstairs,” Josey said. “I’ll clean it for you once we get to my office.”

Tor sighed. “I suppose it would be a waste of breath to argue with you, huh?” 

“Damn right!” Josey replied, and to his delight the other man grinned. Yes, Tor was almost handsome when he smiled.

The moment was interrupted by Mr. Krispik. “Captain Winters? Your ID and visitor’s pass.” 

The security guard held the cards out to Tor and that’s when Josey realized Mr. Krispik was addressing his companion. Josey caught a glimpse of a military ID and yes, the name there read “Captain Torsten Winters.”

“It’s just Tor, sir, I’m a civilian now,” Tor replied, as much for Josey as for Mr. Krispik. The older security guard shook his head.

“Honor should be given where honor is due,” he said. 

Tor’s jaw clenched as if he was holding back an argument and Josey decided it was time to get him away from Mr. Krispik. 

“Thank you Mr. Krispik,” he said quickly, and he tugged Tor towards the elevator. “If Melissa calls, tell her I’ll be leaving once Tor and I attend to his cheek.”

Mr. Krispik gave him a thumbs up and then the elevator doors closed. Tor sighed loudly and Josey glanced up at him; Tor’s eyes were closed, as if he was concentrating hard on something. It looked painful and Josey wanted to distract him.

“Were you really in the army?” he asked in a quiet voice.

Tor’s head nodded ever so slightly. “Rangers. I was discharged less than a year ago.”

Josey nodded, even though Tor couldn’t see it. He studied the older man with eyes accustomed to picking out details: besides the scrape on his cheek, Josey noted a scattering of scars on the left side of Tor’s face, his neck, and even on his left hand. They didn’t appear new, but they certainly hadn’t been there long either.

“Probably little more than a year,” Josey thought with a sinking feeling in his stomach. 

Before he could stop himself, he asked, “Were you discharged because you were injured?”

Tor’s eyes flew open and he stared at Josey with astonishment. For a moment, Josey was tempted to take his scarred hand and tell him it was all going to be alright, but then the elevator doors opened again and they were at the Bright Horizons suite. Josey guided Tor to his little office and sat him on his chair (it groaned under the unexpected weight of the larger man) before he ran off to find the first aid kid. When he returned, Tor was looking over the unfinished squirrels in his sketchbook.

“I’m guessing you don’t illustrate erotic novels here,” the man said with a wry grin.

If he was trying to embarrass Josey, it wasn’t going to work. Josey smiled back.

“Nope, not here,” he said. “I do all those illustrations at home. Why, are you interested in modeling for me?”

Tor looked a little shocked at this turn of events and Josey almost cackled. Instead he shook his head.

“I haven’t drawn nude figures in a while,” he said. “Not since art school. It’s not really my thing – I’ve always been more interested in animals and nature.”

Tor nodded, glancing at the posters of book covers and children’s book awards hanging on the walls.

“You’re a good artist,” he admitted. “I don’t know much about kid’s books, but I won’t argue with all those awards.” 

Josey felt his cheeks flush at the praise, but he’d learned long ago not to downplay how much effort it had taken to reach this point.

“Thank you, it’s been hard work,” he said as he unpacked the first aid kit. “I started illustrating while I was still in school to help pay the bills – my scholarships didn’t include enough for food or art supplies, unfortunately. I was always working on freelance stuff that people advertised for in writer’s forums or on the student union’s bulletin boards because they wanted cheap labor. But one of those books got nominated by some state library award and that’s how Melissa – my current boss – found me. The sleepless nights paid off in the end, because now I get to be picky about my which projects I take…not many illustrators have that power at my age.”

“Which is how old exactly?” Tor asked as Josey started to clean his cheek with an alcohol wipe.

The younger man grinned. “Old enough for most things.”

Tor snorted, but he took the answer in stride. He sat quietly as Josey cleaned his injury and placed a bandage on his cheek. There were so many questions Josey wanted to ask him, but he remembered his promise and decided to let Tor tell him what he needed when the time was right. For now, it was nice just to have him here.

Once the first aid kit was packed up and put away again, Josey returned to his office and met Tor’s gaze. The man had an air of embarrassment about him, as though he’d overreacted about something and now was afraid he’d be scolded for putting up a fuss. Josey carefully considered what to do.

“I’m hungry,” he announced. “Would you like an early lunch?”

Tor’s expression hardened. “Is this a date thing or a charity thing?”

“Neither,” Josey replied. “It’s a ‘my-boss-is-going-to-come-by-in-a-minute-and- scold-me-for-still-being-here-when-she-told-me-to-go-home’ thing and I’d really like to avoid that. Officially, I’m supposed to be on vacation and I figured it would be rude to kick you out of my office without offering you the chance to eat something too.”

The other man considered it for a minute. “Well, I’d hate for you to have to be rude.”

Josey suppressed another smile. “I’m glad we can agree on something. Come on, let’s get out of here before Melissa catches us!”

It was too late, because there was a knock on the window and the door swung open.

“Time’s up Josey! Don’t make me fight…you…” Melissa’s words slowed as she noticed Josey’s guest. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you had a visitor!”

Josey thanked his stars that he hadn’t told Melissa anything about his red string or Tor, because he was able to say with a straight face, “It’s alright, we’re just heading out for lunch. Tor, this is my boss Melissa. Tor is a friend – he was in the area and decided to stop by.”

He looked to Tor for confirmation and to his relief, the man nodded.

“I’m here to make sure he goes on vacation,” Tor said.

Melissa’s eyebrows raised up, and after another surreptitious glance over both men, she smiled.

“Is that so?” she said, with a twinkle of humor in her eyes. “Well then, I leave him in your hands. I expect him back in two weeks in better shape! See you Josey – give me a call if you need anything.”

She winked at both of them before she left and Josey felt his ears grow hot; there were definitely going to be rumors around the office after this. He shrugged on his coat and turned to Tor.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

Tor stood out of the office chair (it groaned in relief) and nodded.

“Lead the way,” he said.

* * * * * *