Bittersweet Homecoming

A couple of notes:

This is a prequel to Bittersweet Irish Cream but it's not their story, it's Connor's. It takes place a little over a year before Ethan comes to town. Jack does show up in the first part.

This is a sequel to Surprise Date but you do not have to read it unless you want the backstory of them. This is a stand alone story.

Connor is a bisexual male but this is an MF story, Connor and Afia.

It's a slow burn. Sex doesn't really happen until the end.

-KK

~~~

(Circa December 2006)

Two weeks before Christmas Afia heard the chime of the door but was busy counting pills to pay attention to the next customer. "One second," she called out.

"Afia."

His voice made her heart leap. She looked up and saw her best friend, his blond hair in a buzz cut, covered in a camouflage jacket and pants, brown boots and holding a black duffle bag, a soft smile on his face.

"Connor!" she shrieked. If she could have she would have jumped over the long counter to get to him, but instead she ran around and jumped in his arms, and he instinctively dropped his bag and caught her.

Connor breathed a sigh of relief. Just like last time, Afia's face was the only face he was eager to see. He held onto her tightly as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, her small frame being swallowed by his. He felt her breathe into his neck and take in his scent, and he found himself doing the same to her hair. Time should have stopped right then and there so he could hold onto her forever, but eventually she slipped her legs down and he gently let her go.

Afia held onto him and caressed his face. "You're home," she said softly.

He smiled back. "Yeah, I'm home, for good."

While his smile was bright it did not reach his eyes and she noticed. They were clouded and a bit hooded, like he had been holding back for a long time. "You didn't write me back so I didn't know when you were coming home," she said.

He shrugged. "Sorry about that. I just needed to concentrate on finishing some things up and as soon as it was done I just got on the next plane." He smiled at her again. "It's so good to see you, Lovie."

She wanted to ask if he was okay but she knew the answer. After what he had just been through no one would be okay. Instead she lifted up on her toes, kissed his lips softly and said quietly, "I'm so, so sorry Connor."

His smile faded and his eyes instantly began to glisten. He did a small intake of breath and let it out slowly. "I gotta go. My mom is in the car, she just picked me up from the airport and they're having some kinda family dinner. You want to come?"

Afia remembered she was at work and looked back to see her father watching her intently. She turned back to him. "I can't leave yet, my shift is over at 3pm. But I can stop by later?"

"Yeah, let's plan it. I'll call you when the coast is clear."

"Okay." He gave her another smile. "I missed you."

"Not more than I missed you," she replied. He gave her a genuine wide smile and then kissed her cheek.

He looked up as Mr. Williamson and Amara, Afia's older sister, came around to shake his hand. "Corporal McIntyre, it's good to see you, son," her father said. "Good to have you home. And thank you for your service."

Connor shook his hand and said, "It was an honor, sir."

Amara hugged him tightly. "You look good, Connor. Don't be a stranger, okay? Come over for dinner when you can."

"Oh well, you know I'm not going to say no to that," Connor said a bit smugly, showing a glimpse of his regular self. He turned to give Afia another hug. "I'll call you, okay?"

"Okay," she said. He kissed her cheek again and headed out of the Williamson Family Pharmacy, with one last glance back at his best friend and smiled. She smiled back before he closed the door.

"Afia," her father began to lecture her, but she cut him off.

"I know, Dad. I know. But... Connor needs his friends right now. He needs me. And I'm going to be there for him regardless of how his father feels about it."

He was about to say more but Amara put her hand on their father's shoulder. "It will be okay, Dad. We know Connor won't let anything happen to her, even from his own family members. I trust him. You should too," she said.

Afia was grateful for her oldest sister's support. Her father was not as confident but he let it go for now. He turned around and went back to work. Amara followed, leaving Afia to stand in the middle of the pharmacy by herself. She dug into the pocket of her white coat and took out her cell phone, calling the other person she knew Connor needed.

"Jack? Connor just got back. He's home for good."

~~~

Connor hid in his room after all the guests had left. He was grateful to be alone in his thoughts but also scared of himself, of what he might do. He rubbed the wrist band tattoo on his right wrist with the letters VB hanging off the inside of it, mostly to remind himself that he was past the hump, and just needed to move forward. It wasn't a smooth rub anymore, now there was a scar just above it, straight across the wrist line.

He rubbed the tattoo monotonously and tried to clear his mind. About an hour later he heard the doorbell ring.

Mary Kate, Connor's 18 year old sister answered the door. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mary Kate. I just came by to see Connor," Afia said.

"And who should I say is here for him?" she asked.

Afia's eyes narrowed at her. "Afia," she said trying to control the edge in her voice. Of course the girl knew who she was, but why give her the satisfaction of acknowledgment?

The girl blinked at her as Connor came down the stairs. "Move, MK." he told his sister.

She rolled her eyes at her brother but floated toward the living room. Connor reached over and gave Afia a hug on top of her three quarter length bubble jacket with a fuzzy winter hat and gloves to match. "I said I was going to call you," he said.

"And I knew you weren't. So grab your coat and let's take a walk."

"It's like five degrees outside. Why don't you come in?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nope. Come take a walk with me."

He sighed but grabbed his boots, his double insulated camouflage jacket, hat and gloves and headed out with her. They walked down his block in comfortable silence, words not always needed between them. She broke the silence when they were a couple minutes into their walk.

"So how was it? First day back is probably overwhelming."

"Well, the house was full of my aunts, uncles, cousins and my dad's Lodge buddies so that was fun," he said sarcastically. "I had to put on a face and play 'The Good Son' for them for a good two hours before they started heading out."

"That sounds like a nightmare."

"It was," Connor agreed. "But honestly I was glad it happened all at once, so that I wouldn't have to pretend that we were this nice, normal family for days on end."

She nodded. "Well at least your dad had kind words to say about you in front of company."

Connor scoffed. "Yeah, and the moment they left the first thing he said to me is, 'Just so you know, I'm not giving out any favors here, so you won't be working at the dealership. You need to find a job and soon. Find your own way.'"

Afia rolled her eyes. "Well, then find your own way. You're Connor McIntyre, you can do it."

He looked over and smiled at her, bumping his shoulder with her. "Thanks, Lovie." They were quietly walking, then Connor said, "Well, catch me up, what's been going on?"

She started, "Well Jack is still here but you already knew that."

He smiled. "Yeah, I keep up with Jack related news. He never went to college like he planned. I wonder why."

"I don't know. Him and Liam are both here."

"Hmmm..." He changed the subject. "I spoke to Mina a couple of months ago."

"Did she tell you she switched her major again? Now she wants to be an oncology nurse."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "She's the only one of us that is actually doing the college thing. It's cool if she wants to explore a bit."

"True. And Winter just moved to Providence, her own studio apartment. She's been managing her chair at the salon for the last year and it's working out for her."

He nodded approvingly. "Good. I'll make it a point to go see her."

"Fair warning. She is probably going to try to fuck you." Connor laughed out loud. "I'm serious," she said but laughed too. "She's on this whole sexual freedom thing, doing a whole lot of experimenting."

"And by experimenting you mean fucking around."

"Yes," Afia laughed again. "Mina is too, but at least she's quieter about it."

"I mean if we're honest, they've always been a bit whorish," Connor said with a smile.

Afia gasped and hit him with her gloved hand. "Connor! That's not nice!"

"But it's the truth," he laughed. "So was I for a while, fucking every girl that glanced my way in high school. That's what made the three of us good fuck buddies."

"But not anymore?" she asked with a wink.

"Nah. I was a monogamous man for a while. A long while..." he trailed off as melancholy set in.

Afia slid her arm inside of his. "How are you holding up? Wanna talk about it?"

He sighed. "I'm dealing. It's only been three months since he died so...I'm dealing with it."

"Well, I'm glad you decided to come home. So your friends could help you deal."

He shook his head. "You know I can't tell anyone about it. About us."

She hesitated then confessed, "I told Jack."

She thought he was going to flip out on her but he didn't. He just asked quietly, "Why?"

"Because you need him too, Connor. You need a friend that's a gay man. And a person who had someone he loved die tragically. He's both of those things. He can help you get through this. Let him help you."

Connor was silent, then said softly, "Okay." They walked arm in arm as they passed Connor's old church. He made a reminder to himself to see Father O'Donnell soon. "So what else is going on?" he asked, needing to fill the silence with words.

"Well, Red Rock is poppin," she said excitedly. "I can't wait to take you there."

"Yeah, Sam and BJ's place?"

"Yep. They really made it something over the last year. It's like the only place to be in this town, with a sports bar side and a restaurant side."

"Well when we going, Lovie?" he said, finally something to look forward to. This was why he came home.

"Is Friday okay? I have to work the next two days but I don't work on weekends unless I want the extra hours. I would rather spend my weekends with you."

He smiled at that. Then asked, "Yeah, not with boring ass Derek?"

She hit his arm again. "My boyfriend is not boring, asshole."

He laughed out loud. "Yeah, okay," he said sarcastically.

"Shut up," she laughed and he laughed again.

"Well at least Stacy isn't trying to fuck him," he said knowingly. Her eyes narrowed at him making him giggle. He realized he had laughed more with Afia in the 20 minute walk than he had in three months.

"Fuck her," Afia said nastily.

"Y'all still not friends? It's been like two years."

She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. "She keeps trying to talk to me but I'm over her. I always knew she was in some kind of secret competition with me that I never played with her, which is why she always went after the boys I was interested in. She just had to have what I had. Brian was the last straw."

"Hey, it takes two to cheat," he reminded her.

"Yeah I know. That's why I kicked his ass to the curb. I just threw her out with him. Hmpf!"

"Well she never had me," he said proudly.

"You were never really my boyfriend, Connor."

"She didn't know that. And she did try..." he trailed off as Afia turned to him with a shocked face. "That graduation party at Sam's house. She cornered me and tried to get me to take her in one of the rooms. Blamed it on being drunk but she wasn't."

"I'm going to kill that bitch," Afia growled and he laughed out loud. "Did you fuck her, Connor!?" she practically yelled at him.

"No!" he yelled back. "I just told you I didn't. I didn't like how she did it. And I was loyal to you."

"Okay," she said softly. "But if you did I wouldn't have any right to be upset, so, it's whatever."

He cringed then said, "I did fuck Tania though."

She spun him around and hit him a third time. "Fuck, Connor!"

"I'm sorry!" he said amusingly, not really sorry. "It was before you started pretending to be my girlfriend. Around the same time I was sleeping with Jack. But before Winter. But after Abby."

She looked at him and said, "You really were a man-whore."

He laughed and wrapped his arm around his best friend's shoulders. It felt good to be home.

~~~

Connor was ready to go when the doorbell rang that Friday. He thought he was going to see Afia but Mina was at his door. "Connor!" she squealed.

He hugged the blonde bombshell, saying, "Hey girl! What are you doing here?"

She dragged him out of the house as the answer. "C'mon, we're in the car. Winter's driving."

They walked to the black jeep with the tinted windows as his two friends Afia and Winter leaned on it, waiting for him. He hugged Winter first, who held him tight then reached down and cupped his butt cheeks, making him laugh. "I've missed you, Con."

"Missed you too Win," he said with a kiss on her cheek.

He hugged Afia last and kissed her on the cheek as well. Mina teased, "What, no pretend kisses for your pretend girlfriend?"

"Shut up," Afia scolded her as they got into the car. Connor sat in the back with Afia as Winter turned the ignition on and Promiscuous Girl by Nelly Furtado played loudly. Sitting in the car with his three closest friends, he knew it was going to be a good night.

~~~

As soon as they stepped into Red Rock Bar and Grill he was immediately impressed. It looked like a place you would see in downtown Providence, not in sleepy Rockville surrounded by small shops and boutiques. He thought they were going to get a table but the ladies pulled him past the bar toward the back. He saw the crowd in an enclosed glass area and bucked backwards.

"Nooooo," he whined.

"Yaaaaasssss!!" the three of them chorused and pulled him by his arms.

Afia answered his question with a smile. "It's your real coming home party."

They pushed him through the double doors and the excited roar of about 20 of his friends was deafening. He groaned but he couldn't wipe the smile off his face if he tried. He went around and gave hugs and daps to everyone, Liam, Sam, Brayden, Jason, Mike, Fernando, Abby, Andrea, Monica and others all lined up to be acknowledged by him. He caught Jack's eye and they smiled at each other but Jack patiently waited his turn as his other friends and old teammates all wanted the attention of the popular boy.

Connor noticed right away that his gorgeous, secret ex-boyfriend with the jet black hair, green eyes and dimple smile had filled out a bit, still thin but more defined in his arms and broader shoulders, like he became a man overnight. Being around Jack always makes his heart skip a beat, but it felt different this time. More like nostalgia rather than a current crush.

Eventually they made it to each other. Connor reached out with his fist for a dap, but Jack slapped his hand away and gave him a genuine hug. When their bodies collided Connor's observations proved to be true as he felt the hardness of his chest in the softness of his hug. Typically Connor would pull away first but he didn't this time. He let Jack hold onto him longer than anyone else, one arm across his neck while the other wrapped around his back. It was something about the warm embrace from someone who really knew him that made him melt.

"Hey," Jack whispered in his ear.

"Hey Jack," Connor whispered back.

Jack pulled back first, inches from his face, then turned to kiss his cheek, making Connor blush. Then Connor, remembering that they were in a crowd of their friends, pulled back all the way letting his arms drop abruptly. They stared at each other for another moment, his piercing light blue eyes into Jack's green ones. Then he smiled and playfully pushed Jack's cheek with the palm of his hand.

Jack rolled his eyes but smiled back as Afia walked up to them with a tall, brown skinned man wearing glasses. "Hey Connor, this is Derek. Derek, this is my best friend Connor."

They shook hands. "It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so many wonderful and excited things about you," Connor said amusingly. Afia shot him a warning look that he ignored.

"Yeah, Afia talks about you all the time," Derek said. "I'm glad we finally got a chance to meet."

Before he could begin small talk, Stacy jumped in front of him. "Connor! It's so great to have you home!" She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth.

"Whoa, Stace!" Connor pulled back more surprised to see her there than her actually kissing him. He held her by her shoulders. "You're already drinking, girl?"

"No, I just wanted to do that. I feel like every girl in this room has done it at least once. And since you're finally available..." she hinted and laughed. Afia pressed her lips together tightly and looked away.

"Where's your boyfriend, Stacy?" Jack asked her with a hint of teasing in his voice.

Connor laughed. "Who's the unfortunate soul this time, Stacy?"

"Me," a deep voice said behind him. Connor turned with wide eyes to see his baseball teammate Rick with a scruffy beard on his face. "Holy shit, finally!" he yelled and Rick laughed as they hugged.

Rich had a huge crush on Stacy but the popular girl never gave him a chance. But even Connor noticed Rick had grown into his looks and had a real alpha male vibe about him, which Connor liked. If only he was a little gay, he thought slyly. But as handsome as he had become, Connor's loins stayed unstirred, which was a common issue now.

Before he could delve into the story of how they got together Sam grabbed his arm and pulled him to a nearby table that had a bottle of whiskey and four shot glasses. "Shots! For every year that you've been away."

"Actually I've been away for four and a half years," Connor said smugly. Sam grabbed another shot glass and poured half in it and added it to the line up.

"Actually you came home three and a half years ago. Prom," Jack reminded him. Connor smiled at him, remembering that last kiss he planted on him in the bathroom. Sam groaned and took one shot for himself, leaving the rest.

"True, but that was for six days. I've been in the Marines for over four years," Connor said. Sam groaned louder and made another shot.

"Drink!" he ordered his friend.

They started chanting, "Connor! Connor! Connor!" egging him on. Others joined in gaining momentum. Connor grabbed the shot glasses and threw them down his throat in quick successions, then shook his head as the liquid burned while they cheered loudly again.

Connor felt like his old self again. He looked up and found Afia's face and smiled at her. Thank you, he mouthed. She shook her head and pointed at Jack. He looked over at his other friend and they smiled at each other.

~~~

Jack slid over to Afia as she nursed her long island iced tea. "He's getting really drunk," he warned her.

She shrugged. "I know. But he's also really happy. So let him get shitfaced."

He nodded. "How is he doing?"

"He's not himself, understandably. He's so incredibly sad. If I don't literally drag him out of the house, he'll stay in his room all day long. I want to help him but I don't know how."

"Just keep being there for him. The same way you were in high school," Jack told her. "He leans on you in ways he never leaned on me."

"I can be his emotional support. But you need to be his...other support." She nudged him with her arm.

Jack shook his head. "We're not going to be together, Fi. He needs a friend way more than he needs another lover, and it's too soon for him anyway."