Back For Good... (A Studs & Steel Novella, Studs & Steel #7.5)

By Heather Mar-Gerrison

Eduard and Wade have been friends for a long time. Eduard felt lost when Wade joined the army five years ago and left him behind.
For his part, Wade didn't really want to join up but it was too late to change his mind once he'd signed up.
Five years on and Wade has been medically discharged from the armed forces after being badly injured in a roadside bomb.
Eduard is shocked to hear that he's been hurt and wants to see him as soon as possible, even though the last time they saw each other they fell out quite spectacularly.
Wade is surprised to learn that Eduard has come to the hospital to see him but he's delighted that he has and they tentatively take steps to rebuild their friendship.
Neither wants to admit to each other that they feel more but with a little nudge in the right direction from Eduard's younger brother Franz has them both finding the nerve...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heather Mar-Gerrison
• Release date: Jul 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463615966

Heather Mar-Gerrison

I love to write M/M romance and as a sucker for a HEA, you're guaranteed one in my books. #happyheatherafters

Book preview

Back for Good...

A Studs & Steel Novella

(Studs & Steel #7.5)

Smashwords Edition

Heather Mar-Gerrison, Copyright 2018

Beautiful front cover

Courtesy of Shutterstock designs

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work.

Prologue

Five years ago…

Eduard

I stared at Georg, What? I asked, heat curling in my gut and making my insides start to shake. My youngest brother, Franz, had come out two years before but surely, he wasn’t old enough to know that he was gay for certain? Never mind being sure enough to come on out and say it...

Georg nodded, Yup, He said, rolling his eyes as if he thought Franz was as mad as a bag of snakes, "He’s got a new boyfriend and he’s gonna introduce him to the olds – tonight."

Holy fucking shit. That was a mistake. Mum had almost killed him when he did his whole coming-out thing. What the hell did he think he was doing? He really seemed to me to be on a path of total self-destruction. Where is he? I demanded. I’d go and give him a piece of my mind – and tell him not to be so fucking stupid at the same time. The kid had a fucking death-wish…

Georg shrugged, He’s probably round at Wade’s. I think they’ve got an assignment to do.

My heart flip-flopped in my chest at the mention of Wade. I nodded, Yeah, I know, I managed to maintain my thunderous look of rage that I used whenever I felt threatened. Everyone was completely convinced that I was a total homophobe. I really wasn’t. I was actually an incredibly closeted gay guy, having realised it when my brother Franz had come out in total style – and well, there was no way I could have put my hand up and said, Oh, by the way – you can count me in on that confession, too, with the way my mother had completely lost the plot over it. By the same token, there was no getting away from it. I’d never fancied a girl in all of my life. I was a bit of a late developer, I guess and other than admiring football players and rugby players, I’d never really had any sort of admiration for anyone my own age.

Knowing I was gay and actually having the hots for someone other than a celebrity came a lot later. The first time I realised that I’d really got the hots for someone and was actually willing to do something about it, I was coming up for twenty and the guy in question was sixteen. That guy was Wade Jackson and he lived right across the street. We’d been friends with the Jacksons for literally years. The trouble was, I’d only realised the depth of my feelings for him just before he left to join the army – and the other rather massive flaw in my plan to tell him the way I felt, was that, as far as I was aware, he was as straight as a die… Yeah. Could be a bit of an issue, that…

Anyway… He went. Well, of course he did. He wasn’t going to change his mind for me – but out of sight didn’t mean out of mind and the time apart hadn’t stopped me thinking about him on a pretty much daily basis. Hell, I thought about him so much that I’d not been able to have any sort of relationship with anyone else in all the time he’d been away. I’d had the odd hook-up – hell, I wasn’t a monk – but no one else held a candle to Wade…

I remember when he joined up. I’d been completely shell-shocked.

You’re joining the army? I asked. We all used to hang out on the park; drinking, playing football and generally being a total pain in the arse to anyone that was trying to walk their dog...

He nodded, shrugging his shoulders, Yeah, he said, I’m not clever enough to go to uni, like Franz – you must know he does most of my homework for me, he flashed an apologetic grin and my heart just about melted, and well, there’s nothing else to keep me here.

My heart went from melted to feeling as if it was in an icy grip and being squeezed hard. I was here for him but I guess that wasn’t enough. I was just Franz’s older brother – a sort-of friend but not really someone he would actually call one of his bezzies, No, I muttered, I guess there isn’t....

He’d looked up at me. His bright blue eyes had always been far too beautiful for the rest of his face that had been kind of thin and non-descript. He had full lips and a fine nose – girly, I guess and that shock of white-blonde hair had really done nothing to make him any manlier.

I stared back into his face, trying to memorise every little freckle. What if he never came back? What if I never got the chance to tell him how I felt? Suddenly the most overwhelming feeling of desperation took over me. I grabbed his hand, Come with me. I pulled him away from all of the others to a patch of trees that we used to call the hideout when we were smaller. I had to tell him while I had the chance – whatever that might do to our friendship.

He laughed, Where are we going? he asked, trailing after me the way he had since we were little.

Hideout, I said shortly, I uh, need to tell you something.

He fell silent and still clutching his hand, I led him to the centre of the trees.

What? he asked, a little frown furrowing his pale eyebrows.

Breathing hard, and hoping against hope that he wasn’t going to lose his shit completely at my confession, I started to talk...

He blinked at me, "You’re gay? he asked, his jaw dropping slightly, So, it’s not just Franz?"

I shook my head, No, Franz is just something else when it comes to telling it how it is, I rolled my eyes and tried not to smile at my sassy brother’s ways, "he’s the only one of us brave enough to come out. Mum went nuts – well, she is nuts..."

He nodded his agreement. Mum had always been a religious freak, "So, why are you telling me?" he asked.

I sighed. It was madness thinking he’d feel the same way as I did. We were really good mates, always had been – and it would be just too fantastic if he felt the same but there was something about him that I just wondered about... I don’t know. I shook my head, suddenly feeling really exposed and a little foolish, "I guess I just wanted you to know the real me – you know? Before you leave me."

He laughed and punched my shoulder affectionately, I’m not leaving you, dude, he said brightly, I’ll still be at the other end of your stupid text messages. He grinned and his beautiful mouth curved up at the edges in that maddeningly sexy way it had always done.

I sighed. He just didn’t understand the pain. I wouldn’t be able to see him every day. Wouldn’t be able to talk to him whenever I felt like it. I looked at him. He loved me, sure he did – but only as a mate. It was a crushing blow. Yeah, I said, forcing a grin, I know. Ignore me, I’m just freaking out about you going off and never coming back...

He shook his head, You don’t get rid of me that easily, fella. He said, punching my shoulder again. I’ll be battering your door down every time I’m home on leave.

I grinned, Brilliant. I said, And we’ll play on the X-Box every time you get back, too. We might not have been really close friends, but out of the five of us, he and I were definitely the geekiest when it came to gaming and we’d definitely bonded over it – that and wrestling. We both loved wrestling as well, and had been known on occasion to wrestle with each other. It had always given me a boner, though, so I tried my best to avoid it whenever I could. I would have hated for anyone to have noticed.

He laughed, We can still game over the internet, too. I’m sure I’ll have some down time.

I nodded. Things were brightening a little – only a little, though. I was going to miss him like crazy and suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to wrestle him to the ground and kiss him until he submitted...

Wade

I gazed up into Eduard’s face. Eduard was incredibly handsome, there was no denying it. He’d always been the best-looking out of the Krämer brothers – or maybe he wasn’t and I was just biased because I’d admired him the most since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.

There were three of us – and three of them – and we all went through school together.

Eduard was the eldest and went to school with my sister, Frances. My older brother Roger and his younger brother, Georg were the same age and then Franz and I were the youngest and hung around together pretty much all of the time.

I always felt a little sorry for Frances for being a girl. She never got the same experience that Franz and I had, having a close friend that we could tell everything to. Although, to be fair, I’d never told Franz how much I valued Eduard’s friendship, even though Franz had no trouble telling anyone that would listen everything he was feeling at any time of the day or night. I did tell him one time that I thought I might be bisexual – and I think I might have even mentioned