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They stumbled along through the neighborhood arm in arm until they reached a door in a row of two story apartments. Vivian hammered on the door until they heard the heavy thump of approaching footsteps. She grinned at Kyle but he could see she was struggling to remain calm. He put his arm around her and gave her a comforting hug.
Her nervous grin turned into a grateful smile just as the door flew open. Kyle looked up into the angry eyes of Vivian’s ex. Kyle’s eyebrows went up as he took measure of the soon-to-be ex-professional cyclist. He was wearing shorts and a tight, sleeveless undershirt which showed off his physique. He had to be at least 6′ but he was slim and hard muscled. He was also gorgeous in that male-model-in-a-cologne-ad kind of way. Kyle struggled to recall if he’d seen him in one of Gwen’s fashion magazines.
“Who the hell is this?” Mathieu growled.
“He’s my lover, Kyle!” Vivian growled right back. “I’m here for my stuff! Get out of my way! I want you out of my life so I’m here to collect my dainty unmentionables!”
“Except for the ones he’s wearing, of course,” Kyle snorted, liking Vivian’s game and how Mathieu’s face got all screwed up with confusion and anger.
Vivian barked out a laugh as she pushed past the flustered man. She headed up the stairs as Kyle stepped inside as well.
The tall man glared at Kyle who just smirked back at him. This did nothing to ease the anger building in the ex-boyfriend.
They could hear Vivian opening and closing drawers and doors upstairs and Kyle could tell Mathieu wanted to go upstairs to stop her so he decided it was his job to keep him downstairs. He leaned around Mathieu to get a look at the living room and saw a bunch of awards and photos of the athlete in various races.
“I guess that’s all you have left. Awards and photos of your glory days. What happened? Lose your nerve? Giving it all up to work a desk job?” Kyle said with a sly grin.
Rage flared in the man’s eyes as Kyle struck a nerve. “You know nothing!”
“Maybe not, but I know you hurt a very special lady and that makes you a worthless piece of shit.”
Mathieu grabbed Kyle’s shoulders and shoved him violently against the wall making Kyle’s head slam into the hard surface. It made his head ring and spin. That wasn’t a good sensation with a buzz going on.
“Owww! Hey! You need to chill out!” Kyle barked and immediately regretted yelling as his head rang some more.
“You do not tell me to chill out in my home!” Mathieu yelled right in his face and Kyle winced from the echoes in his head.
“What’s going on down there?” Vivian yelled from somewhere upstairs.
“I think Mathieu is trying to slip me a little tongue!” Kyle called out with a grin and watched the man’s expression flash from shock, to horror, and finish with full blown rage. Distantly, Kyle realized this could be a bad thing but he was too far gone to stop himself. He laughed.
The closed fist struck his left cheek with a sickening double crack and Kyle’s head rolled with the punch. There was no pain at first, just a sickening dizziness. A split second after that awful impact sound came a high pitched squeal which drilled into Kyle’s brain. As his head rebounded from the punch his stomach said, ‘Fuck it! Eject!’ and Kyle’s dinner heaved up and out rather explosively.
Mathieu was too busy screaming in agony from his two broken fingers to see the incoming spray until it splashed over his face. His screams turned into choking gurgles as he caught the hot mixture in his eyes and mouth. Instinctively he flung himself backwards away from Kyle, slipped, and went down in a pile on the hallway floor, slamming his right elbow against the leading edge of the stair’s lowest tread. The sound of the joint cracking and tearing was audible.
The French man coughed to clear his throat and mouth then sucked in a mouthful of air to scream in agony once more.
Fear and adrenaline flushing most of the haze from her brain, Vivian raced back down the stairs tugging her suitcase behind her. She saw Kyle leaning back against the wall, trying to stay on his feet with a huge welt on his cheekbone. Mathieu was rolling on the floor, squealing and covered in… oh, gross!
She carefully stepped over the prone man and went into the kitchen. She dialed for an ambulance then brought Kyle a glass of water.
“Rinse your mouth out and spit in the sink,” she instructed.
He staggered away with the glass in hand and she heard the sink running. Moments later Kyle wandered back munching on something green and leafy. She looked at him curiously.
“Found some parsley in a basket on the window ledge. Nature’s breath mint,” he said groggily. He touched his cheek. “My face hurts.”
Vivian pulled his fingers away from the welt and examined the area. “Keep your hands away from it.”
“Yes, dear,” he said sweetly and looked down at Mathieu. He then looked at the suitcase. “Are you done? Can we go?
“Just waiting for the ambulance. It should be here shortly,” Vivian sighed. She looked down at Mathieu and sighed once more. “You may be pretty on the outside but now I see you’re rotten to the core.”
There was a sharp knock on the front door and Kyle opened it. “Hello?”
Vivian pulled Kyle back as a police officer stepped inside. Her face lit up with a smile as she recognized the older man. “Jean-Pierre! I’m so glad it’s you! What a mess!”
The official smiled and accepted the cheek kisses from the blond. “What happened?”
Mathieu began to shout and Jean-Pierre shut him down immediately with a few terse words in French.
“Earlier this evening Mathieu told me he was breaking up with me.” The officer made a sound of dismay. Vivian nodded with a sad look. “He is moving to the States to get a job with a pharmaceutical company and he’s marrying the company president’s daughter.”
Once more the officer made sympathetic noises.
“After dinner, I came back with Kyle here, who is one of the guests on the tour I’m leading.” Jean-Pierre looked at Kyle who smiled at him as he swayed on his feet. “We had wine with dinner and are a little drunk. I went upstairs to get my belongings.” She pointed to the suitcase. “I heard Mathieu yelling, a loud slap sound, then he was screaming. I rushed downstairs and saw Kyle leaning back against the wall with an injured face and Mathieu on his back covered in sick.”
“I think I did that… after he punched my face,” Kyle offered helpfully. “My face hurts. Can I go now?”
Jean-Pierre lifted Kyle’s hands and inspected the knuckles. He saw no cuts, bruises, or abrasions. The same could not be said for Mathieu’s right hand.
“You hit him?” the officer snapped.
“He came into my-”
“You. Hit. Him?” Jean-Pierre asked once more, forcefully.
Mathieu glared at the officer then nodded.
Jean-Pierre turned to look at Kyle. “You may go.”
“Thank you,” Kyle said softly as his head began to pound again. He reached back and winced at the goose egg bump he found on the back of his head. The officer leaned him forward and winced himself when he saw the bump. He glared at Mathieu who was painfully trying to sit up.
“Vivian, please take your guest back to his hotel,” the veteran officer said.
“Thank you, Jean-Pierre!” she said with a smile and kissed his cheeks again. She grabbed her suitcase and without another look at Mathieu she guided Kyle outside.
They walked slowly through the village but soon they came within sight of the hotel. Kyle’s buzz was quickly wearing off and with it the pain relief. His face was throbbing badly as was his head from the bump. He was truly grateful when Vivian walked him into the lobby.
“OH MY GOD! WHAT HAPPENED TO KYLE?” Fiona wailed as she ran out of the entrance of the bar towards them. Helen, Skye, and Kimberly were all right behind her. They’d been waiting and watching for him from there.
He closed his eyes painfully and held up his hands to get them to lower their voices as his head felt like it might explode otherwise.Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.