All Man Read Online Free PDF Page A

his back to Gareth, who was oblivious as Jules tried to control a blush that made his ears burn.
    “Fuck off,” he hissed at Tyler. But he couldn’t stop smiling. Because, did Gareth? Could he?
     
     
    Once they’d bought their sandwiches, they took them to a nearby park to eat them, sitting side by side on a bench in the sunshine.
    “So, were you really okay on Saturday after I left?” Gareth asked.
    “Yeah. I was fine. Slept like a baby.”
    There was a long pause before Gareth said, “It’s just. Well… I’ve been on the receiving end of a similar situation myself… a long time ago now, but it did my head in for a while. So there’s no shame in being freaked out by it, and if you want to talk to me about it, you can.”
    “What? So you were….” Jules glanced at Gareth who was facing forwards, watching a couple of dogs play-fighting over a stick rather than looking at Jules.
    “Sexually assaulted. Yeah.”
    Jules was silent as he absorbed Gareth's words. He didn’t like to admit that was what had happened to him. Giving that name to it made him feel like a victim and made him uncomfortable. But deep down he knew it had been a sexual assault. Yet again, his stomach lurched at the thought of how that scene could have played out if things had gone down differently.
    But they hadn’t.
    “I’m okay. Really. Nothing much happened. Well… you saw. I managed to stop him, so no harm done.”
    Jules wasn’t sure that was completely true. The experience had knocked his confidence and made him realise how vulnerable he was against men who were bigger and stronger than him. But Gareth was big and strong and it had happened to him too.
    “Do you want to tell me about what happened to you?” Jules asked hesitantly.
    “I picked up the wrong guy, ended up in an alleyway at the back of a pub. The guy had a friend and I wasn’t up for being passed around. But there were two of them and they were both bigger than me.” Gareth must have seen the disbelief on Jules’s face because he added, “I’ve put in a lot of time at the gym since then.”
    “Did anyone help you?”
    “There was nobody else around. The first guy made me suck him off, and I was okay with that and with his mate watching. But then the other guy wanted to fuck me and I said no.” Gareth’s jaw tightened—with anger, or distress, it was hard to tell—and Jules put a tentative hand on his thigh. Gareth took his hand and held it. “Luckily for me, he couldn’t get hard enough to get it in without lube. He had a bloody good try, though, while his mate held me down.”
    Anger and horror rolled through Jules, making his stomach turn. He squeezed Gareth’s hand tight. “Did you go to the police?”
    Gareth let out a bitter huff of laughter and turned to meet Jules’s gaze; his eyes glittering with emotion. “No way. I’d gone willingly out into that alley for sex. Do you think they’d have taken me seriously if I’d reported it?”
    Jules shook his head, knowing Gareth was right.
    “Anyway.” Gareth sighed. “Bet you’re sorry you asked now. But it was a long time ago and I’m fine. I just wanted you to know, in case you needed to talk to someone who understood.”
    “Thanks, Gareth.”
    They were still holding hands, and as a smile spread across Jules’s face, Gareth smiled back. Jules’s heart pounded as he imagined leaning over and kissing him, but he wasn’t brave enough to try. Instead he turned away and went back to picking at his half-eaten sandwich, but he kept hold of Gareth’s hand.
    When they’d finished eating and it was nearly time to go back, Jules finally plucked up the courage to ask the question that was burning a hole in his brain. Gareth would be finished with the job at the salon today and would be out of Jules’s life. Jules was afraid of being rejected again, but figured he had nothing to lose. If he didn’t ask, this tentative new friendship would be over, because despite all the hand holding,