He nearly crushed the beer bottle in his fist.
"But I don't care about her in the same way you do." Tim swigged his beer. "I'm not a threat to your relationship with her, Deacon."
"You hugging her, kissing her, fucking touching her . . . I should ignore that shit?" He shook his head. "Not gonna fly with me, dude. I'll always see that as a threat."
"While I'm happy that my affection for her came across to you that way, I need to clarify why that was my intent."
Fucking guy talked in circles. Why couldn't he just say what he meant?
"I'm gay."
Okay. No circles there. Deacon looked at him. "Pardon?"
"I'm gay. Molly has known that since seventh grade, when I figured it out. No one else knows. At least not in this ass-backward town."
"Your parents don't know?"
Tim shook his head. "My folks are good people who live by the good book. They're happy. Coming out to them would serve no purpose. It's not because I'm ashamed. It's not like I lie to them. We simply don't talk about it, because we don't talk about anything real. From the time I realized girl parts didn't interest me like boy parts did, I knew I'd leave here and never come back."
While Deacon should've been relieved, he wasn't. He was pissed. Maybe more so than before. "So you're just another person in her life who uses her? Who doesn't give a damn about her beyond what she can do for you? That's bullshit."
"You're right. It is."
"You're just like her cousins."
Tim scowled. "No, I'm not. I came here because I assumed no one would have Molly's back and she'd be dealing with those nasty bitches alone." He sent Deacon a sideways glance. "I'm happy to be wrong about that."
"That's the only reason you're here?"
"No." He shoved a hand through his hair. "I'm a selfish prick, okay? This was also an excuse to come home and not to have to stay longer than two days."
"That is fucked-up." Deacon sipped his beer. "And I oughta know because I've done the same thing with my family."
Tim laughed. "So I came by tonight to make sure she was all right with you."
"I'll knock your face in the dirt if you think I'd ever raise a fucking hand to her," he snarled.
"Whoa. Not what I meant."
"Explain it, then."
"It'll make a big, macho guy like you blush, especially coming from a gay dude."
Deacon snorted. "Unlikely."
"Brother, you ooze sex. From your muscle-bound body, to the raspy southern drawl, to the tats, to your shaved head. The way you looked at Molly earlier . . . Fuck, man. That's what she's always wanted. I hated I couldn't be the one to give it to her." He paused. "See. Molly and I were each other's firsts."
Deacon's head whipped around. "Are you trying to get me to beat the fuck out of you by telling me shit like that?"
"Hell no. You need to understand the context because it'll help you understand her. So few have. We were both virgins our senior year. She wanted to know what the fuss was about. I wanted to know if having sex with a girl would make me think less about having sex with guys."
"You were a fucking dog," Deacon scoffed. "You just wanted to nail her."
"No. We both wanted to be with someone we trusted. We did the deed. What stuck in my mind afterward was hearing Molly question whether passion was real."
That broke his fucking heart.
"Like I said, I couldn't give her that. I blamed her unrealistic expectations on the romance novels she devoured. She argued that Pride and Prejudice, and Outlander, and The Thorn Birds gave her hope for an epic love story of her own someday."
As much as Deacon wanted to be the guy who could give that to her . . . what if he couldn't?
Footfalls falling fast on gravel echoed to them.
Tim stood and stepped over the wall. "You don't need to run interference, Molly. We're fine."
Deacon rolled to his feet. "You get some rest?"
"Barely." Molly stepped into Tim's arms and hugged him. "I wish we could've spent more time together."
Even when Deacon knew there wasn't anything but history and friendship between them, he couldn't watch their casual affection. He stepped over the wall and headed back to the room.
As soon as Molly returned, Deacon pressed her against the door, pinning her arms above her head.
"Again?" she murmured.
"Can't get enough of you, babe." He lowered his mouth, teasing her lips with little bites and nibbles. Slowly sweeping his tongue across the fleshy inside of her bottom lip.