Wes gave them another quick glance as he finished making his sandwich. Jessie threw a Cheetos at Braden, and damned if the man didn’t open his mouth and catch it.
“That’s not fair!” Jessie crossed her arms before Braden ruffled her curls.
“Want me to teach you how to do it?”
Of course she said yes, and of course Braden tossed Cheetos at her, trying to land them in her mouth. When Jessie missed, Jock didn’t.
Wes turned, leaning against the counter, and ate as he watched them play. No, he wouldn’t let something screw this up. Like Braden said, they were both adults. Braden knew Wes couldn’t deal with a relationship, and he doubted Braden would want one anyway. Why would he? He’d known from the first night he went home with Braden that what they did was a regular occurrence for him.
He turned to the sink to rinse his plate.
“You’re thinking too damn hard over here. Stop it before I spank you,” Braden whispered in his ear before moving away.
Wes’s skin warmed, remembering just how good the man was with his mouth. “Good luck trying that.”
Jessie asked if Braden could stay awhile, so he did. They played a couple games of Go Fish before Wes got Jessie ready for bed. She went easily, like she always did, and when he came out, Braden was finishing up the dishes.
Jesus, who the hell was this guy? He’d never known anyone like him before. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Braden shrugged. “Wasn’t a big deal. Wanna sit outside a bit before I go?”
It didn’t come as a surprise to Wes that he did.
“You’re frowning,” Braden said.
“No I’m not.”
“Yes you are.”
“Do you enjoy arguing with people?” Wes asked. When he realized he now smiled, he tried to cover it.
Braden just nodded toward the door. “Have a drink with me, Wes.”
So he did. They were quiet as they each nursed a beer on the covered front porch.
Finally, when Wes’s was almost finished, he spoke. “Thanks for staying to play with her. I’m sure you had something else you could have been doing tonight.” Or someone.
“Nah. I think you’re rubbing off on me. I’m becoming a homebody. It’s pretty scary. I think Jock is getting depressed about it.”
Wes wondered how long it had been since Braden had gone out but didn’t ask. He had no business wanting to know.
“Is your real name Wesley?” Braden asked out of the blue.
“Yeah.”
“I like it. Can I call you Wesley?” he winked.
“Not if you expect me to answer.” And then, because he realized what Braden was doing, he said, “What do you want to talk to me about? You’re trying to tease me into a good mood. I...” His stomach dropped out when he realized what it must be. “She’s not your responsibility. If you can’t watch her anymore, we’ll figure something out.”
“What? Are you kidding? She keeps me in line. My mouth is a million times better since she started busting my balls. I want to talk to you about Christmas. I know you’ve been worried, and I know Thanksgiving didn’t go well. I thought maybe...fuck, this sounds like more than I mean it to, but it’s nothing, okay? I just wanted to tell you, you guys are welcome to go home with me. I spend a few days with my family every year. We have a small football team, so there will be plenty of kids for Jess to play with. I thought...hell, I don’t know. I thought maybe a change of scenery might help.”
Wes concentrated on the feel of the cold bottle of beer in his hand. He let Braden’s words work through his head, making its way through you’re fucking crazy to maybe it would be good for Jess...
“I think Jessie would have fun. They have a lot of property, and my mom is like Santa on crack. It might be a good distraction. That’s all this is,” Braden said.
Wes turned his way, saw the sincerity there, and it made some of the doubt start to drift away. “I’m not sure. Don’t know if that’s a good idea for her.” And he didn’t. Maybe taking her away from Lydia and the kids would make things worse.
“Okay.” Braden stood, hesitancy on his face. “Just wanted to put that out there. I better get going.” Jock scrambled to his feet, too.
Braden got all the way to the porch door before Wes said, “Thanks. I appreciate that, man.”
Braden stopped, turned, and smiled. “You can make it up to me sometime.” He winked, and then he was gone.
Chapter Twelve
A few days later, Braden sat in his living room with Jock, flipping through the TV channels. There were plenty of sports on, so he went back and forth between games, trying to get into any of them.