Stay(70)

He hadn’t realized he squeezed Braden’s hand tighter until the man looked up at him, questions in his eyes. Wes shook his head as if to say he was okay, but he really didn’t know if he was. It made him nauseous to think of Braden being with them—of sticking around because that’s just what he did. That it was just who he was. He didn’t walk away when he committed to doing something. He needed Braden with him because it’s where he wanted to be.

Wes tried to keep his head in the game the rest of the night, but his mind stayed in the conversation Braden’s family had had.

Braden must have realized it, because when they were all saying their goodnights, he stopped Wes in the hallway.

“Hey, everything good?” he asked. Wes looked down, distracted by Jock, who sat at Braden’s feet.

“You never told me how he got his name?” he asked.

Braden’s brows pulled together but he answered, “I named him Tom when I first got him, but soon realized the dog had a crazy obsession with jockstraps. He got a name change pretty quickly.”

“Tom?” It wasn’t as if any of this mattered, and he wasn’t even sure why he’d brought it up.

“From Tom and Jerry, of course. What’s up with you, Wesley?” Braden stepped forward, boxing Wes between his body and the wall.

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “I just have a lot on my mind. I’m gonna hit the sack. I know we’re leaving early in the morning.”

Braden frowned but still stepped back so Wes could move. When Wes got to his bedroom door, Braden’s words stopped him. “Hey. I’m not going anywhere. Whatever you need, I’m here.”

He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d said something similar to Gavin.





Chapter Twenty-Nine


“Mom says you’re welcome back anytime. Lydia and the kids can come too, ya know.” Braden looked over at Wes as they drove back home. He’d been quiet since last night, though Braden wasn’t sure why. He was about ready for it to end, though.

“Your family is great. That’s nice of them.”

Which wasn’t a, sure, I’d love to go! Or even a, we’ll see.

Braden glanced into the backseat at Jessie, who was coloring. He had to bite his tongue not to ask Wes what the fuck was going on, but he knew it wasn’t right to do it in front of her.

The rest of the ride was just like the first part, sporadic conversation here and there, always started by Braden and Wes being hardly involved.

By the time they pulled into the driveway, Jessie was passed out in the cab, with Jock’s head in her lap.

“I’ll grab the stuff if you want to carry her in,” Braden said softly as not to wake her.

Wes nodded. A few minutes later, Braden leaned against the back of Wes’s couch as the man carried Jessie to her bedroom. Jock jumped on the couch and laid down as if he belonged here.

“She stay asleep?” Braden asked when Wes came back into the living room.

“Yeah. She had a big few days. I’m sure she’s exhausted.”

Braden was, too, but instead of getting ready to go home, he asked, “You want to have a drink or something? Or if you want, we can work on Chelle’s room again.”

Wes’s eyes dulled with sadness. “No. I’m pretty tired. I was thinking about taking a nap, too.”

That was a hint if Braden had ever heard one. Too bad for Wes he planned to ignore it. “Hey. Come here.”

He thought for a minute Wes would refuse, but he ended up walking over to Braden. He wrapped his arms around Braden’s waist and leaned his forehead against Braden’s. Wes felt good there. He felt right.

“You sure everything’s okay? You’re being ‘Grumpy Wes.’ I thought we’d seen the end of him.”

Wes didn’t laugh like he’d hoped he would. “I just have a lot of shit on my mind.”

“Hey, this isn’t about Gavin, is it? You don’t need to be jealous, Wesley. It wasn’t serious with him. Hell, I’ve never really been serious with anyone—”

“Yet you left your family to move with him?” Wes cut him off too soon for him to add the “before.” “Why would you do that for someone you weren’t in love with?”

Braden shrugged. “Because it was the right thing to do. He wouldn’t have gone without me and he needed to go. Is that really what this is about? Yeah, Gavin and I dated. We weren’t serious but we dated, and he’s a good friend of mine. It wasn’t like...” Like it is with us. Why were the words still stuck in his mouth?

Wes pulled back. “That’d make me a pretty big asshole if I was jealous because of a past relationship. That’s not...” He shook his head. “I’m just trying to figure shit out. You know how I get. I just...just let me figure it out.”