Jake reached up and touched his cheeks, as though he needed to confirm he was down, he was frowning, he was sad. Not something Jake hadanydoubts about, but it bought him a littletime before he had to respond. “Just going to miss him a little. Haven’t been this interested in a guy in a minute.”
“I know.” She grabbed his shoulder and gave him a squeeze. “You’re going to find a great guy and it’s going to work out. I know it. But that doesn’t make it suck any less when you have to leave a promising guy behind. Ask me about Brian Wentworth some time.”
“I wastherefor Brian Wentworth, Bunny.” He lolled his head to the side, pinning her hand between his cheek and shoulder. “You told me repeatedly that you were with him for his tight ass and his dad’s Mustang.”
“Well yeah. I wouldn’t pick himnow. But that’s what made a good man when we were in high school.” She wriggled her hand free, then patted his cheek a couple times. “Point is, I know this isn’t fun. But I promise you’re going to get through it. Even if I have to hitch you to the back of my car and drag you through myself.”
“Would that car happen to be a Mustang?”
She rolled her eyes. “I wish. I bet I could still track him down.”
Jake got up. “Should I tell your hubby about this sudden interest in your shitty high school boyfriend?”
She looped an arm up and around his shoulders “If I got a seventy-eight Mustang out of the deal, he would pay for the hotel room himself. We’ve discussed it.”
Jake laughed, but the sound was cut off when Bunny wrapped her arms all the way around him and pulled him tight against her. He swallowed, still trying to keep a lid on his emotions. “What’s going on, Bunny?”
“I think you need a hug. Obviously.” She released some of the pressure, but still kept him in the embrace. “I can’t do much about the root of the problem, but I’m here if you need me. And I just landed this big TV gig, so I can snag a handle of rum when we land at the next place.”
“Drowning my demons in liquor. You must have gotten a psych degree since last time we talked. That’s some good advice.” He patted her back, then pulled away and smiled at her. Forced himself to smile. “Thanks. Sorry for being a sad sack.”
“Shit happens. Now got get someone to fix your hair before we’re supposed to go back on camera.” She reached up and mussed it with her fingers. “Something happened to it.”
It was Jake’s turn to roll his eyes. “Will the mystery ever be solved?” He could play at being fine. He could put on a show. And eventually, he’d probably get over Quinn.
But he doubted that would be any time soon, or any sort of convenient schedule.
Chapter forty-one
Quinn
The front shots tookseemingly forever to snag. Either that, or Quinn was just anxious for the cameras to shut off so he could talk with Jake in…private wasn’t the right way to put it, with so many others still around. But at least talk to him without everything being recorded.
Eventually, once they’d gone through rounds of goodbyes and mimed driving away and everyone had pulled back up in front of the house, the production crew started tearing down and packing up the last of their presence, including the lav mics everyone was wearing. As soon as Quinn handed his over, he beelined to Jake, his stomach knotting around itself so tightly that, if nothing else, he knew he wouldn’t vomit from his nerves. There was no way anything was getting past that clot of tension.
When Jake saw him, he blinked, then smiled, but something was off. Quinn wasn’t going to pretend at any sort ofrealfamiliarity with Jake’s expressions, but this wasn’t right. His eyes were darker and more unfocused. He wasn’t showing any teeth. And if Quinn was a betting man, he’d have guessed Jake lost a good bit of color on seeing him.
Quinn pushed past the nerves long enough to struggle out a sentence. “You want to try out those benches on the back deck?”
“Someone should.” Still that fake smile as he got up and followed behind. Quinn pushed open the gate and strolled across the yard, trying his best to be casual, to look like he was checking out the landscaping.
When they got to the porch and sat, neither of them said anything for a while. A long while. Too long a while.
“Listen—”
“So I—”
Quinn chuckled. “Go ahead.”
“No.” Jake shook his head, sending his hair in a floppy cascade around his head. “I don’t really know what I was going to say, there. Just filling space.”
Quinn nodded. “Right. Well. Listen. I…thank you. For the house, and the time together, and the bath. And for listening to me whine about Hunter and my job. Not a whole lot of people in my life willing to put up with that.”
Jake’s jaw tightened. “You need a better quality of person in your life. You deserve to be able to talk about things. You deserve…a lot. But that’s a good place to start.” His face relaxed just a little, but he didn’t go back to smiling. “Sorry. That might be intense. But you shouldn’t have to thank people for giving you basic decency. That should be the default. Guys who are lucky enough to get to spend time with you should be able to see how lucky they are.” He sighed. “So thankyoufor letting me in. I know it was a risk. And it maybe didn’t end the most awesome. But you made Springfield a hell of a lot better for me.”
“You made this whole thing a hell of a lot better.” Quinn hesitated a moment, then slid a little closer so their hips were touching. “I’ve been dreading this all day. I don’t think I want you to go. And that’s not me trying to guilt you. But…” He trailed off, then shrugged. “I don’t know what it is. I hate the idea of coming to this house and you not being around to play video games and talk to me about my job and eat crappy frozen food like a bunch of teenagers whose parents left town for the weekend.”
There. It’s all out.
