“Thanks for coming with me,” I said once we were driving down the dirt road. The wedding was in the country about thirty minutes from town.
“No problem.” Jay rested a hand at his mouth as he drove with the other. “You’ll owe me a car wash after this, though. Dirt and shit is getting everywhere.”
“Deal.”
When we arrived at my house, he parked in the driveway. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“You got plans?” I asked, unbuckling my seat belt and opening the door.
“A hot date,” he answered with a smile. “He’s an acrobat. That means he’s flexible.”
“Where the hell did you meet an acrobat in Fort Smith fucking Arkansas?”
“He’s with a traveling group.” Jay shrugged. “Not from here. Meaning we can have one awesome night and I won’t have to see him again.”
I snorted a laugh. “Have fun with that.”
“Spokoynoy nochi,” he said, which I’d come to learn meant good night.
I closed the door and walked up the steps to my house. Jay waited until I got inside before he backed up and drove away. I pulled at my tie as I walked to my room. It was only nine o’clock on a Saturday night, but I had no desire to go anywhere. Some crime documentaries and a beer or two sounded good enough to me.
Fortunately, I hadn’t fallen back into heavy drinking, but a beer here and there was nice. I had just showered, changed into lounge pants, and sat on the couch when my phone rang.
It was Ryan.
“Hello?” I answered, my heart beating faster.
“Hey. Are you home?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Okay. I’ll be there in a few.”
It was the first time I’d spoken to him in about two weeks, and I couldn’t stop the hope from blossoming in my chest. Was he finally ready to talk to me and clear the air?
I hopped off the couch and went to my room to put on a shirt before pacing in the kitchen waiting for him to get there. Five or so minutes later, headlights shone through the front windows as a car pulled into my driveway. I went over and opened the door, seeing Ryan get out of the car.
He seemed guarded as he walked up the porch steps and didn’t say anything as I moved aside and let him into the house. I followed him into the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator and looked inside.
“Can I have a beer?”
“No,” I said. “You’re not old enough.”
“Pfft. You know I do it anyway.” Ryan flipped around and looked at me before dropping his gaze to the floor. “So, look. I know things have been tense between us. It’s not easy to think of you one way my whole life and then have that image destroyed out of the blue. Then finding out you’re banging my best friend. It’s just been…”
“Hard.”
“Yeah.” Ryan took a deep breath, moving a hand over the back of his hair. “I don’t get why you’re into Cas. Like, out of all the guys you could go after, why him?”
“I can’t explain why.” Frankly, I didn’t know the answer myself. There had just been something about Cason that had called to me. No rhyme or reason to it.
“He told me how it happened,” Ryan said. “I saw him last weekend and he explained everything.”
“You saw him? How is he doing?”
“Ask him yourself.”
“I can’t.” I went over and grabbed two beers from the fridge, handing him one. He grinned and popped it open. “He isn’t talking to me.”
