Chapter Seven

Case stared into space and savored the memory of their picnic. He wished every day was like that. Honestly, though, Saul was pretty damn good at making each day as amazing as possible. He was like a dream. Unfortunately, every dream ended. Case still hadn't forgotten Emory's claims. It was a bit sickening how much the idea of Saul wanting to marry Emory bothered him. Case had never been the jealous type. Then again, he had never had anything to be jealous about. Now Case had everything to lose.

His life with Saul was beautiful and still felt a bit fragile. They were still in that stage where Case felt like Saul might not want this forever and he held all the cards. Case didn't have a job and lived under his roof. At first, he had thought he would pay his bills, car payment, insurance, and phone out of the money he had from Lonnie and the weekend in Vegas. He planned to find a job before that ran out. But somehow Saul had gotten the account information on his car and paid it off and put his other bills on auto pay from his accounts. Case quietly let it happen. He never touched his money. Saul paid for everything. Case felt a little vulnerable in their power imbalance, but only when he thought too much about it. Otherwise, Saul kept him too distracted and happy to mull over what he had to lose. Unfortunately, those thoughts always waited for Case to be alone before they pounced again. He couldn't avoid them forever.

His phone rang. Case checked the face, fully expecting it to be Saul. No one else ever called. To his surprise, it was Maverick.

"Hello?"

"Hey, man. How's it going?"

Case smiled at Maverick's obvious happiness. He missed having a friend. "Hey. It's great. How are you?"

"Good. I just wanted to reach out and let you know Zander and I will be in town next week. He'll be busy with business the entire week. So, I was hoping we could get together. Maybe do some sparring for old times' sake. I don't get to do that much any longer."

"That sounds great. Saul and I are leaving at the end of next week for vacation, but I'm free the entire rest of the week if there's anything else you'd like to do too. Honestly, I get kind of bored around here sometimes."

"That works for me. So vacation, huh? It seems like you're pretty serious about Saul."

A nervous-sounding laugh escaped Case. "It seems that way. We're living together."

"That's amazing, Case. Truly. You deserve to be happy, and Saul is a good man. He deserves happiness too. I think you're a great match. So, do you have any big plans for his birthday tonight?"

Horror washed over Case. He racked his brain. If they had ever discussed birthdays, he couldn't recall it. His was still six months away, so he supposed out of sight, out of mind. But he didn't remember Saul mentioning anything either. "Um." He checked the clock. If he left now, he could hit the store and be at the hotel by lunch. "I plan to surprise him at work and take him to lunch. Tonight, I'll let him pick what he wants to do."

A deep chuckle came through the line. "Based on how he looked at you in Vegas, I know what I'm betting he'll choose."

Case might have been flattered if he wasn't panicking. He had no clue what to buy the man who had everything, and he had next to no time to figure it out. "I'm cool with that. I guess I'd better let you go if I plan to surprise him."

"All right. I'll see you next week and you can let me know how it went."

"Okay. See you then."

Case disconnected the call and then raced around the house, gathering his things. Saul gave him everything. Just this one time, Case wanted to be the one who did the spoiling. Saul deserved the world. Case would be the one who ensured he got it.

Saul's mood was black. He had spent the entire summer trying to get away from work to spend some off the grid time with Case. Life kept getting in the way. He would get his vacation at the end of next week if it was the last thing he did. Saul had already booked a cabin in the mountains. He had plans for grilling food and sitting by a fire. Most of all, he wanted Case with zero interruptions. The past three months together had been the greatest months of his life. He wanted to sit down with Case and solidify their future. Saul was tired of catching Case looking for jobs. He didn't know why Case didn't understand his situation was permanent. Saul loved him. He wasn't going anywhere.

"Surprise!"

Saul turned at the cry behind him.

Emory waited with a huge smile and a stuffed birthday bear. "Happy birthday."

Saul pinched the spot between his eyes. He honestly didn't know what he had done to deserve this harassment. He dropped his hand. "What are you doing?"

Emory's smile never wavered. "I came to spend your birthday with you. I thought we could go to that spa you love. We could get massages and talk."

Saul felt the boredom settle into his soul and knew his features had to match. Everything about Emory felt so bland and childish now. Saul had no clue what he had seen in the guy. "Why would I want that? We're not dating any longer, nor are we friends. This is getting beyond tiresome."

Confusion crossed Emory's features, as if he genuinely had believed Saul would want this. "I don't understand. I know I made a mistake, but you always told me I could have anything I wanted. It never occurred to me you didn't mean it and I couldn't have sex with other people. You know sex means nothing, and you never said that was off the table. Only love matters, and I know you love me."

All Saul could do was blink. There was no way Emory truly believed the bullshit falling from his lips. "That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard. That's not how love works." The more he spoke, the angrier Saul got. "At least it's not how it works with me. I busted my ass here every day thinking you were waiting for me at the end of the day. I tried to give you everything, but nope. You were out fucking whoever would have you with zero thought to me or us. The moment I learned the truth, all the love I thought I had for you vanished. Did you think of me at all, or was I just an ATM to you? I don't even know if you were using protection with these guys. You humiliated me and put my health at risk. Everything about you sickens me. Now stop stalking me."

Emory's eyes filled with tears, enraging Saul even more with his gall. "If being with me was so bad, then why in the hell did you keep me for so long? You could've broken things off before you made me believe this was forever."

Saul snapped. He couldn't take another second of Emory playing the victim. "Because I wanted you to be the one! You were supposed to be the one." The moment the blinding rage cleared enough to let him see anything but the fury, it wasn't Emory's blotchy, upset face he saw. Feet away, at Emory's back, and close enough to have heard every word, Case stared in obvious frozen shock. His expression went through a series of emotions before he turned and walked away.

Saul tried going after him.

Emory stepped into his path. "We're not finished here. I didn't fight for us back then, and I'm not making that mistake twice."

The rage was back, but this time it was mixed with the fear of losing Case. "Get the fuck out of my way. I don't love you. I don't want you. Go away."

Emory flinched with every screamed word, like each one was a physical blow.

Saul couldn't care. He hadn't broken them. Emory had done that. Saul loved Case now, and he had a terrible feeling he had just lost him too.