14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Darren

Cade was training for an upcoming race, and Christian was Christmas shopping with his family, so Dillon and I did a little Christmas shopping of our own. I drove us to his mom's antique store, One Time or Another .

The shop took up nearly an entire building in the center of historic Leesburg. When we stepped inside, we were greeted with a bell chime and a world full of old things and a musty scent, like old books and mothballs. But Dillon's mom tried to mask it with potpourri.

"Well, hello there, boys," said Ms. Copeland—or was it Mrs. Beckman now since she was married to Cade's dad? I never asked.

Dillon looked just like her with that thick black hair, but hers was much longer. She had the same blue eyes and pale skin, but Dillon was much taller.

"Hey, Mom. We're going to shop for some things for Christmas. I actually already have something for Cade, but Darren is spending Christmas with Christian's family, and he doesn't know what to get them."

"Yeah, it's his grandparents' house, but he lives there with his mom."

"Tell me about them," she asked.

"Well, Christian likes… feminine things." I wasn't sure how she'd react to that because I didn't think she had any idea her son was in love with her stepson. But Ms. Copeland had always been really nice to me.

"Well, that makes things simpler. I have lots of feminine things here. What about his mom?"

I released my tension and smiled. "His mom is a nurse, but honestly, I don't really know any of them all that well. His grandmother is really sweet, and she has these crazy Jack Russells, while his grandfather loves old cars like I do."

She smiled. "Seems like you know them better than you think. Why don't you take what you know and look around the store? I bet you could find some nice things for them. And because you're such good friends with Dillon, I'll give you a discount."

"Thanks, Ms. C."

Dillon nudged me with his elbow. "Follow me. I have a good idea of where things are around here since I'm always helping Mom out."

"Sounds good."

Dillon and I explored the shop, which had three levels. There was so much stuff crammed everywhere, and it grew to be a bit daunting. But there were several bookcases stuffed with old books, so I looked through them, and that was when I found the perfect gift for his grandad. It was an old book from 1982 that was about collectible cars from 1940 to 1980. I looked through it and found my truck in there, in pristine condition, of course, but in blue, and his Buick was in there, too. Perfect.

Eventually, I finally found the perfect gift for Mom. There were these two antique wooden yarn spools. "Mom loves to knit. I bet she'd like these," I said .

"Look, she can use them as candle holders," Dillon suggested, pointing at the holes at the top of the spools.

"Damn, good idea, Dil. Mom will love them."

"Are you getting something for your dad?"

"Fuck no. He never gets me anything," I sighed. "But he pays for my football camp. Maybe he helps for selfish reasons, but he does, which is hard to accept because he's such a bastard."

"You could show him you're a better person than he is. It's only a suggestion. I mean, I can't stand Cade's dad, honestly. He's such a dick to Cade sometimes, but I'll still try to find him something."

"What is it with dads? Christian's dad has been ignoring him since they moved out here. I mean, he calls and shit, but he hasn't picked him up for his turn to visit."

Dillon huffed an irritated sigh. "Who the hell knows? If I ever have kids, I'll love them to death."

"After what I've gone through, I'm not sure I want any."

He gripped my arm and gave me an empathetic smile. "Let's think positive vibes now. You've picked out two awesome gifts. I bet we can find more."

And we did. I found a cool old vintage storybook about a nurse called Cherry Ames: Rural Nurse with cool illustrations for Christian's mom and a cute figurine of a Jack Russell dog for his grandma. All the gifts were relatively affordable, so they didn't break my savings account.

But I still hadn't found anything for Christian.

Dillon and I made our way to the sales counter, and that's when I saw the vintage jewelry.

"Yes! Christian would love some jewelry."

I set my items down on the glass counter and looked at all the earrings, bracelets, rings, and necklaces on display. There was so much to choose from. How did I pick something he'd like?

Then I saw the prettiest necklace out of all of them. It had three strands of crystals or diamonds that swooped around and drooped, a centerpiece of a crystal flower, and two dangling pearls on a chain. It was as stunning as Christian was.

If it was on display like that, I doubted the necklace was precious with diamonds. Ms. C probably kept her expensive stuff locked up.

I looked up at Dillon's mom, who was wrapping my items in tissue paper. "Can I look at that necklace?"

She looked to where I was pointing, opened the cabinet, and pulled out the necklace, setting it on the glass top.

"Is this for your guy?"

My face heated, but I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, he loves pretty things. He wears these really nice vintage pearl earrings that look so good on him."

"Well, this necklace here is a vintage bridal necklace from the Victorian era."

"Shit… I mean, shoot. It must be expensive."

"It's not too terrible since there aren't any real diamonds. They're only crystals, but the pearls are real."

"How much?"

"I'm selling it for seventy-five dollars, but you can have it for half that."

God, she was so nice. Seventy-five was a lot for me, but Christian was worth it. "You don't have to go so cheap."

"Darren, take the discount. I'm not charging you full price. I just want to know how much Christian likes it when you give it to him."

I smiled at her, holding the necklace like it was the most delicate and precious thing. "You got it."

"That's definitely all Christian," Dillon said.

I ended up spending a hundred bucks, which wasn't too bad considering how many gifts I bought.

In return for the discount, Dillon and I offered to stay the rest of the day at the shop and help with the store; unpacking boxes, separating items that needed cleaning, and placing others on shelves in the back that were ready for display.

The area was musty and full of dust, making us sneeze a lot, but it was fun seeing what was inside, like little surprises.

Dillon took a box cutter and opened up the next box for us to empty. "Do you ever get jealous?" he asked out of the blue.

A lot. "Sometimes. Why?"

He looked up at me with curious blue eyes. "With Christian?"

"Nah, I trust him all the way."

Dillon seemed disappointed with my answer, deflating and returning to pulling out items. "What are you jealous of, then?"

"Life."

He raised a brow at me. "Like you want a life that's not yours? It makes you jealous?"

"Exactly. I've been jealous of you… of your relationship with your mother. I get jealous of Christian's life for having such an accepting family."

He nodded. "I totally get that."

"Is something going on between you and Cade?" I asked softly, in case his mom was nearby.

Dillon pulled out a stack of books and gently went through the pages, shaking them out to make sure there were no secret letters or old photos.

"Well, we get along really well, but he's… got insecurity issues sometimes. I know it's because of his asshole dad." He whispered the last part. "Sometimes, if I'm talking to a girl though, or if a girl is interested in me, he gets jealous, though he tries to hide it."

"But you'd give your left nut for him."

He snorted a laugh. "Eloquently put, but you're right. I would. I don't mind reassuring him. He needs someone on his side, but still, it would be awesome if he trusted me to stick with him. I worry one day he'll stop trusting me or will refuse to listen to me trying to reassure him."

"You're asking him to be rational with an irrational emotion. We can't always help but react like that. It protects our hearts sometimes, even if it hurts. Jealousy can also have some positivity. Like, Cade being jealous shows how much he values and loves you, which is fine as long as it doesn't hurt you both in the end. As for me? My jealousy prompts my ambition."

He chuckled and shook his head. "You never stop amazing me, Dare. Read that, did we?"

I shrugged. "I can't afford a therapist, man."

"You're doing great. And I've never seen you happier since you've been with Christian."

"Thanks. He's perfect. It's… nice to be wanted." I breathed out a laugh. "He gets annoyed when I tell him that sometimes, but he is."

"Well, I've never seen two people so vastly different yet mesh so well."

"That's my favorite part about him. He's nothing like me."

"You make it sound like there's something wrong with you."

There was, but I didn't say that. Instead, I changed the subject. "So, what did you get Cade for Christmas?"

"I didn't buy anything. I just drew him a picture." Dillon walked over to me and showed me his phone with a picture of him and Cade. It was really nice, and the lighting was perfect. "We were camping, and I took a selfie of us. I liked it so much, I drew it for him."

"He's going to love it, man."

"And I love him. I just need to find a way for us to be together. We'll wait until college, but that's still far away."

"I get it. Being in a secret relationship sucks. I want to share Christian with the world."

He looked at me with a small, sad smile. "Exactly. "

We went back to sorting through old items, and before we knew it, it was six o'clock and time to close up shop. I thanked Dillon and his mom before I drove home.