Chapter 14

I glanceddown at my clothes and grimaced at the cheap material that tugged on my limbs. The crimson dress shirt didn't fit well, but it was the only one I could find in a cheap store that looked anywhere near good enough to go out in. Judah had offered to buy something better for me, but I'd refused immediately. If I let him use his money on me, it'd only prove his mother's point, and I wasn't going to be that kind of person. The only way I would take anything off him was if I worked for it, like I had the entirety of the last two weeks.

Now it was Friday night, and I was at the point of wishing I hadn't agreed to come see his college friends with him. The shirt was too small, the ends of the sleeves short on my arms, and I couldn't stop fidgeting. Ellis was at home with Lisa, and I wanted to be there, too, away from the violent nervousness that ate at my insides.

"You look amazing." Judah leaned over to kiss my cheek, and my eyes slid shut as my stomach continued to churn. He stopped me and unbuttoned the sleeves of my shirt while I stared with a confused frown, but when he carefully rolled each sleeve, a pleasant heat swirled in my chest and combatted some of my anxiousness.

We stood outside the door of a penthouse in the city of New Gothenburg, and I felt seriously out of place in such a luxurious hallway. A high ceiling with chandeliers, gold-framed artwork, and plush navy carpet was only the beginning, and this was merely the outside. I couldn't imagine what the inside would look like.

I gave Judah an anxious smile right as the door was flung open and a man around our age appeared. He spread his arms immediately, hollering at the sight of Judah.

"Judah, my man!" He laughed and bounced over to Judah, hauling him into a one-armed hug and pat on the back. Everything about him pointed toward money, from his fancy white loafers to his clearly expensive white pants and green silk button-up shirt. He had two gold chains hanging around his neck and rings on each of his fingers, and he reminded me strongly of a drug lord from a bad eighties movie. "Fuck, you're finally here."

Judah laughed when he stepped away from him. "Why are you answering Brett's door, Chaz?"

Chaz shrugged and ran a hand through his floppy brown hair, grinning. "What can I say? I knew it'd be you. You're the last one to arrive." He paused when his gaze turned to me. "Who the hell is this? You finally brought a man, Dailey?"

Judah rested his hand on the middle of my back, guiding me forward. "This is Tavish, that guy I mentioned dating in my teens."

Chaz's eyes widened and he gave me a long once-over, and even though it seemed all in good fun, there was something about the look in his eyes that didn't sit right with me. The ropes of nervousness knotted in my stomach, and I swallowed.

"Well, fuck me. Welcome, Tavish! Come on in. The rest of the boys and their significant others are waiting." Chaz gestured toward the recesses of the apartment with his thumb.

He opened the door wider and waved for us to come in, and Judah pushed me so that I had to enter first. Inside was as glamorous as I'd imagined, even more elegant than what had been in the hallway. A wall full of windows that overlooked the New Gothenburg skyline, a winding staircase that led up to the second floor, a wide living room with white couches, and an open-plan kitchen and dining room. The bottom floor had four couples lounging on the couches, laughing and sipping champagne from their flutes as a light classical song played in the background.

As soon as they saw Judah, they cheered, and a couple of the men rose to shake hands with him. Judah took the time to say hello to everyone, and I stayed back, not quite sure what to do—other than smile and nod when someone glanced in my direction.

Finally, when Judah had made the rounds, he took my hand and gestured at me. "This is Tav, my boyfriend."

"Uh, hello." I raised a hand in a rather awkward wave, not quite sure how to greet people like this. They were all smartly turned out, the women in knee-length dresses that weaved to the shape of their curves while the men were in shirts and pants a hundred times more expensive than mine.

Judah rubbed circles around my lower back as he winked at me. "Let me introduce you to everyone, Tav. It's okay if you don't remember everyone's names. This here is Edwina and James."

He pointed at a couple who looked every bit each other's opposite. Edwina was a beautiful woman with a deep tan complexion and brown hair and eyes. Her makeup was soft and natural, and she wore a kind smile and a purple dress that stopped near her knees. James, however, was the epitome of what I imagined a frat bro was, with a blond mane that hung around his shoulders and a dopey grin, though the longer he stared at me the quicker the smile fell off his face.

Judah moved on to the next couple. "This is Eric and Nancy, true college sweethearts. They met at school and married a year after they began dating."

Eric was the only one other than us who was standing, and he guarded over the others like security, with his arms clutched behind his back and a hard expression on his face. He wore a full black suit that looked more expensive than everything I owned combined and had dark hair slicked back. Nancy complemented him with her sleeveless black pencil dress and similar brown locks that she had tightly wound into a bun.

Judah laughed as he gestured at the next two. "This is our esteemed host, Brett, and his wife, Jessica."

Brett looked exactly as his name suggested. He wore khaki pants and a blue polo shirt, with flip-flops hanging off his feet. He lounged on the couch like a king, while his wife, Jessica, sat like the perfect Stepford wife, legs bent and hands placed delicately on her knees. She had flowing blond hair that was perfectly styled over one shoulder and wore jewelry that could blind a man.

"The only other gay couple here is Michael and Cadwall." Judah gestured at the last couple, and like he'd pointed out, they were two men. They were both more relaxed than the other couples and seemed a lot more in love, too. Cadwall leaned against Michael's chest with a genuine smile. They both had short brown hair, but Cadwall had bright blue eyes while Michael's were more of a yellowy-green, and unlike the others, they were casually dressed in simple shirts and pants.

"And finally, you've already met him, but this is Chaz." Judah waved at the last person, the same man who'd let us in. "And we're the gang."

"Tav's the teenage sweetheart." Chaz glanced around the room with a smirk, and everyone had a range of reactions, but mostly the guys were amused.

"You spoke about me?" I teased Judah, if only to break the awkwardness I was currently experiencing.

These men were the type that I suspected Elizabeth wanted Judah to date, the kind who already had money and influence and came from prestigious families. While they seemed polite, I could already feel the hard, suspicious gazes under the fake smiles they gave me, especially from Chaz. The women seemed to care less, but that made sense because they weren't Judah's college friends.

"Always." Judah laid a kiss on my cheek, and I leaned against him. His arms curled around me, and I relished the warmth and comfort of his strong chest. The cinnamon scent of his aftershave danced in my nose, and I breathed it—him—in.

"Ladies, shall we let the men catch up?" Edwina stood, her dress swaying gently, and smiled at me. "It's lovely to meet you, Tav. You are welcome to join us, too, if you'd like. Cadwall does. The boys only reminisce and it's very boring. We drink wine and gossip in the sitting room."

I hesitated before I shook my head. "No, that's all right. I might stay with Judah, if that's okay with you." I peeked at Judah, and he hugged me tighter against himself, nipping playfully at my earlobe.

"Of course it is, Puffin."

I held in a snort. Puffin. It'd been a long while since I'd heard that pet name, but it was nice to hear it come out of his mouth again. When we'd first started dating, Judah had announced he wanted a special name for me, one that wasn't as boring as darling or baby, so he'd gone on the hunt for it. He'd decided on Puffin after learning about the clowning puffin, a bird of the sea.

"It's freaking adorable, like you," he'd told me, sixteen-year-old Judah proud that he'd found such an awesome pet name for me.

"Wasn't there a dangerous, voracious animal to choose from?" I'd asked.

He'd laughed. "I could call you Highland cow if you want."

"Oh, shut up. Now mooooooove it." I'd shoved him, and he'd fallen off the bed, landing hard on the floor but still laughing.

As the women and Cadwall left the living room, Judah and I settled onto the couch between Chaz and Brett. Judah kept his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into him, happy for some distraction from my nerves through his touch.

Eric finally moved to join us on the couches as well, taking the seat beside James. He was the first to speak. "When did this happen?" He indicated between me and Judah with his index finger before crossing his arms. "Last I heard, you hadn't seen him since he broke up with you, J."

"Yeah, I want to know the same thing." Chaz leaned forward to peer around Judah at me, and while he kept an easygoing smile on his face, I didn't miss the sharpness and distrust in his eyes. It was so subtle that I didn't expect Judah to catch it. He wasn't used to people staring at him the way I was.

"He ran into me. Literally." Judah laughed.

"The day got shitty for both of us."

Judah threw his head back and snorted while he continued to chuckle. He slapped a hand to his chest and wiped tears from his eyes. "Fuck. I'll never forgive you for that. My poor Bentley."

"Don't keep us in the dark," James said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He clapped his hands excitedly. "Tell us what happened."

So, we did. By the end, most of the guys laughed, but Chaz and Brett seemed to only smile politely and agree that it was now a funny story, though I didn't totally believe them.

The beer came out almost immediately, and while I wasn't in the mood to drink, I took one so I wasn't the lone man. The conversation turned to their college days, and I listened, eager to feed my Judah obsession and discover all the years I'd missed. From what I'd heard, he was exactly as I'd imagined he'd be in college.

He joined a frat.

Became president of the frat.

Earned high grades.

Had the girls all over him—even though he was very out of the closet.

The most surprising part was them mentioning him playing football.

"You played American football?" I gaped at him. "You? Mr. I-Won't-Be-A-College-Cliché?"

Judah groaned and slapped his palms over his face. "Yeah, yeah, I did it."

"You were fucking good at it, too. The star quarterback." Chaz punched him on the shoulder. "You could've fucking gone pro, bro."

Judah rolled his eyes. "Can you imagine Mom letting me do that? She'd have lost her mind."

I held in the snort that threatened by rubbing my nose and nodding, agreeing with him. There was no way in hell that Elizabeth would've let Judah do anything except business, but I could also see her puffing her chest out in pride at having a son who played college football, too. The mother of the quarterback. That kind of recognition came with benefits.

It was surreal that I'd never known Judah had played football, but I'd also never paid attention to it, either. I preferred the real football—soccer—but I wished I'd known so I could've turned on the telly to watch him play.

Judah stood quickly, his cheeks a little redder than before. "I'm gonna go get another beer. Anyone want one?"

Michael jumped to his feet. "Let me help you, buddy."

Everyone but me said they wanted another drink, and I watched Michael and Judah walk toward the kitchen, leaving me alone with the other four guys. James grabbed his phone from the pocket of his pants immediately, already checking something on the screen, while Eric rose to finally slide off his jacket. Chaz and Brett turned their complete attention on me, and I definitely didn't like it one bit.

"So, Tavish." Chaz's grin turned sardonic. "You and Judah have a history, huh?"

"We do, aye," I murmured as kindly as I could, turning to glance in the direction Judah had disappeared and hoping he'd be back quickly.

"Shame you broke up. Was there a reason for that?" Brett leaned against the couch and stretched his arms along the back, going for relaxed but appearing more like a cruel hyena about to attack when his prey least expected it. He was no lion, rather a predator that waited for the real beast to turn his back so he could rampage. "Was it the money issue?"

"Money issue?" I repeated, not quite sure I'd heard correctly.

"Elizabeth told us about you once." Chaz continued the conversation as though I hadn't spoken.

My gaze bounced from one side of me to Chaz, then back to the other where Brett sat.

"She didn't have a lot of good things to say about you." Brett hummed and shrugged.

I tugged at the rolled sleeve of my shirt and laughed uncomfortably. The shell bracelet weighed heavily on my wrist, reminding me of the single tether I had to Judah. But how easy would it be to break? "Well, Elizabeth never liked me."

Brett studied my shirt and leaned over to touch my shoulder. "What brand is this? Armani? Ralph Lauren? The material's very thin."

"Looks more like a Sears brand." Chaz chortled, knocking me on the arm with his fist like it was his greatest joke yet, and shame curled in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

Brett grunted. "Don't think so, bro. Too cheap looking to even be that." He joined in the laughter.

If I'd been anywhere else, I would've defended myself. I wasn't a weak man and rich people didn't scare me, but when it came to Judah, I was defenseless. These were his friends, and despite them being absolute arseholes, I smiled because there wasn't much else I could do. If I shot back at them, I'd ruin the night. I wasn't going to do that to Judah, not when he'd been so excited for me to meet them.

Eric frowned from where he sat. He crossed his legs and sniffed. "It might be cheap, but he still has more style than you two idiots."

That managed to gain their attention, and they focused on him, chatting, while I tried to curl in on myself and die from the shame. I shouldn't've expected any less coming to an event like this, knowing that these men were college frat bros who came from wealthy families, and yet it still hurt to be told indirectly that I wasn't good enough for Judah. Another reminder of the different backgrounds we came from.

Judah dropped onto the couch beside me and nudged my elbow. "You okay, Puffin?"

I managed to give him a smile. "Aye, just thinkin'."

"You tired?" he asked, clear concern on his face as he turned fully toward me. "We can go if you want."

I shook my head and petted his knee. "Nah. It's fine. I'm enjoying myself." It was so easy to stretch the facts a bit when it came to Judah and making him happy. I would certainly survive this. After the visit from his mother last Saturday, he deserved all the joy he could get, and if being with his dicky friends gave him that, then I could swallow my shame.

He curled his arm around my shoulders and dragged me in closer, and I went, aware of a pair of eyes on me. I glanced around to find Eric watching, and when our gazes met, his mouth tightened. He gave me a curt nod before looking away. I wasn't sure what it meant, but I didn't think everyone in this room was against me. At least Eric didn't seem to hate me, despite being a somewhat reserved man who didn't speak much.

An hour later, I'd begun to falter, Chaz's and Brett's words still echoing in my mind while fatigue overtook me. My shoulders drooped, and Judah's hold on me tightened.

"All right, guys, looks like my sweetheart's sleepy, so it's time to go." Judah winked at me, and I offered him a small smile in return.

Chaz snorted. "You could send him home in an Uber by himself, bro. We're only just beginning."

"That's why you're single." Judah chuckled as he stood and took my hand, hauling me to my feet.

We said our goodbyes, though I was more reserved in saying much to Chaz and Brett, and the women plus Cadwall also came to bid us farewell. By the time we got out of the fancy apartment building and into an Uber, I was well on my way to falling asleep. I'd always joked that I could tell I was getting old by how early I went to bed these days, and it never felt more real than now.

"Did you have a good time, Puffin?" Judah asked as we arrived at his house, and he guided me toward the front door. "Did you like my friends?"

I pasted a smile on my face. "They were awesome. Very laid-back guys."

He laughed. "Yeah, they are."

"You're gonna have to tell me more about your football years, though," I whispered as we entered the house to darkness. Ellis must be asleep already, which wasn't rare for him, either. He usually went to bed around the same time as I did because there'd been nothing else to do in the trailer.

"Oh, Tav, I'll do more than tell you about it. I'll pull out the uniform and wear it for you one day."

My eyebrows shot up as we crept up the stairs and headed toward his bedroom. "Don't tease me with a good time."

"Who said anything about teasing?"

I shook my head and laughed.