Chapter 26

Mo

He wore the shirt.

I watch Nico fix his hair one last time before hopping out of his car. The shirt I picked out for him fits better than I expected, the bright red material cutting close to the edges of his frame but maintaining enough shape to give him room to breathe. The crevice of his tan chest peeks out from the three buttons undone and I have to bite back a grin when I see the gold chain glittering against his neck.

"You clean up well, Montez." I tilt my head, letting my eyes roam down the fitted black dress pants, "I should have asked you out sooner."

He snorts, "Babe, we both know I did all the asking."

Pushing off the side of my apartment building, I close the distance between us with two long strides. Nico's pupils dilate as he scans me from head to toe, his gaze lingering on the dark grey material of my own dress shirt.

I smirk, "Keep looking at me like that and we won't make it to the club."

He licks his lips, "That would be such a shame."

Putting my hand on his waist, my mouth brushes his cheek as I speak softly in his ear, "Don't forget who wanted to go on this date. We could have spent the night in bed."

Nico shivers against me, his fingers teasing the waistband of my pants.

"It was a mistake. Let's call it quits while we're ahead." He leans in for a kiss but I pull away with a raised brow.

"Don't think you can handle being my date for the night?"

He grips the front of my shirt and pulls me closer, "I can barely handle being on the same lacrosse field with you. Seeing you and not being able to touch you is torture enough without the seduction of Latin music thrown in."

"It's a good thing you're my date then." His dark eyes flick to mine and I grin, "Tonight you can see and touch."

Nico's smile falters as he steps out of the embrace, "But what if someone sees? The last time I claimed you as my man, it didn't go over so well."

I frown, "We're going to a gay club. That's not going to be a problem tonight."

"But that's the problem. What if we weren't going to a gay club?" Nico backs away, running a hand through his hair, "Would we find a couple of girls to dance with until we could sneak off together?"

His question hangs in the air as silence falls between us. Nico scruffs the pavement with his dress shoes, his emotional state derailing faster than our plans.

"Say something."

I sigh, "I don't know what you want me to say."

He throws his hands up in the air, "Anything. Say anything, Maurice."

"I don't know, okay? I don't know what dating would look like for us."

"It would look like nothing because there would be no dating. Don't you get it?" Nico barks out a bitter laugh, "This was a ridiculous idea. I don't know why I thought we could go out like a normal couple."

"You need to calm down."

He whirls around, eyes blazing, "No, you need to not be calm for once. If we go on this date, it will only add to the messy pile of emotions I already have for you. One date will turn into more until suddenly we've adopted a mini golden doodle but can't walk it together because it wouldn't be socially acceptable."

"Are you listening to yourself? This was supposed to be a fun night out, not an opportunity for you to analyze the homophobic mindset of small towns." I take a step towards him but Nico shakes his head and backs away.

"I'm in too deep. I can't do this." He squeezes his eyes shut and holds up a hand to stop me from coming any closer, "I'm sorry, Maurice."

Panic wells up inside me but I shut it down before it can make an appearance.

"Montez. Listen to me." I blow out a breath, waiting for him to meet my gaze, "Taber is a small, agriculture town. You knew coming here that things would be different. But think about the things we could do in a big city-

"But would it really be any different?" Nico's eyes scan mine, his lips pulled down, "It's not the small town. It's you. The great Mighty Mo has a reputation to uphold, and it spans a lot further than whatever this could be."

"I don't care about a fucking reputation." My teeth snap together, barely keeping the rest of that sentence from falling out.

He rubs a hand along the scruff on his jaw and sighs, "Be honest. Would you ever feel comfortable introducing me as your boyfriend? Bringing me home to meet the family?"

I fall silent and he shakes his head, "That's what I thought."

"It's complicated."

"Not from where I'm standing." Nico turns and starts walking back to his car.

"Montez, wait."

He keeps walking and I let out a curse.

"I just need some time to figure things out… Nico!"

His headlights sweep over me as he turns the engine and punches the gas before I have the chance to take a breath. The screech of his tires fills the night air as his rust bucket of a car goes flying by me, a flash of red the last thing I see before he pulls out of the parking lot.

I stand on the sidewalk long after his taillights disappear, wondering how the hell my night went from a promising date to a complete train wreck.

I care about you.

The unspoken words float through my mind, mocking my cowardliness as I turn and walk back inside my apartment building.

Alone.

I blink as my name is called, the crackling static shooting through my headset.

"Maurice, you still with us?" Steven peers into the camera as if his virtual proximity will recapture my attention. I catch my father's frown through his video screen, the silent chastise snapping me back to present.

Focus, goddamn it.

I clear my throat, making a point to adjust my headset, "My computer froze for a moment there but I understood your request clearly. I will have the updated report to you by the end of the day."

"Oh." Steven blinks, no doubt surprised by the lack of an argument, "That would be much appreciated, Maurice. Thank you."

I give him a nod before muting my mic and tuning out the rest of the meeting. The moment the meeting is dismissed my work chat pings with an incoming message.

COREY: How you holding up, big man? You seem distracted.

I almost let out a laugh. Last night, I spent five hours staring at my bedroom ceiling, replaying the conversation with Nico on repeat until I cracked and hauled my ass out of bed at 4 AM to hit the gym. The endorphins did nothing to help my situation and thanks to my sleepless night I've had a skull-splitting headache all morning.

The last 12 hours have been hell and the only thing my coworker can say is I seem distracted. I should be happy that my self-preservation is somewhat back intact but the only thing I feel is empty.

Alone.

ME: Just had a rough night. Things are fine.

Typing bubbles appear then disappear. I sigh, closing the chat box and re-focusing on my emails. Five minutes later another ping goes off.

COREY: If there's one thing my wife has taught me, it's that no one is fine if they use the word fine. Anything I can help with?

I blink in surprise before typing out a response.

ME: You have a wife?

COREY: Going on five years now. I popped the question after graduation so now she's stuck with me.

COREY: But back to your own wife problem…

I crack a smile, thinking of how Nico would react to someone referring to him as my wife. I can"t imagine that one going over well.

Would you ever feel comfortable introducing me as your boyfriend? Bringing me home to meet the family?

My smile slips and all too soon I'm back thinking of last night and all the mistakes that went with it. The problem with people and relationships is they are a lot harder to accumulate data from. It's one of the main reasons I"ve avoided them up until now.

Well, that and no one sparked my interest for longer than one night.

Typing out a response, there's a knock on my door just as I press send.

ME: Thanks for the support but I'll figure it out.

COREY: You always do.

Pushing back my chair, I walk over to check the peephole of my front door.

"Is there a reason you're intruding on my day off?" My voice comes out perfectly calm, successfully masking my volatile emotions as I open the door and stare at the one co-captain I did not want to see today.

Wes gives me a tight smile, awkwardly holding out the shopping bag I gave to my sister a few hours ago.

"Can I come in? Nico asked me to return this."

"No."

He winces, eyes flicking from my face to the blocked doorway, "No I can't come in or no I can't return this?"

I cross my arms, my expression leaving no room for argument, "Both."

"Fair enough." Wes gently places the bag on the ground, "I would have kept the shirt for myself but it's really not my colour. The red does nothing for my eyes, the trick for me is to wear cool undertones like blue or-

"What are you doing here?" I cut him off with a pointed glare, "I've got actual work to do so I would appreciate it if you made this quick."

He sighs, running a hand through his dark hair, "Nico's leaving."

My stomach drops, "What?"

Wes throws up his hands, a quick smile breaking across his features, "That came out wrong. Nico is heading home for the week. Said he wanted to catch up with the family before lacrosse training gets too intense. He'll be back next Monday."

Catch up with his family? I call bullshit.

Nico is running away.

Swallowing the urge to smash something against the wall, I tilt my head, assessing the captain in my doorway.

"And you felt the need to tell me that because…"

"You make him happy." Wes sighs, taking a step back to lean against the wall, "For the first time, I saw my best friend want a future that wasn"t waking up drunk next to a stranger every weekend."

I give him a disbelieving look, "I was explicitly told last night that dating was not in the cards."

Wes groans, "Come on, Mo, you know Nico! When push comes to shove, he always takes the easy way out. You know it, I know it, even Nico knows it – that's why he had his little meltdown last night. He was scared that if you guys actually start dating, it would be his heart on the line, not yours."

"That's ridiculous."

"That's Nico." He shakes his head, "It's partly my fault. I've been telling him to stay away since the first day you arrived and now he's starting to understand why."

I think back to Nico's reaction last night, the way he couldn't get past the impossibility of a future together. He was so caught up in what we couldn't be that he forgot to look at what we already were.

My scowl deepens as I consider the new data at hand, "So he's looking for reassurance. Validation that his feelings are reciprocated."

"I mean, you aren't exactly an open book. I'd personally label you as a high-security vault with lasers and security dogs." Wes grins, popping out a dimple and I look at him dubiously.

"Words of affirmation and opening up. Those are my two options?"

He shrugs, "I'm sure there are plenty of other routes you could take, but in my opinion, those would be your best bets of winning him back."

I frown, "He was never mine to begin with."

"And yet he ended up being yours to lose." Wes scoops the bag off the floor and turns to me with a grin, "See you tomorrow at practice!"

He sings to himself all the way down the hallway, a terrible rendition of a Disney soundtrack that has me quickly slamming my door shut. Mulling over our conversation, I head back to my work computer and pull up the financial spreadsheet I promised Steven.

What the hell am I doing?

Taking a deep breath, I close the document and pull up a new one. Saving it to my personal drive, I ignore the weight of my deadlines and start planning for my future.

Nico

Nothing screams heartbreak like hightailing it home.

"I'm not sure one week is going to change anything, Nico." Lacey bites her lip, tugging at the ends of her hoodie, "Maybe you guys should just talk it out now."

I shake my head vehemently, "You didn't see his face when I drove off. The best thing I can do right now is let the emotions cool off for a bit."

She sighs, "You've already made up your mind."

"It's for the best, Lace." Swallowing hard, I pull her in for one last hug before turning and heading out the door.

"Give Mrs. Montez my love!"

I peel out of the residence parking lot like a man possessed for the second time today, cranking the tunes all the way to where my family awaits. The open road doesn't soothe the ache in my chest like I thought it would, but I don't ease off the gas pedal until I pull onto the patchy driveway of my family home.

The Montez household sits on the edge of a different small town, and truth be told, it"s nothing to write home about. The shutters need replacing, the bungalow needs a new coat of paint, and I'm pretty sure there are more weeds than flowers growing in our garden, but at the end of the day, it's home.

"Carlos, can you get the door?" My mom's shriek has my face breaking into a smile before I make it up the stairs.

"What are you talking about? No one has knocked."

She scoffs, "Don't ask questions, just do as I say."

"Woman, questions are the only thing you leave me with most days." The bickering continues as I draw near, the volume increasing with every verbal spar thrown in the ring.

"Don't you remember the last time I told you to do something and you refused? We ended up eating chicken curry without the chicken because someone decided we already had some at home."

"That only happened because someone complained we were spending too much on groceries."

I clear my throat, not bothering to knock, "Your one and only son has returned!"

A gasp sounds from inside, "Nico?!"

The sound of running feet draws near and I brace myself for impact. The door swings open to reveal both of my parents standing on the other side, their wide smiles as familiar as my own.

"What are you doing home, my boy?" Tilting her head, my mom's beaming smile slips into a concerned frown, "Where is Wesley?"

This is what happens when you are best friends with someone for over a decade. You become attached at the hip to the point where your parents can tell something is wrong simply by showing up unchaperoned.

I give her a weak smile, "He needed to stay and help out with the team."

My dad squints in my direction, "But you didn't have to stay?"

"Well, no, I ah…" My voice cracks and I have to snap my mouth shut to keep from sobbing.

"Oh, mi amor." Wrapping her small arms around me, my mom pulls me into the house and flicks a finger at my father.

"Make yourself useful and go warm up some cookies."

Breathing in the comforting scent of my childhood, I look at my mom with a wry smile.

"Since when do you make cookies?'

My dad grunts, heading for the kitchen, "Lucia"s been trying new recipes all month. I've been eating shit for three weeks."

"Your father does not appreciate my culinary skills." She huffs and leads me into the living room. As the biggest room in the house, you would think our family would maximize the space like most people do.

Nope. Not the Montez family.

We like clutter, so half of the living room is covered with bits and pieces from every monumental life stage I"ve ever had. It's sweet, seeing the emphasis my parents put on every occasion but it really doesn't leave a lot of room for sitting space.

Shifting a pile of newspaper clippings from the couch, she gets me settled before making space for herself. A Taber University article floats to the ground, the smiling faces of last year's lacrosse team staring back at me.

I sigh, bending to pick it up and placing it back on its respective pile. The shot was taken after the Tigers won last year's championship tournament, back when Cody was captain and Wes and I were just a couple of rookies. Wes has his arms around me in the picture, his face breaking into a wide grin as he lifts my laughing ass in the air.

A wave of nostalgia hits me as I look at our smiling faces. I wish I could go back to when the only question in my life was figuring out which stranger to take home for the weekend.

Back before Maurice O'Brien entered my life.

My mom takes my chin in her hands, forcing my gaze to meet hers, "Tell me what's wrong."

The couch dips beside me as my dad reappears with a plate of cookies in his hand. He passes it to me, shaking his head sagely, "Eat with caution."

"Carlos!" She reaches around me and gives him a slap upside the head, "Keep it up and you'll be making your own dinners from now on."

He scoffs, "As if you would ever let me in the kitchen."

She clucks her tongue in disapproval and turns to me with a smile, "Ignore your father. He doesn"t understand his place in this family."

I let out a small laugh, the ache in my chest refusing to let me do much else. My mom frowns, reaching out to smooth the frown line between my brows.

"Tell us what's wrong, Nico."

My dad grabs my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. My throat tightens at the simple display of love and support, the one thing I was never without growing up in this house.

Taking a deep breath, I push the words out.

"I fell in love."

And then I burst into tears.