Twenty-One

Hudson

Jack stayed the night, and I drove the two of us to work. Things had changed between us, and I hoped like hell it didn't matter when we were at work. "Are we stopping for coffee?" he asked as we drove past a few businesses.

"Yes, did you want to stop at the bakery?"

"That would be great, and maybe let's skip the pastries today. I don't want anyone hanging around unless they're shopping," Jack said as he leaned forward in the seat and looked out the window. It was strange, he was close to twenty years younger than me, but in many ways, he was more mature and straightforward. He didn't play games or tiptoe around tough subjects, he just talked about them, and said exactly what was on his mind.

"Maybe we can make it a Friday thing," I said, and he smiled.

"Or Saturday," Jack said as I pulled into the same space I'd parked the other day. "Wait here, I'll be right back." He hurried up to the door and I watched as he placed his order and chose a few pastries.

"Apparently every day is Saturday," I mumbled around my grin. He walked toward the car carrying a tray with our coffees and a container I knew held more pastries, because I wasn't going to be upset about eating more of them.

"Not a word," he said and handed me my coffee.

"Thank you," I said and leaned over to kiss him. I pulled back just in time to see a man about the same age as Jack staring at us with his mouth hanging open. "Who's that?"

"We'll talk about it later," Jack said but never looked away from where the other guy stood.

"Jack?" I still hadn't put the car into Reverse, and he finally shook his head and glanced at me.

"It's not a big deal, I swear," he said, and his eyes pleaded with me for understanding. "We'll talk when we get to work."

I nodded, and forced myself not to look past him at the guy again, before I backed out of the space, and drove the very short distance to the back of the store. Everything looked the same as it had when we'd left, and I was happy to see a delivery had been made. "The rocking chairs came." I pushed at the big boxes that had been left out front and thought about how there was no way this would still be here if we lived in the city.

"That was fast. I can start putting them together this morning," Jack said.

I set the coffee down on the desk in the backroom, we had a few minutes before we opened, and I wanted to know what was going on. "Who was that guy?"

"That's Isaac Grant."

"Okay, should I know him?" I asked, still confused at the look he'd given Jack.

"No, I mean I don't think so." Jack's face blushed pink and he looked away. I reached for his hand and shook his arm making him look at me.

"Isaac is a really good friend of mine. A really good friend," Jack said and finally met my eyes.

At first, I thought it was nice to know Jack had close friends, but then the longer he stared at me I knew I wasn't catching what he was saying. Then it hit me. "Oh, you mean—"

"Yeah," he said after clearing his throat. "We fuck."

"Are you—"

"We're nothing more than friends. In a town this size it can be challenging to find another single gay man, we've been fucking around since high school. But there're no feelings involved."

"It didn't look like that's how he felt," I said, because I knew all too well how small-town bullshit could explode into something big, and I wasn't willing to be a part of that drama.

"I don't really know what was going on with him." Jack stared off at the wall lost in thought and looking a little worried. "We've both fucked around with other people while we've been hooking up and it's never been a problem."

"Has either of you had a boyfriend since you two started your friends with benefits arrangement?" I asked.

"I haven't found anyone I wanted to be serious about. He's had a few boyfriends since high school, but none of them lasted long," Jack said.

"Mind if I ask what your feelings are toward him?" I asked, and tried not to show how much it bothered me.

"I don't have any feelings for him. I mean other than a friend. He's always been a great friend even before we fucked, and we always had an agreement that if either of us got serious with someone else we'd stop doing what we've been doing."

"I think you need to go talk to him," I said. "Something like this could destroy your friendship and I don't want that to happen. I also don't want to hurt him if he does have feelings for you. I won't be the third wheel in a relationship."

"A relationship?" Jack asked, his eyes wide.

"I guess it's time for me to be honest too. There's a lot of things that draw me to you, and I know it's risky, and I know it's all happening very fast, but I want to be more than your boss."

"Are you staying?" He asked the one question I couldn't answer yet.

"I want to say yes, but I'm not one-hundred percent sure yet." His face fell and I hated that I'd caused him to worry. I had no clue what was between us or where it was going, but I didn't want to hurt him or make him feel insecure or unsure about what could be. Settling my hands on his shoulders I forced him to meet my eyes. "I'm not sure, but everyday I'm here—with you—makes me want to stay. I want to make the business work, but I also want to see what can be between us."

"I've never wanted to be with anyone the way I want to be with you," he whispered.

My hands slid down to his hips, and I pulled him a little closer. "I feel the same, and even though it's only been a couple of weeks, I can't imagine going back to Sacramento. What do you say we give it the rest of the month? I don't want you to hurt your friend, but I also don't want to share you with him."

He smiled at that. "I didn't know you were so possessive," he said.

"Says the man that nearly climbed across me and through my car window to yell at my neighbor." I smiled back at him. It was obvious he didn't appreciate Becky, but I didn't mind his show of jealousy.

"I'll go speak to Isaac after work. I don't want to hurt him, but I need to be honest with him."

I nodded. This wasn't my battle, and I'd be here for Jack if he needed me, but I didn't want to be the reason he lost a friend. "It'll all be okay." His eyes met mine then and he relaxed into my arms.

"I hope so," he said, and snuggled in as close as he could.