Twenty-Two

Jack

The look on Isaac's face haunted me all day at work and I had a hard time not calling him. It had never occurred to me that he'd be hurt by seeing me with Hudson, of course we hadn't really talked about him since the last time we fucked. At that point I only knew Hudson was going to be working there but not much more than that. And I sure as hell never thought I'd start to feel things for him that I'd never had before.

"Jack, go talk to him," Hudson said later that afternoon. "I can tell you're distracted."

"No, it's okay. I can wait."

Hudson walked over to where I was clearing out random papers stuffed under the front counter. "No, you can't," he said, and cupped my cheek. "Go ahead."

I could only nod. Every touch from him melted the wall I'd built around my heart a little more. No one had shown me as much affection and warmth as he had, and he hadn't even known me that long. But he was looking out for me and Isaac too. Once again, I was overwhelmed with emotions for Hudson that I knew I couldn't do anything about until I talked to Isaac, and until I knew he wasn't leaving. "Are you sure?"

"I can handle it. I'm pretty sure we're not going to get a big rush anytime soon," Hudson said, and leaned in to kiss me. "You'll feel better once you talk to him."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later," I said and walked toward the door.

"Do you need to take my car?" he asked.

"No, it's close enough to walk," I said and stepped outside and held the door open. "I'll meet you at your house later." I pulled the door shut and without looking back, I made my way down Main Street and turned onto the street Isaac lived on. This was an older part of town, and his duplex was tiny compared to most of them, but it was affordable, and it gave him his own space. Something that I had been thankful for the whole time I was still living at home.

He worked in construction, so he was up early and off early. Since it was late afternoon, I knew he'd be home, and sure enough his truck was parked out front. The gravel from his driveway crunched under my feet as I walked up to his door, and without knocking walked right in. "Isaac?" I yelled.

"Back here," he said from the bathroom. I walked toward his voice to find the bathroom door wide open and him taking a shower. "What's going on, Jack?"

"I'll wait out here for you," I said and walked out to the living room before he could protest. He finished his shower and walked out wearing only a towel.

"What's so urgent?" he asked and his eye twitched.

"Are you okay?" I asked, not really sure where to begin.

"Yeah," he said and planted his hands on his hips. "Why?"

"When you saw me with Hudson, I thought it might have upset you. I just wanted to make sure it hadn't." He stood there a full minute without moving and staring a hole through me before finally shaking his head.

"I guess I would have liked for you to tell me there was something going on between you rather than seeing you kiss him on Main Street," Isaac said, and I knew it hurt him to say it.

"It all has happened so fast. I went from hating him to not sure how I feel about him in a week. But I never meant to hurt you, you're my best friend."

"You should have told me," he said, his voice full of hurt.

"Yes, I should have, and I'm really sorry I didn't. There is no excuse."

"So, I guess we won't be fucking anymore," he finally said with a smirk.

"No, I don't think we will." It was always so easy with him, and I was thankful to have such a good friend, but I realized now it was wrong to throw sex into the mix. Neither of us wanted to get attached but it was hard not to when you didn't have anyone else. "You're my best friend," I whispered.

"I know, and your mine. And now you're going to help me find someone just as hot as your boss, so I don't have to leave town to get fucked." He smirked at me, and I knew we'd be okay.

"Whatever you need," I said, and couldn't stop myself from hugging him because apparently that's what I did now.

"Whoa, I'm going to need you to stand back before I forget about your boyfriend and take advantage of you one more time," Isaac said.

"He's not my boyfriend," I said and took a seat on his couch.

"Are you sure? Because he was looking like a boyfriend when I saw you two. Stay right here. I'll get dressed." He walked back into his bedroom while I thought about what he'd said. I'd never had a boyfriend, and I had no clue about how it all worked, but Hudson hadn't mentioned anything about being his boyfriend. But then I remembered the way he looked at Isaac and the way he talked about there being something between us. There wasn't only concern. If I was right, it looked to me like he was a little worried.

"I have no clue," I mumbled to myself and checked my phone. There was a text from Hudson just saying he was headed home and to call him once I was done here. It was nice to know someone besides my parents cared about where I was. But I wasn't sure that qualified him as being my boyfriend. It was all so confusing.

"What's going on?" Isaac asked when he walked out of his bedroom pulling down a shirt. "Are you trying to figure out if he's your boyfriend?"

"Fuck, how do I know?" I asked, not even willing to try to hide it.

"You need to talk to him. But I was just giving you shit. I'm pretty sure you'd know if he was."

Maybe, or maybe not. "We haven't known each other long enough for that."

"The way you two look at each other said it all to me. That's what shocked me, I've never seen you look at anyone the way you looked at him and the way he looked at you. Like there was no one else in the world and you were his most important person, and he was yours." Isaac shrugged. "That's what I saw."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I picked up the remote and turned on the television. "What do you want to watch?" I asked, and hoped it changed the subject because I wasn't ready for that conversation.