Chapter Thirteen

Jaron searched the closet in his room for his old board games and coming up empty. "Mom!"

He moved around a pair of binoculars he never remembered having. He certainly didn't remember ever using them, although he could think of a bedroom window he'd like to peek into. One glimpse of a naked Travis wasn't enough that was for sure. Maybe he could become a peeping tom. He'd probably excel at it.

"Mom!" An entire case of cassettes sat next to the binoculars, but still no board games.

He sighed and decided to find her.

Leaving his closet door open, he went to find his mother and saw Beth standing with her in the living room. "Hi."

"Want to go dancing? There will be a group of us." She had on a skirt that didn't make him think of her as a teacher. It was leather and small. The blouse she paired with it showed cleavage.

His mom stood next to her with a smile. "You have company."

"I don't have to go to school, right?" Bobby didn't avert his gaze from the movie he watched. He ate popcorn but got more on the couch than in his mouth.

Mom and Beth both chuckled, but it was Beth who answered. "Nope. I'm here to take your Papa out." She met Jaron's gaze. "I have it on good authority that you never leave the house, except for work."

Jaron narrowed his eyes at his mom, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Tattletale."

"Go have fun with your friends." She walked over to the closet in the hallway and pulled down a board game he had played as a kid.

"Thanks, Mom."

"You need friends, Jaron." She touched his shoulder. "Have you even called Brian yet?"

Yeah, that wasn't a conversation he wanted to have because he didn't know what reception he'd get. He'd hurt Brian by leaving as much as he'd hurt his mom, although he understood the hurt came from a different place for each of them. Mom feared for his safety more than anything. As a parent himself, he understood her better since coming back. Brian had wanted a relationship, and Jaron had rejected him.

"You're right. I'll call him soon."

"Go out and have a good time."

"I'll try." Jaron practically ran to Beth and grabbed her hand, pulling her into his bedroom.

She looked around the room, taking in all his teenage angst. "Wow."

"I know. I'd change it, but I'm thinking of moving onto the Heath farm. Transportation to and from work would be less of an issue if I did."

She sat on the bed. "Not a bad idea. Bobby would love all the animals, I bet."

"I haven't been out in so long. I don't know that I have the right clothes anymore." Jaron smiled and pulled a shirt out of his closet, holding it up.

She shook her head. "Fully submersed yourself in Papa mode, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess. Honestly, Bobby's mom partied enough for both of us. One of us had to stay on the level."

"So you over-compensated for her. Makes sense."

Jaron held up a button-down shirt that he only wore one other time. "Yes. Didn't look at it that way, though."

She nodded. "Well, just know, from a teacher's point-of-view—"

"From my favorite teacher's point-of-view." Jaron smiled and put the shirt on the bed beside her.

She blushed. "Thank you. I always thought you were more mature than most of the others your age, although I'm only six years older than you so what do I know. I look at this room and realize how very wrong I was."

Jaron chuckled. "Shut up."

Beth pointed to a pair of black jeans. "Wear those."

Jaron pulled them from the hanger. "What were you about to say before I interrupted?"

"That having adult fun, whatever that means for you, from time to time would be good for you and Bobby. You're connecting with other adults, which you need, and Bobby sees how interactions with his peers are beneficial. Now enough about raising kids. You're doing a great job." She stood and handed him the shirt from the bed.

Jaron let Beth drive. He didn't want to take his mother's car and leave her without one if an emergency happened. When they pulled into the local bar's parking lot, Jaron grew a little nervous.

"Umm…I'll get my ass kicked here." The bar was the only local one for five miles. The neighboring town of Dalton had one. Jaron hadn't ever been in either one of them. He passed by them both going to and from some other place. The outside with its dark wood siding, and dimly lit parking lot hadn't changed much.

"A couple of years ago the bar changed owners."

Jaron nodded.

"Well, Royce bought up the bar a few years ago. He hired a manager and a bunch of bouncers. He told the manager he wanted the bar to be a safe place. Inclusive. I think he wanted a safe place to go after work. He's gay and everyone in town knows it. Some of the good ole boys used to cause him problems, but they learned their lesson really quick when all the businesses he owned wouldn't cater to them. He runs the auto shop in town too and owns the grocery store. His cousin owns the bar now."

"Well, cautious but hopeful, I guess."

Beth turned off the engine and put her keys in her purse. She still didn't get out of the car, though.

Jaron took off his seatbelt but waited for her to tell him whatever made her nervous. He didn't have to wait long.

"I'm in love with my best friend." Beth pointed to a car parked next to the building. "That's her car. Didn't expect her to be here. I purposefully didn't invite her. I bet Trina did. Nosy bitch."

Great. Why did Jaron always walk into drama? Why?

Jaron raised his eyebrows. "You haven't told your friend how you feel?"

"She knows something's wrong but doesn't know what. I've been avoiding her, which is why she came. She's never been one to like the silent treatment."

"You should just tell her."

"That takes courage I'm not sure I have."

Jaron patted her shoulder before opening the door. "Come on. Let's rip it off like a bandage." He got out, walked around the front of the car, opened her door, and held out his hand for her to take, wiggling his fingers when she hesitated. "Be brave."

Beth chuckled and let him pull her out of the car. The thump of the bass reached them across the parking lot. When they opened the front door, the music blared loud enough he could barely hear himself think.

Beth scanned the room. Her eyes landed on a table full of people to the left. She stiffened beside him but didn't hesitate in her steps.

"Hey, guys. This is Jaron." She made sure to keep him beside her, and they both sat down.

He noticed she stayed close, holding his hand, using him as a shield of sorts. Jaron let her and waved at the others with his free hand.

She didn't bother making introductions as the live band wailed on the guitar and beat hard on the drums, making talking impossible. He doubted the others heard what he said anyway.

The only other man at the table pointed to him and made a drinking gesture with his hand. The guy had his arm around a blonde woman, who had a ready smile.

Jaron nodded and pointed to the beer the man drank. He stood and kissed the blonde on the cheek before going to the bar.

A woman at the far corner of the table eyed Beth warily, which said more than anything she was the best friend. She had black hair that curled around her head and hung to her shoulders. She had on a button-down, purple shirt that made her dark skin tone stand out.

Beth actively avoided making eye contact.

Jaron sighed and decided to take matters into his own hands. He pointed to the woman and made a hand gesture that he hoped she understood to mean switch seats. She smiled and nodded, standing at the same time he did.

Beth watched them both as they moved around.

When he crossed paths with the best friend, he held out his hand and leaned forward. "I'm Jaron."

"Sherry. Thanks for switching with me."

"Of course." He hoped they both worked out whatever misunderstanding they had. Whatever their relationship status, they both seemed to want the other in their life in some capacity.

He sat down next to the blonde just as the guy came back, setting a glass of wine in front of Beth and a bottle of beer in front of Jaron.

"Thank you." Jaron had to yell it, but the guy nodded.

Beth narrowed her eyes at him, but he grinned, winking to let her know he didn't care if she didn't like it.

The blonde leaned into him. "I'm Trina, and this is my boyfriend, Gene."

"Jaron."

"I know. I graduated a couple of years before you, but I remember you from Spanish class."

Jaron smiled. "I thought you looked familiar."

The band ended their song and said something about taking a short break. Multiple conversations buzzed around them.

Two women who sat across from him introduced themselves. "I'm Amalia, and this is Raquel." Amalia made a gesture with her head. "Travis Heath has been eying you since you got here."

When did Travis get there? Jaron wanted to look around but didn't want to make it obvious. He leaned across the table. "Where?"

"In a booth right behind you."

Jaron took a deep breath and then turned. Sure enough, Travis sat in a booth beside Brad Flynn. Jaron had a moment of panic at seeing Brad but then he remembered how Travis had defended him. Travis' presence certainly helped stem the panic.

Travis had a bottle of water on the table in front of him. Their gazes met, and Jaron smiled, lifting a hand to wave. Travis smiled back and winked.

When Jaron turned to his group, Amalia and Raquel, both stared at him as if ready for a story. Jaron had no story to tell, and even if he did, he wouldn't tell it to people he barely knew.

"What's the deal?"

Jaron shrugged. "Deal about what?"

"Travis winked. And he looks like he wants to lick you like an ice cream cone."

Good thing Jaron hadn't taken a drink of his beer. He would have choked on it. "I doubt that."

"Me too," Trina spoke up from beside him. "He's not gay. I went out with him once."

"Just because Travis Heath went out with you in tenth grade doesn't mean he isn't gay," Beth said and then drank from her glass.

Sherry leaned into her until they were touching. Her hand was on Beth's back, and Jaron knew then that whatever friendship they had would blossom into something else. "He could be bisexual or have another preference he hasn't told anyone about."

Amalia's dark eyes sparkled. "Well, I get it. You're pretty, Jaron."

Jaron rolled his eyes, shaking his head. His face heated and he chuckled. "Thanks. I guess."

"Hell, I'm straight, and even I'd agree with that." Gene took a drink of his beer after he made that statement.

His face heated even more, which made everyone laugh.

Jaron felt a vibration in his pocket. He grabbed his phone and saw Travis' name in the text window. Are they talking about me?

No.

Liar. Jaron smiled at that.

Calling me pretty.

I agree.

Jaron rolled his eyes again and pocketed his phone.

Everyone at the table watched him. Before Jaron could respond, a waitress placed a drink next to his beer. "I didn't order that."

She nodded over to the bar. Shoving a napkin in his hand. "From the guy at the bar."

Jaron looked in the direction she indicated and saw more than one man sitting there with several people standing around in front of them. Everyone was talking and drinking, catching up on the weekly happenings around town. Most knew each other and were farmers or worked at the factory and wanted a drink to settle the week they just had. It took him a few seconds, but he'd have recognized Brian anywhere.

Brian had dark-rimmed glasses that seemed to bring out his dark eyes. He had filled out more, no longer a skinny kid, but a leanly muscled man. He wasn't big and bulky like Travis, but he clearly worked out. Everything else remained exactly as Jaron remembered.

Every regret about not staying in touch with Brian for those years flooded into his chest, making it ache. He clutched the napkin, fisting his fingers around it, even as he stood. He moved around people, an urgency building in his gut.

When he got to Brian, he didn't hesitate to hug. "I'm sorry I haven't called."

"That road goes both ways."

Jaron nodded and tightened his hold. "I really missed you, man."

Brian patted his back right before he pulled away. He slid from the stool. "Let's take this outside where we can talk a little better."

Jaron grabbed Brian's hand and pulled him out of the front door. He stopped under the building's overhead light and let Brian's hand go. "Sorry if the PDA was too much."

"It wasn't. Brad nearly shit kittens and Travis looked as if he wants to rip my head off. Other than that, it was fine." Brian took Jaron's hand again, lacing their fingers together. "I missed you too."

"Brad won't come out here and hurt us?"

Brian shook his head. "Not without getting kicked out of the bar for good. He knows that and as much as he drinks, it's a motivating factor."

When silence fell between them, Jaron cleared his throat. "We…um…why is this weird?"

Brian smiled and shrugged. "I know why I avoided you. Why did you avoid me?"

"Because I fell off the grid and shouldn't have. I'm a little ashamed of it." Jaron could tell by Brian's expression that he didn't expect the candidness. "Now you?"

"Because you fell off the grid and I didn't know if it was because you knew I used to be just a little in love with you."

Oh. Well…that was…unexpected. Jaron averted his gaze to the tufts of grass clinging to life around the concrete base of the building and stones scattered at the bottom of each tuft.

Brian squeezed his hand gently. "Relax. It's not a declaration. Just being honest since you were."

"I wish I had felt that way about you too. For the record."

"So are we done giving each other the silent treatment?"

Jaron laughed and went in for another hug.

Brian returned the hug. "Is that a dildo in your pocket or are you just happy to see me."

"What?" It took him a moment to figure out what Brian meant, but when he did, he laughed. He pulled his phone out if his pocket and waved it at Brian. When he saw Travis' name, he didn't bother answering but put it back in his pocket.

"You don't have to answer it?"

Jaron shook his head. "No. It's not about Bobby."

"Bobby?"

"My son." Jaron pulled out his wallet and opened it, showing Brian a picture of Bobby.

Brian took his wallet and studied the picture. "You have a kid?"

"Yeah. He's five and in Beth's class at the elementary school." Jaron leaned in until their foreheads touched. He pointed to Bobby in the photograph. "That was at the beach last summer. We made the castle together. Bobby's mom stayed sober enough to come with us. That's her there." He had other pictures of Tracy, but none were as recent as the beach photo. Her eyes were clear in that one as well, which was why he liked it.

"Your son looks like her."

"Yes." Same blonde hair and blue eyes. "He does. He'll probably be tall like she was too, I think."

"What happened?"

Jaron didn't want to talk about Tracy. Not when Beth had asked him out so he could have fun. "How about we talk about it later?"

"Let's go inside and dance or something."

Jaron nodded, putting his wallet back in his pocket. "By the way, what drink did you buy me?"

"Jack and coke." Brian slung his arm over Jaron's shoulder, and they walked back into the bar together. "I didn't know what you drank."

"Never drank whiskey in my life." He'd only ever had a beer and had gotten drunk once. Once had been enough.