26. Nash

CHAPTER 26

NASH

Walking into the gym a few days later was surreal. It wasn't that he'd purposely ignored Colby, but he'd been busy with other things. Like Taylor and looking at apartments. Planning the surprise with Damon also took up a bit of time because they could only talk about it when Taylor wasn't there. And he'd been there a lot. Not that Nash minded. It was pretty much the opposite, actually.

Colby's bullshit aside, the past few days had been some of the nicest of Nash's adult life. Both the people he cared about were under one roof, sharing meals, laughter, showers. Nash stopped himself from listing all the things they'd been doing over the past few days because he couldn't face Colby with a flagpole in his pants.

Nash slung his bag over his shoulder and breezed into the gym the same way he'd always done. He said hello to the receptionist and grabbed a locker for his stuff before heading into the gym to find Colby.

It wasn't hard to spot him. Usually, it was because the gym was his element. Colby shone here. He was bright and friendly and he had a way of making people want to be near him. He was good at what he did. Today, however, none of that brightness was present. If Nash squinted, he could almost make out the little black storm cloud that hung above Colby's head.

"Can you go easy on him?" Nash turned his head to see Milo, Colby's boyfriend. "I know he did it to himself, and he knows he did it to himself, but he's not okay, Nash. He thinks he's lost everyone."

"Those Bennetts are so damn dramatic." Nash let out some of the tension he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Don't worry, I'm not here to bust his balls."

"Thank you." Milo exhaled. When Colby looked over a moment later, an expression Nash couldn't make out crossed his face. He should be mad at Colby still, but he couldn't find any anger when he went poking around in his feelings. A lingering bit of annoyance, yes, but no anger or animosity.

"I'm going to go talk to him. See you later, Milo." Nash strode away, making a beeline for Colby, who was busy trying to look busy. He had no idea what he was going to say, which was stupid of him. Words were literally his job, but there was a difference between writing about people who only existed in his head and trying to find the words to smooth things over with his best friend.

"I'm surprised to see you here," Colby said without turning to look at Nash. It was like he was hiding from him, as if he were a kid who knew he'd fucked up and was having trouble with the consequences.

"Colby, I'm not going to throw away our entire friendship, if that's what you're thinking."

Colby turned around slowly. "I knew that." He took a deep breath and tried to play it off, but Nash could see the cracks under Colby's thin facade. "How's Taylor?"

"He's fine. He's less mad now. It shouldn't be long before he's approachable. If you walk slowly and avoid eye contact, you might be able to get near him. Bring chocolates, just to be on the safe side."

Colby didn't laugh, which sucked because that had what Nash was trying to make happen.

"So, you and Damon?"

"Me and Damon."

"And my brother?"

"And Taylor."

Colby took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair before putting it on backward. "How did that happen? Or is this one of those things where the less I know, the better?"

This wasn't exactly a conversation Nash wanted to have in the middle of a gym, but this was where Colby was the most comfortable so Nash sucked it up. "It took my whole life for me to find people who wanted the same things I wanted. People I really care about. People who do their best to make each other happy, and me happy."

"So how many people are you seeing?" Colby asked.

Nash tried not to bristle at the question because he knew Colby was trying to come to terms with everything. He just wanted to understand what his best friend and his brother were getting into.

"Just two. Damon and Taylor."

"What about the guy he's been keeping in my dad's basement?" Colby scrunched his face. "That sounded very serial killer-esque."

"That's just a guy he knew in school who has fallen on hard times. He doesn't even know what happened to the guy, but he clearly needs help."

Colby nodded. "And Taylor is exactly the type to do that kind of thing." Colby cleared his throat and cut his gaze away. "And he's okay, though?"

"He's okay. I think he misses his brother, and I think if said brother tracked him down, it would be safe to apologize in person."

Colby blew out a deep breath and wiped his hand down his face. "Okay. I can live with that."

He shot Nash a look that had a glimmer of the old Colby in it, like he was trying to be happy and bright like he always was.

Nash stepped closer and pulled him into a hug. "He'll come around."

Colby returned Nash's embrace for all of ten seconds before he took a long, shuddering breath and then playfully shoved Nash off of him.

"Get off me, you sap." Colby let out a watery laugh.

Nash retaliated by grabbing Colby in a headlock and knocking his hat off. He clenched his fist and scrubbed it into the top of Colby's head.

"Don't noogie me, you fucker." Colby laughed and pushed out of Nash's hold. He snatched his hat off the floor and tugged it back on his head. "You're going to pay for that in perspiration and tears. By the time you leave today, you're going to be nothing but sweat and regret."

"Promises, promises." Nash rolled his eyes.

Making things right with Colby lifted a weight off of Nash that he hadn't been aware was there to begin with. He'd been so focused on making sure Taylor was okay that he'd all but ignored the fact that he himself wasn't.

"For the record, Colby. I fucking hated fighting with you. Let's not do that again, okay?"

"Agreed. Having everyone mad at me sucked, by the way. It wasn't just you and Taylor and Damon. Even Jonah read me the riot act after you two left. And I could tell Dad wasn't impressed, but thankfully he stayed out of it. Except for the fact that he sent my favorite cake home with you two."

Nash burst out laughing. "Well, you'll be happy to know that it was consumed and appreciated." He didn't tell Colby that he and Damon had eaten a slice of it off his little brother's chest. Among other things. That wasn't knowledge he wanted to share with his best friend. The things he did with Damon and Taylor were sacred to him. Important. Probably the most important relationship of his entire life.

"Fuckers." Colby scowled, but he was having trouble holding the unhappy expression. "I hope you're ready to work it off, because we're about to start."

Colby motioned to the group of people milling around waiting for his CrossFit class to start.

"Tell me again why I come here?"

"Because you woke up one day and realized that you like it when I torture you?"

"That's not it."

"Because you have a secret pain fetish?"

Nash snorted. "That's definitely not it."

"Because you told me you'd turn into an actual potato if all you did was sit at home and write."

"That does sound like something I'd say."

"Come on, I have to get this shit show on the road." Colby slung an arm around Nash and escorted him over to where the rest of the group stood waiting. Upon seeing the two of them arrive together, someone let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Thank God you're here today, Nash. Colby was an absolute bear the other day. He was all mopey and mean. I don't think I've worked so hard in my entire life. My legs are still shaking."

The group laughed and agreed with the assessment of Colby's previous performance. For a few minutes, they shared stories of how much of a hard-ass he was, but each person got a little more ridiculous, clearly adding embellishments. Colby stood there and took it, laughing along until he finally put a stop to it.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I was one step better than Vlad the Impaler, but only because none of you actually got impaled. Yeah, yeah. The mean man is gone now, and your regularly scheduled drill sergeant is back, so let's get moving."

Everyone let out a collective groan, but Nash knew that they were all glad to have Colby back to his old self. He hoped that Taylor would forgive Colby sooner rather than later. He hated to see the brothers at odds with each other, especially when he was partially to blame.

For the next thirty minutes, Nash let all of that go and threw himself into the workout. Colby was a brutal taskmaster, but he was also one of the most encouraging people in the gym that Nash had ever seen. He always had kind words for people and the utmost faith that they could do anything they wanted. By the time class was over, however, all Nash wanted to do was lay in a puddle on the floor and not move for the next day or two.

He settled for sitting on the floor with his back against the wall. He drank a bottle of water while he watched Colby chatter with some of the others in the class, giving them tips for next time and kudos for a job well done today.

Nash couldn't imagine being anything other than what he was. He liked his mostly solitary job. Sure, he had a team of people who he relied on. Invaluable people like his editor and his formatter, his cover designer, his beta team. But most of the hard work was done all by himself. He couldn't imagine trying to motivate not only himself, but a room full of people, too.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Colby came over and nudged Nash's foot with his.

"Like what?" Nash pushed himself to his feet, despite the protest from his tired legs.

"All weird and shit."

"I'm not looking at you weird. You're weird for thinking I'm looking at you weird." Nash reached out and flicked the brim of Colby's hat, knocking it off his head. Colby scowled and picked it up off the floor.

"I was thinking we need a fire night do-over." Colby put his hat back on his head. "Do you think you three could make it this weekend?"

"I think you'll have to ask Taylor that question."

Colby scoffed, but he looked sad. "If he's talking to me yet."

"Give it a shot," Nash told him. He was confident that the rift between the brothers was less of a rift and just a temporary bump in the road. Nash had a feeling that Taylor had already forgiven Colby but was now making him sweat because he wanted to let Colby ruminate about the consequences of his actions.

"If you say so." Colby clapped Nash on the back. "Now if you'll excuse me, I see a patron in need of some private pointers." Colby winked and headed over to where Milo was. Nash waved at the pair before heading out, feeling lighter than he'd felt in days.