I barely contained a wince. I didn’t know what I could say or do. I didn’t know how I could fix this. It was clear that they jumped on any excuse to get away from me.
I think we need to talk. Drake stated resolutely.
Please. I added.
I could almost physically feel them closing their barriers on me. They were shutting me out from our private conversations. I reached out to grab Jace’s arm but then quickly withdrew it. If I could only let him know how I felt, I thought, maybe he could understand. He was already upset at me for using my gifts against him earlier. I knew he would get angrier if I used my gift once more.
“I could use a beer,” Remy commented.
“Me too,” Jace added. “Thanks, man.”
Drake clenched his jaw. I rarely saw him upset, and he was upset at them right now.
“Forget it,” I muttered as I turned to leave. I didn’t want to let them see how upset I was. “Thanks for the invite guys,” I mumbled as an afterthought. I didn’t want to appear rude and ruin this new fragile bond.
I’m sure that’s what Paul and Will’s intentions were with this excursion. He was hoping we would gain their respect and maybe even a common ground to work with. It appeared to have worked. Unfortunately, the outing had ended in me damaging my relationships with the guys.
Jaxson and Drake quickly caught up with me.
“They-” Noah began.
“Don’t,” I muttered. “I don’t want to hear it. Please. I know I was wrong. I know I shouldn’t have forced you to comply to my wishes, but this is ridiculous. How do we go from having an amazing couple of days together, to this?”
“Every relationship has their ups and downs. It’s normal to get in disagreements,” Jaxson said carefully.
I sighed. “I understand that.
I just wish they would talk to me and not shut me out.”
When we got back to the apartment, I turned to Noah and Drake. “If you guys want to go down and play pool with the guys, I don’t mind. I’m sure you need to blow off steam, too.”
I needed time to myself to reflect. Physically I was tired. Mentally my mind wouldn’t stop. I decided to start tackling our laundry tonight. It would keep me busy, and we wouldn’t have to worry about laundry for a few days.
I knew I would have a lot of makeup work to do for my classes. I had missed three days, and I knew it had piled up. After class tomorrow, I had every intention on focusing on my classes and completing my assignments. This brief reprieve I had from training was a relief.
Drake shook his head. “I’m good. I’m going to stay here and continue looking at their ordering sheets and budget.”
Noah looked at me hesitantly. “But you agreed to sleep with me tonight, and I would like to have you close. You shouldn’t go to bed by yourself.”
I shook my head with a small smile. “I can wait for you in bed. Don’t let me hold you back. You don’t have to get up early tomorrow, and you rarely get to go out anymore.”
He looked at me uncertainly.
“Go,” I insisted.
He reluctantly nodded but turned and left.
Jax pulled me into an embrace after the door had closed and kissed me on my cheek. “Are you sure you don’t want to warm my bed until he gets back?”
I hugged his waist and shook my head. “I already promised him, and I think I’m going to get some laundry done.”
“You look tired, too,” Drake said kindly from the couch.
I shook my head. “I’m fine. I-I need to do something to take my mind off things.”
He frowned. “Then I can go with you.”
I shook my head once again. “No. You have a great opportunity to get your proposal done tonight so you can go to Paul with your plans tomorrow. I know you miss being in the kitchen. I won’t take you away from it. Thank you, though. I’ll be fine.”