Braden snorted. “What does a Spanish person look like, dumbass?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Your last name is Marquette. I thought you were French.”
“I’m French, Spanish, German…British too, I think.”
“Ah, a mutt. Me too.” I squinted. “What were we talking about?”
He chuckled. “Denial. Everyone wrestles demons their own way. Including my mom. She loves me. I know she’ll get there eventually.”
“Are you gonna tell them about us?”
He frowned. “No. I can’t.”
“Oh.”
“Hey, don’t get me wrong. I’d love to, but…we’re temporary, El. It’s what we agreed to. I can’t tell her about you then explain why we’re not together at Christmastime. My mom is the opposite of yours. She’s super old-fashioned, and I’m her only kid. Saying the words was part one of coming out to her. Making her listen will be part two. It’ll happen for sure, but I’ll wait until…”
I flopped beside him on the bench. “Until what?”
“Till I’m with my forever person.” He winced and let out a strangled laugh. “Ugh. That sounded so corny. Forget I said that. What do you think? Should I get the blue ones?”
I nodded mutely and licked my lips as I mentally repeated “forever person.” It was just like me to try to convince him to pick me and make me his number one choice, but I understood. We had an end date. I couldn’t ask for more than he was willing to give.
“Can I kiss you?” I asked.
“Right now?”
“Yeah.”
Braden smiled and leaned forward to press his lips to my cheek. I intercepted the peck and turned it into something I hoped conveyed a measure of the affection and admiration I felt for him. I poured everything I could into the connection and felt my frustration and confusion dissolve and fade till the only thing that existed was us. I was taken with the moment and a sudden and very intense sense of rightness.
Everything else in my world felt unstable and out of sync, but Braden felt like a safe place. I wanted him and he wanted me. That was all that mattered.
“Wow,” Braden said, licking his lips as he sat back.
I smiled. “You’re a good guy, Bray.”
“So are you.”
We stared at each other for a moment; then I pointed at the shoe box and stood. “Get the blue ones. I’ll meet you at home.”
I adjusted my board shorts to hide my chubby and…to make Braden laugh. My impulsive detour didn’t solve his problems or mine. Nothing had changed. We’d both had a bad day. My partner was still a jerk, and Braden didn’t have his theater gig anymore. But we had each other. And fuck, that felt like a good thing.
9
Braden
Sophie twisted the straw in her iced tea as she peered at me over her sunglasses. “We’ve missed you, Bray.”
“It’s true. Ricardo is a sad replacement,” Phoenix added.
“Thanks, guys.” I scooted my chair to avoid the sun’s glare.
Our sidewalk table at the bistro on 2nd Street was prime summertime seating, but it was hot as blazes out here, and the chairs were hella uncomfortable. I should have considered the fact that I’d be sitting for an hour or more before I agreed to a pre-lunch sexcapade. My mind was in the gutter, my ass was killing me…and yep, I couldn’t wait to do it again.
“…nice enough, but he’s not you.” Sophie kicked me under the table. “You’re not listening. What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.” I stole a french fry from her plate, then reached for my water. “Just taking in the atmosphere. It’s a beautiful day.”
Phoenix twitched his lips in amusement. “Mmmhmm. Someone got laid.”
I coughed on a mouthful of water and glared at him as I covered my nose. “Jesus!”
He pulled his sunglasses off and fluttered his eyelashes as he raised his hand. “That’s a ‘high five’ moment in sports talk, right? At least that’s what Max says.”
I ignored his hand and shot a stern look at him over the rim of my sunglasses before searching for a topic change. Sophie beat me to it.
“OMG. Who is she? Or he?” Sophie set her hands on the table and leaned forward. “Tell us everything!”
No fucking way.
“No one. You’ve got it all wrong.” I lied, ’cause there was no way in hell I was telling Sophie about Elliot and me. “I’m just enjoying my free time more than I thought I would. I can hang out at the beach, go to the gym, and just…relax.”
Phoenix mouthed, Bullshit from across the table.
Thankfully, Sophie didn’t notice. She picked up her iced tea and sipped it daintily. “Well, I’ll keep my eye out for eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, but I’ve been too busy with the play and an extracurricular PR job I’ve taken on. Did Elliot tell you his partner asked me to help punch up their social media presence?”
“Really? No. He said something about a Pride theme that one of their sponsors was interested in, though,” I said. “I didn’t know you were tapping into their Instagram and Twitter accounts too.”