Chapter 11

Eric had been acting weird all day. As in he’d been going out of his way to avoid me, which really sucked since having time to think last night had finally allowed me to work up the courage to make a move. The last time I’d even thought about anything other than whether or not the guy was actually gay before acting on my urges was my freshman year of college. Since then, I’d done a damn good job scratching the itch, so to speak, whenever it struck. Except, wherever he’d gone last night had left him in one hell of a mood.

On top of that, Jason walked in this morning, his arms loaded with moving boxes which he hauled up the stairs to Cam’s loft. We’d talked about him moving Cam into his place, but I still hadn’t been prepared for it to actually happen. Rather than mope around the house, I decided to make myself useful by helping Jason pack up all of Cam’s clothes. He tried arguing with me at first, but after I snapped, telling him I needed something to do before I lost my fucking mind, he let me help on the promise that I’d stop before I overdid it. I said I would. I didn’t, which meant I was in agony by early afternoon.

And because that’s not bad enough, Eric came home and saw me limping down the stairs. He didn’t say anything, but the look he gave me spoke volumes. Tonight, after the dust settled and Jason had everything out of Cam’s room, Eric and I were going to have a chat. If he was pissed about something, he could fucking tell me because I wasn’t in the mood to play games.

Once Jason and Eric had Jason’s truck loaded and were on their way to his apartment, I tossed back a pain pill and laid down on the couch. I didn’t want to disappear into my room because I was pissed that Eric was pissed about something and I didn’t want to give him an opportunity to avoid me when he got home. I was almost asleep when someone rang the front doorbell. No one used the front door, so I closed my eyes, ignoring them in hopes that they’d leave soon. When whoever it was didn’t take the hint that no one wanted to see them, I pried myself off the couch and smoothed my clothes as I hobbled over to the foyer. I seriously couldn’t wait until I could do normal shit like a normal person without feeling as if I was about to fall over.

I whipped the door open a little quicker than I’d intended and nearly slapped myself in the face. When I looked up, I really wished it’d been a pushy missionary because then I wouldn’t have felt the embarrassment I felt when my eyes met Bryce’s. “Is this a bad time?”

I sagged against the edge of the door. He’d been avoiding me, and the first thing I did when he finally stopped by was glare at him. I was an ass. “Yeah, it’d be much better if you could turn around, wipe the last minute from your brain and knock again.”

“Sorry, no can do,” he apologized. He sure as hell didn’t seem all that sorry. In fact, it seemed he really didn’t give a shit what I wanted. He was a man on a mission. That’s when I noticed the bulging plastic sack in his hand. “I wanted to stop by and apologize for not visiting sooner and figured Chinese was a decent peace offering since you mentioned you liked it.”

Part of me wanted to ask what changed his mind, but it didn’t matter. All I cared about was that he was here now. And that he had food. Food was definitely a good way to ease any possible tension. I led Bryce into the kitchen and started getting out plates and silverware while he unpacked the paper cartons. Even if Jason and Eric had been here, there’d have been far too much food. “Did you order one of everything on the menu?”

Bryce’s cheeks flushed as he looked away. He quickly rebounded and turned to me, squaring his shoulders. The confidence was forced, but I didn’t give a shit because it was sexy as hell. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted and I was hungry. You know what they say about going to the grocery store on an empty stomach?”

“Yeah.” I started piling my plate with a little of each entree.

“The same goes for ordering takeout.” We both laughed. “I was standing there looking over the menu and just kept adding more to the order when something sounded good.”

As badly as I wanted to grill Bryce about his absence, I held back. I reminded myself that he was in town for work, not to spend time with me. He loved his job as much as I did mine, and I knew I wouldn’t handle it well if someone confronted me about not giving them enough of my time when there was shit to be done. Not only that, but it wasn’t exactly fair of me to ask him why he hadn’t shoved his way in sooner when I’d been busy keeping him at arm’s length.

The topic of conversation over dinner was, understandably, my injuries and recovery. Since I no longer had people asking me every other minute how I was feeling, I didn’t mind giving him an update. The truth was, I felt better than I’d have expected to feel three weeks out. Most of the bruises had faded and I was pretty damn mobile as long as I didn’t try to help pack up the wardrobe of an incurable clothes junkie.

Bryce took care of clean up after we finished eating and refused to let me help. I’d been trying to hide the aches, but he’d noticed them and insisted that I relax. He joined me in the living room once everything was put away and the counters were wiped down. The house was quiet. Too quiet. Bryce sat at the opposite end of the couch, watching me as I tried to figure out what came next. The easy camaraderie I’d felt in the past when Bryce and I talked was missing.

I reached for the remote and started flipping through channels, hoping maybe we’d find something that looked interesting to both of us. That proved fruitless, and I turned on Sportsline, just to have something to break the silence in the room.

I knew it was my fault things had turned awkward between Bryce and me. I’d been sending him mixed signals, telling him I wanted to see him with my words, yet unable to deny my attraction to Eric the times when Bryce had come to visit. As I sat there thinking, I realized I had to fix my attitude and sort out my feelings if there was any hope of continuing to build what I thought there might be between us. Bryce probably thought I was insane when I turned off the television and walked out of the room. I needed time to think about what I wanted to say because knowing my recent mood, I’d wind up pissing him off if I didn’t plan ahead.

By the time I walked back into the room, Bryce had his coat on and was almost to the door. “Bryce, wait,” I called out.

He turned to look at me but didn’t say a word. Instead, he sighed heavily as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest, making it abundantly clear he’d reached the end of his proverbial rope when it came to my indecision.

My feet felt weighted to the floor as I tried to close the distance between us. No matter what happened by the end of the night, I owed Bryce an apology. And an explanation. I reached out to him, ignoring the jab in my gut when he closed off even more. Both of us stared at my hand for a second before I allowed it to drop to my side. “Look, I know I’m totally screwing up an otherwise awesome night, but I’m not ready for you to leave.”

Bryce’s lips pressed into a thin line as he studied my features. “You could’ve fooled me,” he retorted as he reached behind his body for the door knob. “Drew, you’re a great guy. If circumstances had been different, I’d like to think we could’ve had some fun together. And who knows, maybe our time will come eventually, but you need to figure out what it is that you want first.”

As much as his rejection stung, I appreciated that he felt he could be honest with me. Still, that didn’t mean I was going to give up on us. Yes, we’d faced some hurdles and there would likely be more to come, but there was something about Bryce that drew me to him, even when I tried to let him go. “Please come back and sit down,” I pleaded with him. “Hear me out and if you still want to go after that, I’ll walk you to the door and out of my life.”