Braydon(21)

“Is he coming home?” Jessie asked when Brendon ended the call.

“Yeah.”

“Now?”

“That’s what he said,” Brendon said brusquely, turning away from her.

Jessie was tempted to stop him, but she didn’t even know how she was supposed to act around Brendon. This was the most time they’d spent together since Braydon up and left right after Zane’s wedding.

She contemplated for a moment whether she should stay or go. Neither option would be easy, but she had to do something. There was no way she could just stand there and wait for Brendon to talk. She’d probably be waiting for an eternity before that happened. As it was, she was surprised he’d let her into his house, much less held her when she first broke down.

Trying to pass the time and ignore the awkward silence, Jessie glanced around the house, trying to see if anything was different from the last time she was there. The focal point of the living room was still the huge television mounted on the wall, the one Braydon and Brendon had both repeatedly told her was the best of the best. Good thing too, since they spent a lot of time watching it. It was on now, which meant not much had changed even with Braydon gone.

The mantel above the fireplace was still bare; the well-worn leather furniture was still in the same place: a long, off-white sofa flanked by two matching oversized recliners that faced the television, separated by a coffee table. Memories of what had happened right there on that coffee table came flooding back, and Jessie had to look away to keep from blushing.

“Right this second, I’m watching you,” Brendon told her as he clicked off the television with the remote he held in his hand. “I’m waiting patiently for the gift you promised us.”

“Patiently, huh?” Jessie chuckled, her nerves turning her muscles to mush.

“Sure,” Brendon said seriously. “If I wasn’t a patient man, baby, you’d be flat on that coffee table right now.”

“I would?” Jessie decided to play along, inserted a little innocence in her tone.

“You would,” Brendon confirmed as he flopped onto the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table in question and crossing his ankles in a deceivingly laid-back gesture.

“And what would I be doing if I were flat on that coffee table right now?” Jessie asked, dividing her attention between the two of them.

“Do you want a play-by-play?” Brendon asked.

Okay, so she really needed to get going. Standing around and waiting for Brendon to talk to her was a waste of time and energy, and the last thing she cared to do was to rehash old memories.

“Would you mind texting me when Braydon’s back?” she asked softly. “I just want to know that he’s okay.”

Brendon whirled on her then, his blue-gray eyes fierce. “Oh, no. No way. Bullshit. You’re gonna stay right here until he gets back, Jessie. The three of us have some things to talk about.”

“The three of us?” she asked dubiously, her own anger beginning to simmer.

“Yeah. You wanted me to call. I did. Now you’re gonna stick around to face the music, too.”

Face the music? Was he insane? “This isn’t about—”

“You think this is about me?” Brendon interrupted.

Actually, she thought it was about Braydon, but whatever.

Jessie didn’t answer him. It wasn’t like she could tell him all the reasons she believed Braydon had left. If she did, it would likely come back to bite her in the ass. It was an odd situation they had been in, but in a way, it had worked. Now it was over, and she was supposed to be moving on. If Braydon could walk away from her without a backward glance, then she should be able to do the same thing.

“He didn’t leave because of me, Jessie.”

Jessie lifted her eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. She didn’t bother to tell him that they should’ve had this conversation a long time ago.

“He left because he loves you,” Brendon stated flatly, and the air left Jessie’s lungs in a rush.

“He doesn’t love me,” she shot back. Because if he did, he wouldn’t have left in the first place, she thought to herself.

Brendon laughed, but the sound was rough and lacked any humor. “He’s loved you since the day he met you. And I think that . . .”

“That what?” she asked when Brendon stopped talking, taking a step forward when he turned away from her.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Braydon’s comin’ back. We’re gonna figure this out.”

We. Right. Figure this out. Whatever this was.

Jessie knew how this was going to end. She was going to get kicked to the curb and Brendon was going to move on, which meant Braydon was going to follow his brother’s lead. She was pretty sure Braydon had hated himself after giving in to the threesome the last time in the storeroom. After all, he’d limited their time together during the few weeks that led up to that. But then he’d given in. Why, she didn’t know.

So they’d all f*cked up. And now it was time to move on.

Jessie didn’t want to admit it to herself or anyone else, but she had developed feelings for Braydon. Not quite love, because she didn’t think she had it in her. And even though she cared about Brendon, what she felt for him wasn’t the same.

Not that any of it mattered, because Jessie wasn’t about to admit it to them. She didn’t want a relationship. At the moment, her life was just fine. It would be even better with Braydon back home just because she wanted to know he was doing all right. Not because she wanted to be with him.