Looking for Trouble(63)

Dylan tried to ignore the wave of melancholy that washed over him. He wanted that with Clay. For them to have friends and couples they spent time with.

“I’m going to try to get Clay to reach out to them. I think it’ll be good for him…for both of us.”

“See? I knew I liked you. And you don’t have to look very far.” She got up and peeked out her door. “Scott, can you come here for a second?”

“You work with him?”

Renée shrugged. “Small town. In fact, I’m sure he’s heard about you in some way or another.”

A tall man came around the corner and into her office. He had golden skin—Italian, maybe—and a kind smile. He looked like someone who would be Clay’s friend.

“Dylan, this is Scott. Scott, I’d like you to meet Clay’s boyfriend, Dylan.”

He could see the shock spark in Scott’s eyes. “Wow. This is certainly a surprise.” His eyes roamed up and down Dylan, not as though he was checking him out, but more like he was surprised Dylan was Clay’s. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Thanks. You too. It’s good to meet a close friend of Clay’s.”

He gave Dylan a sad smile. “We were. William, especially. It about killed us when we lost Gordon. I can’t imagine what it did to Clay. Feels like we lost him too.”

“I’m sorry,” Dylan said.

“No need to be. And I’m sorry as well. Bringing up Gordon and all.”

“No, no. It’s fine. Clay loved him, and I love Clay.”

Scott smiled. “Good. It’s nice to hear that. He deserves someone. I’m not going to say I’m not surprised, but I’m glad he’s found someone.”

Dylan nodded, understanding what Scott was saying. “Maybe you and your…”

“Husband,” Scott finished for him.

“Yes. Maybe you and your husband would like to come to the house for dinner or something sometime?”

“We’d like that.”

“How about Saturday?” fell from Dylan’s mouth before he could stop it.

“Are you sure about that?” Scott asked.

“Absolutely! I know Clay will be happy to see you guys.” Even if he didn’t realize it at first, Dylan somehow new Clay would appreciate it.

At least he hoped so.





CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR




Clay


Something felt off with Dylan, and Clay couldn’t put his finger on what it was. On the surface, they seemed fine. They laughed together and shared their meals together, but he felt like Dylan was holding back. He knew he wasn’t sleeping, tossing and turning and sometimes getting up to sew. He said he went through times like that, when he struggled with insomnia because he couldn’t shut his thoughts down, and all Clay could do was worry he’d somehow caused it. That maybe Dylan was worrying about their night out.

It was Friday, and they were on the couch together, Clay sitting and Dylan lying down with his head in Clay’s lap. He fingered Dylan’s hair as they watched a true-crime show Dylan liked.

When a commercial came on, Dylan picked up the remote, hit Mute, and then sat sideways on the couch, with his legs crossed, facing Clay. “I have to tell you something, and I don’t know how to do it.”

Clay felt like someone punched through his chest, grabbed his heart, and squeezed it. Was he going to say he couldn’t do this? That they were too different? Clay too old? Too boring? “You can tell me anything, Trouble,” he found a way to say.

“You might not feel that way after I tell you…and I’m sorry if I did the wrong thing. It just sort of happened, and I was trying to help, but if you hate the idea, I’ll find a way to fix it.”

His gut churned, and now he definitely needed to know what was going on. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out,” Clay told him.

Dylan took a deep breath. “I went to see Renée at work, and I met Scott. I invited Scott and William to dinner tomorrow night. You don’t have to do anything. I’ll cook and worry about all the details. I just…”

Dylan’s voice became slightly echoey in his head. Clay didn’t know what to think, what to feel. Scott and William had been their best friends—William very close to him. They had fished in the pond with him and Gordon, eaten meals with them, went on vacations with them, and Dakota had been their dogs’ pup. They had been so closely twined into his life with Gordon, into that period of time he’d always considered the best of his life until he’d met Dylan.

And he’d thrown it all away when he’d lost Gordon. He’d walked away because being close to them had been too much of a reminder of what he’d had, what he’d lost. He didn’t know how he felt about making them part of what he shared with Dylan as well.

What he did know was that Dylan had no right asking them before speaking to him. “I know you meant well, but that wasn’t your place. You had no right interfering with my life like that.”

Dylan jerked back. “Interfering with your life? I thought it was our life.”

“Not William and Scott.”

“Fine. Whatever.” Dylan shoved off the couch. “I’ll cancel, but if you could make a list of what I’m allowed to consider our life and what’s just yours, that would be helpful. I was under the impression we were building a relationship together, a life together, which, silly me. I thought that included friends!”