Chapter Seven
WEST WOULDN’T SAY HE was moping. He’d been a bit sad, but it was to be expected since he’d been rejected by the guy he had a crush on. Anyone would feel down in his place, and most people wouldn’t feel up to smiling and going on with life as if nothing had happened.
In the grand scheme of things, nothing had happened. It wasn’t the first time West asked someone out and was rejected. It probably wouldn’t be the last, either.
Jonathan had felt special. West didn’t know what it was about the man that had pulled him in the way it had, but even though Jonathan was out of his life now, West couldn’t stop thinking about him. It had gotten to the point where his friends kept looking at him in concern, which wasn’t conducive to them focusing on their work.
He wasn’t texting Jonathan anymore. In fact, his phone didn’t come out at all during work these past few days. When they weren’t out on calls, he spent his time either sleeping or cleaning around the station. He needed a distraction, but even cleaning the bathroom didn’t help as much as he needed it to. His thoughts were still firmly on Jonathan and what he’d said.
He hadn’t said that he didn’t want to go on a date. He’d said he couldn’t go on a date, and West couldn’t stop thinking about that. Why couldn’t Jonathan say yes? Did he want to? Maybe he had a boyfriend, although West didn’t think so. Jonathan wasn’t the kind of person who would’ve texted him as much as he had if he already had someone in his life. No, there had been more to it, but West would never find out because this was it. He wouldn’t bother Jonathan. He didn’t know if they could still be friends, so it was better to cut him out. If Jonathan wanted to talk to him, he knew where to find him. As much as West wanted to be Jonathan’s friend, he wouldn’t push.
“Okay, that’s it.”
West looked at Austin through the open door. He’d hoped his best friend wouldn’t find him in the closet. “What?”
“Why are you doing inventory?”
“Because it needs to be done.”
“Not that often. We did it last week, so it definitely doesn’t need to be done today. You’ve been avoiding me.”
“I’ve been working, which is something you should do, too.”
Austin looked around, then pushed past West and stuffed himself into the closet. It was a tight fit, especially after he closed the door. West had to press back against the door. He wished he could be anywhere but here.
“I know we’re close, but not this close,”
he complained when Austin elbowed him in the stomach.
“I wouldn’t have to do this if you just talked to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“That’s bullshit. You’re not fooling anyone, let alone me. You’re my best friend, remember? I know when you’re down, and right now, you’re so down that you’re visiting the giant squids in the Mariana trench.”
West blinked. “I’m sorry?”
Austin caught West by the shoulders and gave him a little shake. “Talk to me. What happened? One day, you were fine and kept giggling at your phone, and now, you’re like this. You haven’t been texting Jonathan.”
Austin hesitated. “Is it him? Has something happened to him?”
“I happened to him.”
“You’re going to have to explain that because I have no idea what it means.”
West sighed and thumped the back of his head against the door. “I went to the shop and asked him out like you pushed me to. It didn’t go well.”
Austin let go of West’s shoulders. “You mean he said no?”
“That’s what it didn’t go well means.”
“It doesn’t make sense. Why would he say no?”
“Probably because he didn’t want to go on a date with me.”
“I don’t believe that.”
West huffed. “Well, whatever you believe, that’s what happened. I asked him out. He said no. That’s it. I feel like I’m allowed to be quiet and mope since I got rejected, so please, give me space to do it.”
“But he likes you.”
West shook his head and pushed away from the door. Austin had to back into one of the shelves to give West space, and West thought he wouldn’t for a moment, but he did, and West took the opportunity to open the door and step out.
“Wait,”
Austin said as he caught West’s wrist. “You can’t let it go.”
West turned to tell Austin to fuck off because he really wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. Someone cleared their throat nearby. West turned to see who it was at the same time as Austin pulled him back into the closet. West tried to resist because, for some reason, Jonathan was standing there, staring at them, but he lost his balance and ended up falling against Austin’s chest. Austin’s arms wrapped around him, and there was nothing West could do about how bad this looked.
“It’s not what you’re thinking,”
he told Jonathan as he pushed away from Austin. “We weren’t doing anything.”
Austin’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”
he asked Jonathan.
Shit, he was in his defensive-best-friend-mode. West needed to save Jonathan from that.
And Austin.
JONATHAN HAD NO IDEA what was happening, but he believed that it wasn’t what it looked like. It looked like he’d walked in on two people hiding in a closet, and Austin was still touching West, but that wasn’t how things were between West and Austin.
West had talked extensively about Austin, so Jonathan knew how close they were. Considering what Jonathan had done, he wasn’t surprised to find that Austin was defensive. He was standing up for his best friend, which was what Jonathan expected him to do.
He wasn’t sure why he was there.
Well, that wasn’t true. He knew why he was here, but he wasn’t sure what to expect. He’d wanted to see West, but he’d known that West wouldn’t answer his texts. It was probably cruel to do this to both of them, but after talking to Caleb and Christy about what had happened at the shop, Jonathan had decided to be brave. He didn’t know if he could date West, but at least he could tell him what had happened with Sal.
The thought of opening himself up that way was terrifying, but Jonathan felt he owed it to West. West should know why Jonathan had rejected him. He should know it had nothing to do with him and the person he was. Jonathan didn’t want him to blame himself for something he had no blame for.
“I’d like to talk to West if he has time,”
Jonathan said, shuffling his feet.
Austin might have good reasons not to like him right now, but it made Jonathan nervous. Austin was a dragon shifter. If he decided he wanted to hurt Jonathan, he could do so easily.
Just like Sal had.
Maybe coming here had been a mistake. Maybe Jonathan should leave.
“I can go,”
he added quickly as he took a step away from the closet where Austin and West had been hiding. “It’s clear you’re busy, so maybe I can come back later, or even better, I’ll text you. That way, you won’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“Jonathan, wait.”
Jonathan swallowed. West didn’t sound angry. He sounded confused, which was understandable because that was how Jonathan felt.
“Did you bring us food?”
Jonathan glanced at the pan he was carrying. He’d known that West wouldn’t care if he didn’t bring anything, but he hadn’t wanted to pop up empty-handed, so he’d begged Caleb to make brownies. He could take them home, but he’d end up eating all of them, and it would be better if he didn’t.
He turned to face West again. He needed to leave before he did something stupid like start crying or beg West for forgiveness, so he quickly strode toward West and pushed the pan into his hands. “Yes. I made brownies. You can keep the pan.”
West thrust the pan toward Austin, who barely managed to grab it in time. West’s attention never moved away from Jonathan, even when Jonathan stepped away.
“We can talk,”
West said.
“Are you sure? Because I can come back later, or we can talk on the phone. That would be fine, too.”
Maybe it would be easier. Jonathan was pretty sure that he’d be able to tell West about Sal in more detail if he didn’t have to look at him as he did so.
“I’ll have to leave if the alarm goes off, but in the meantime, we can talk,”
West said. He looked back at Austin, then gestured at the exit. “We can go outside unless you want something to drink.”
Jonathan shook his head. He was pretty sure he’d throw up anything he tried eating or drinking.
West took the lead, and Jonathan followed. They stopped in the parking lot, and Jonathan resisted the urge to rush to his car. He could do this. He’d told his friends about Sal. He could tell West, too. After all, West was his friend, too.
Maybe.
“Thank you for the brownies,”
West said when Jonathan didn’t say anything.
Jonathan was trying to decide where to start. “It’s fine. I didn’t want to show up empty-handed.”
“You could have.”
“I also needed something to do to distract myself.”
He’d stayed with Caleb while Caleb baked, and they’d watched a few episodes of their favorite TV show. It’d been nice.
West nodded but didn’t say anything. It was time for Jonathan to be honest. Why did it feel like the hardest thing he’d ever done?
West’s gaze flickered toward something behind Jonathan. Jonathan turned in time to see Austin and two other people staring at them from inside. Austin was still holding the pan with the brownies, but the woman standing next to him had taken one and was chewing as she watched them. Seeing them made Jonathan want to run, but before he could, West grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side so they wouldn’t be visible from inside.
“Sorry about that. We’re a close team, and we tend to live in each other’s pockets,”
he explained before letting go of Jonathan. “They’re curious about your presence here.”
Jonathan nodded. “I get it. It’s fine.”
“Well, I don’t know how much time we have before the alarm goes off, so if you need to say something, I’m listening.”
Jonathan stared down at his feet because he couldn’t look West in the eyes as he told him about Sal. There was a crack in the concrete, and a tiny yellow flower had grown in it. It was strong, even though everything had been against it. The flower hadn’t let the concrete stop it.
Jonathan wouldn’t let Sal stop him, either.
“I knew about dragon shifters before meeting you,”
he explained. “I’ve known about shifters my entire life because my best friend is one, but I found out about dragons only after we moved to the city. When I first met Sal, I thought that it was incredible that a man like him, someone who could turn into a freaking dragon, wanted to be with me. I didn’t understand why. He was handsome, rich, and everything I could never be.”
“You are handsome.”
Jonathan’s cheeks heated. “Maybe. I don’t know. Anyway, he blew me off my feet. He love-bombed me, and after just a few weeks, we were inseparable. That’s when things started changing.”
It was when Sal had revealed who he truly was. Jonathan had been in too deep by then. He hadn’t had an escape plan.
He should have.
WEST COULD TELL WHERE this was going, and he didn’t like it. He wished that Jonathan had rejected him because he didn’t want to go out with him and not because he was scared.
He obviously was. Talking about his ex-boyfriend was enough to make him look like he was about to run away. If he did, West wouldn’t stop him.
He might try to find out more about who Sal was, though.
“He got more possessive,”
Jonathan continued. “He didn’t like me going out with my friends, and when we did, he insisted on coming with us. He kept an eye on me the entire time, and he blew up at me when someone talked to me, even if it was just to ask where the bathroom was.”
That sounded like something West had encountered several times before. In his job, he saw a lot of things, including abusive relationships. That was what Jonathan was describing. He’d been in an abusive relationship with that dragon shifter.
It was no wonder that he didn’t want to date West.
“I won’t go into details because you don’t need to hear that, and I don’t need to relive it, but I’m sure you can guess what happened,”
Jonathan added. “Sal started getting violent, and eventually, I got out of there, but not without scars. I haven’t dated anyone since then. I couldn’t.”
“Thank you for telling me,”
West murmured. He wanted to reach for Jonathan because he looked like he could use a hug, but he didn’t want to scare him.
“I wanted you to know. I wanted to say yes when you asked me on that date, but I don’t know if I can. I understand that you’re not Sal and that you’re nothing like him, but part of me still freaks out at the thought of dating another dragon shifter.”
“You don’t have to explain, Jonathan. I get it. I won’t hold it against you. I wouldn’t have even if you hadn’t told me about your ex.”
Jonathan looked relieved. It was as if a weight had lifted off his shoulders, and West was glad he’d been able to help. Jonathan was braver than a lot of people West knew, and West was sure that eventually, Jonathan would deal with his fear. Maybe if West was lucky, they’d still be friends when he did.
“Anyway, I wanted you to be aware of the situation,”
Jonathan said. “So that if I ever freak out again, you’ll know why.”
“I’ll do whatever you need me to do,”
West promised. He would have even without all of this. He cared about Jonathan, which hadn’t changed because Jonathan rejected him.
Jonathan sucked in a breath. “I hope you mean that because I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me.”
West stared. That was the last thing he’d expected. He wanted to say yes, but was it the right thing to do?
Jonathan knew himself better than anyone. He definitely knew himself better than West, who had only just met him. No matter how much they’d texted, West still couldn’t say what Jonathan was or wasn’t ready for. Jonathan was the only one who could, and apparently, he’d decided he was ready for a date even though he’d said no a few days ago.
“I’d love to,”
West told him.
Jonathan blinked as if he hadn’t expected it to be so easy. “Really?”
“Really. I wouldn’t have asked you out if I didn’t want to go on a date with you.”
“But things are different now.”
“They are. Now, I know why you might react in certain ways and that I’ll have to be careful. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to go out with you.”
“I’m a mess.”
West smiled and stepped closer. It was a risk, but he relaxed when Jonathan didn’t move away. “Everyone is a mess. Look at Austin.”
Jonathan snickered. “I’m pretty sure he heard that. He’s a dragon shifter, too, isn’t he?”
“Do I look like I care?”
“Not particularly.”
West turned serious again. “I can’t promise you that everything will be okay, but I can promise that I’ll never hurt you if I can avoid it. I would never raise a hand to you, and I won’t control you. I’m not Sal.”
“I know.”
It might not be enough for things between them to work, but it was a starting point, and West was nothing if not stubborn.