Chapter Thirty-Two
Cole
Iwas worried about Reed. He’d had his first therapy session this morning.
He had been terrified about what that would mean.
What the therapist would ask him and try to get him to talk about.
Reed hadn’t wanted to talk about anything.
But since it was nearly noon now, that should be over.
And he hadn’t reached out to me. Had it gone as badly as he thought it would? Or maybe something worse happened...
I had kept pacing the house, up the stairs and down the hall, before Oscar finally stopped me and dragged to the Bean on Main.
I knew it was most likely because he wanted to see Tate, but he assured me it was to get me out of the house and my head.
Imagine my surprise when we walked into the coffee shop to find Reed and Zach.
“You good?” Oscar asked when I came to a complete stop. They hadn’t seen me yet, and I took a moment to watch them. Heads pressed together with iced coffee before them. They each had a muffin as well, but it didn’t look like Reed had touched his at all.
I squared my shoulders. “Perfectly fine. Thank you for asking.”
“Oscar!” Tate squealed when he saw my best friend and nearly jumped into his arms. “I didn’t know you were coming by today.”
Oscar’s ears burned pink. “I wanted to surprise you.”
I turned away to give them privacy, only to find Reed standing before me. He gave me a shy smile, grabbed my hand, and led me over to the table where Zach still sat. When I sat down, he slid into my lap and kissed me.
“I should just...I’m going to go talk to Tate and Oscar.” Zach pushed back his chair. “Let the two of you have a few minutes alone.”
“You don’t have to go.” I tried to stop him, but Zach waved me off.
“Baby, you okay?” I pushed the hair back from Reed’s forehead.
Exhaustion was written all over his face.
And his eyes were bloodshot, like maybe he had been crying.
I wanted to ask him about his therapy session, but I knew he would tell me when he was ready. And if he didn’t, that was okay, too.
Reed nodded. “Better now.” He put his head on my shoulder. “Are you mad at me? I’m sorry I didn’t text you.”
“No.” I shook my head and pulled back so I could look at him. “Don’t do that. You needed time to process everything. I’m glad that you’re out with Zach and spending time with your friend. That’s important.”
Reed kissed the tip of my nose. “Zach practically dragged me here. I think he just wanted to see Tate and figured Oscar would show up at some point.”
“I bet.” I chuckled softly. “He was at the house this morning. Zach, I mean. He tried to sneak out before anyone was up, but I saw him. I think I nearly gave him a heart attack.”
Reed giggled softly. The sound made my heart sore and my cock twitch. “He sort of told me. Not everything, but something about kissing Oscar and then watching him have sex with Tate.”
“He...What?” I gasped, and Reed laughed even harder. “You’re serious.”
He nodded. “Dead serious. Whatever this is between the three of them is none of my business.”
But I had questions. Lots of them, actually. Tate and Oscar were destined to be together. I didn’t want Zach to come in and mess that up for them. But when I turned to look at my best friend, he was smiling at both men who were holding hands again. “Huh.” Whoops, I hadn’t meant to say anything.
“Right?” Reed scrambled off my lap and into the chair next to me. He grabbed his coffee and muffin, and slid them closer. He picked a piece of the pastry off and popped into his mouth. “They’re cute.”
“They’re like Wyatt. I mean, he has two husbands,” I murmured.
I was too young when any of that happened, and Wyatt had left Boston by then, but I remembered Dad talking about it.
With Asher mostly, because they apparently had been a thing before Wyatt asked to be traded.
When Reed didn’t say anything, I turned to look at him.
His eyes were wide. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
He smiled. “No, but Zach isn’t going to settle down. He’s not interested in that.”
We both watched as Zach touched the sleeve of Oscar’s shirt before he said something that neither of us could hear.
“Are you sure about that?” I shook my head when Reed offered me some of his muffin. “That’s yours.”
He shrugged. “I’m not really hungry. I had a big breakfast this morning that’s sitting like a rock in my belly. Mom’s orders.” He tilted his head. “I promise to talk about it when I’m ready, Casanova.”
I reached for his hand and laced our fingers together. I didn’t care that people were watching us. All that mattered was Reed. “You don’t have to.”
“Thank you.”
“I love you, Reed.”
His lips spread into a giant smile. “I love you, too, Cole. So much.”
We stared at one another, Reed squeezing my fingers every now and then, not saying anything, just listening to the sound of the busy coffee shop. I’m not sure how long we sat there before Oscar and Zach joined us, while Tate ducked behind the counter to help more customers.
“You two doing okay?” Zach asked. His eyes darted between the two of us. “Or are you just talking through telepathy now?” He snorted when Oscar’s mouth dropped open. “I’m kidding. I’m kind of enjoying the way they’re looking at one another. You can really feel the love.”
Oscar hummed in agreement. “It’s cute.”
“Really?” I narrowed my eyes. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”
Reed tugged on my hand. “It’s fine.”
“I mean, you’ve been pining for him as long as I’ve known you—” Oscar snapped his mouth shut when he realized what he had said. “I mean, you know, finding the right one.”
“Okay, that’s enough,” I snapped.
Reed’s brows dipped. “What do you mean by that? Pining, I mean.” He stared at me. “Cole, what does that mean? Did you tell him about us before I came back?”
“He did,” Oscar answered.
I wanted to leap across the table to shut him up. That was something I had confided in my best friend when we first moved in together. It was right after Fiona and I made everything official, even though my heart wasn’t in it. It was also why I’d broken up with her.
“Stop. You love him. You told me that Reed was the one who got away, and you always wanted to fix things between the two of you.”
“Cole.” Reed’s pink lips formed a circle. “Is that true?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
Reed’s face crumbled, and he buried it in the palms of his hands. I shot Oscar a glare, then reached over to touch my boyfriend. “Baby, don’t cry.”
“But I hurt you!” Reed exclaimed. “How can you sit here right now with me and act like nothing is wrong? I broke your heart. You...I...Fuck!” He jumped to his feet and raced outside.
“I got this.” Zach hurried off to catch him before he got too far away.
I stared at my best friend. “Happy?”
“I didn’t mean to upset anyone. I just thought Reed should know the truth.”
“The truth? That I was miserable without him? I think he already knows that.”
Tate appeared suddenly, his fingers twisted together against his apron. “Is Reed okay? Why did he run out of here so fast?”
“Snowflake, don’t worry.” Oscar reached out to touch his cheek and blushed when he caught me watching. “Um, maybe I should go try to talk to him. Let him know that I’m sorry.”
“I’ll go.” Tate stopped him. “Reed is my friend, too, and if he’s upset, I want to try to help him.” He looked at me, for what, I’m not sure. Guidance, maybe?
I gave a curt nod. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. He could probably use all the support he can get right now.”
Tate beamed at me, dropped a kiss against Oscar’s cheek, and then disappeared out the door.
“Snowflake?” I raised my brows, and Oscar tossed a napkin at me. “It’s cute. I mean, his last name is Frost and all.” I sighed. “I’m not mad. Just...I don’t want to see Reed upset.”
Oscar chewed on his bottom lip. “I shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t my place. I hope you’ll forgive me for putting my foot in my mouth.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. Reed and I need to sit down and have a very long talk if we want this relationship to work this time. We can’t keep things from one another anymore. It’s not healthy.”
“I agree, Casanova,” Reed murmured, easing back into the chair next to me. “And I’m sorry for running. I’m not going to do that anymore.”
I wanted to kiss him. Wrap him in my arms to keep him safe. But I couldn’t do that. He was a grown adult. Reed could do whatever he wanted.
“How about now? We can go back to my place and talk in private,” I suggested.
People had already snapped enough pictures of me for the day. I hadn’t said anything because I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself or to Reed. But it was time to go. Now.
“I’d like that,” Reed whispered.