46
Buzz
"I still can't get over what Court did,"
Zane tells me over lunch at the diner.
It's been over a month since the tattoo festival, and he brings it up every time we hang out. It's a bit much, but it makes me happy. For the first time since they met last year, I'm hopeful they might actually be friends some day.
Or at the very least, not tear each other's heads off.
"That's because he's a really nice guy,"
I say, taking a bite of my burger.
"I guess we did get off to a bad start,"
Zane concedes around a mouthful of his.
"And middle."
I grin, wiping away a smidge of sauce from the corner of my mouth.
"He can come across a little…"
"Cocky?"
An image of Court's work-of-art cock flashes in my mind, and my cheeks heat. Not only has he got a lot to work with, he knows exactly what to do with it. He's been giving me the best sex of my life these past few weeks.
Painfully aware of the boner forming in my briefs, I snap my attention back to the present.
"I was going to say aloof. But yeah, people have called him that. And worse."
"My dad was a doctor. They can be a lot."
It's one of the rare times Zane has mentioned his family. I asked him about them once, and he said he had to adopt a strict 'no contact' boundary with them. Hearing that stopped me from asking anything about them ever again.
"Do you think maybe that's partly why Court didn't make the best first impression on you? Confirmation bias and all that."
"Possibly. Plus I think I was jealous."
"Jealous? Of what?"
"Of what you guys have."
"We're best friends, Zane."
Best friends who also happen to be married and give each other daily orgasms, but he doesn't need to know that.
He grins like he might have a clue though.
"That's not what literally every person I've spoken to about you guys thinks."
"I forget you're still new in town. You might not be aware that the unofficial motto of Clovelly is Where everyone loves to be a gossiping little bitch."
He grins some more.
"That may be so, and if it were all just speculation and hearsay, I wouldn't believe it. But I've seen it with my own eyes."
He clears his throat and tucks a loose strand of hair behind his ear.
"This is embarrassing to say out loud, but I've kind of had a crush on you. And I think that on some subconscious level, that played a part in my issue with Court."
"Like two lions pissing to mark their territory?"
He lets out a quiet laugh, his cheeks turning pink.
"Something like that. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. You even tried to gently let me down, and I may have pretended to overlook that, holding out hope of something happening between us."
"I really like you as a friend,"
I say, meaning every word.
"I know that. I really value our friendship as well. I'm sorry about things going so off the rails with Court. He's made a genuine effort, and now I'm going to make one, too."
"That's awesome. I really think you guys could be friends."
"Not sure I'd go that far just yet, but I'm open to seeing where it goes."
"Fair enough."
I decide to leave things there. The fact we're even discussing those two possibly being friends is a major win in my book.
"So how's work going?"
He slumps in the booth.
"Terrible. No one's dying at the moment."
"That's…grim. On a number of levels."
"Tell me about it."
He curls his hair absently around his fingers.
"But it's true. And it's bad for business."
My forehead pinches as I try to think of some way I might be able to help him out.
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Nah. Thanks, though."
"Hey, I have an idea. I could speak to Court. He's been talking about how well the inn is doing, and I know they get even busier over the summer. They might have a job vacancy. I can ask him."
"You don't have to do that."
I look at him closer.
"Are you saying that because you think hospitality work is beneath you or out of pride?"
He tugs on the end of his strands, frowning a little.
"I've never looked down on hospitality work. Or service work. Or sex work. Or any kind of work for that matter. I mean, hello, I make my living off people croaking."
"So it's option B then?"
"Yeah."
He blows out a dejected sigh.
"Besides, he's finally started being a little nice to me. I don't want him thinking I'm taking advantage of his kindness."
"He won't. I promise. I'll just ask, and he's free to say no."
My phone buzzes, and I smile when I see who it is.
"Court's ears must be burning."
"What is it?"
Zane asks after I stare at the message for an inordinate amount of time.
I can't believe what I'm reading.
"Uh, nothing."
Zane wasn't there when Court and I told Cy and Scooter about the fucked-up situation with our parents, and I don't feel right telling him without clearing it with Court first.
"Something unexpected has just come up. It's nothing bad,"
I say, putting the phone down and returning to my burger.
That's not true.
It is that bad.
Court's mom wants to have dinner with him…
And me.
I pull up in front of Court's mom's place and turn the engine off, feeling a lot of things.
Confused.
Court and I have talked a lot since he got the invite, but we're no closer to figuring out why she invited me to come along, too.
Nervous.
Despite living in the same small town, I've hardly ever seen the woman.
She's a recluse and, from what I can gather, doesn't keep in contact with many people. Apart from Grandpa Arnie's funeral, I honestly can't remember the last time I saw her.
And there's also this other feeling that I can't find a proper word for other than unresolved.
I know that's not technically a feeling, but it describes how things are between her and me.
She and I have never spoken about 'the thing that happened,' and because of that, I haven't had any closure with her the way I have with Dad.
So much time has passed that it's like an old wound.
Many years ago, it was a deep, painful cut, now it's just a small scab. Should I just leave it all in the past and pretend like it never happened?
Maybe if it was actually in the past, I could do that.
But it's not.
She's pregnant with my dad's kid right freaking now.
I lean forward, elbows on the wheel, and let out a yawn. I'm coming off a double shift.
"I swear my life was quiet and boring until you moved back. Now it's like Days of our Fucking Lives with fake marriages, epic rivalries, and crazy moms."
Court chuckles, unbuckling his seat belt.
"Wait. Who's the epic rivalry?"
"You and Zane,"
I say, turning to face him.
"He told me over dinner the other night he had feelings for me, and he thinks that's part of the reason why you and he had a bumpy start."
"I still don't get it."
"He thinks there's something more between us than just friendship,"
I explain.
"He was jealous of you."
Court scratches the side of his neck. "Oh."
I feel and probably look like the walking dead. Court looks like he just stepped off the runway with Cyrus and decided to wear the ensemble of an off-white chunky knit sweater, dark jeans, and plaid blanket scarf out in public.
"Don't worry. I set him straight. Told him people around here love nothing more than to gossip, and that despite getting married, we really are just besties."
"Yeah. Look, about that. There's something?—"
"Holy shit,"
I cut him off.
"What?"
I point to the house.
Court's mom is waiting for us at the front door.
Why did I waste the precious seconds we had talking about Zane when I should have used that time to get Court to help me deal with the fire alarm of panic going off inside me?
His head swivels between me and his mother a few times, and then his hand lands on my back.
"We haven't seen each other the past two days, so I haven't had the chance to ask you how you're feeling."
I turn to him, and my face must say it all because he starts rubbing his hand up and down my back.
"It'll be fine,"
he assures me even though I suspect he's freaking out, too, and is simply doing a better job of hiding it.
"Why did she invite me?"
"I don't know, Buzz. But last time I checked, she didn't have the power to issue execution orders, so it will be fine,"
he repeats, a little more forcefully this time.
"What if she has acquired powers and you're just not aware of them?"
"In that case, it'll have to be a double execution because I'll be right by your side."
"You promise?"
He grins, his jade-green eyes sparkling with sincerity.
"Swear on my life."
"No leaving the room to take a call. No toilet breaks,"
I insist, trying to head off any situation that might leave me alone with her.
"I'm switching my phone off right now."
He pulls his phone out and turns it off.
"And I'm good toilet-wise."
When I lift a brow, he adds.
"Okay, okay. And if I have to go, I'll risk overstretching my bladder to hold it in."
I smile.
"Thank you."
Maybe I'm being silly, but Court is so in tune with me, he offers exactly the kind of ridiculous assurance I need right now.
"All right."
I take a deep breath and crack the door open. "Let's do this."