19. Ridley
NINETEEN
RIDLEY
Wren and I slip quietly down the stairs to go to the kitchen. The house is pretty quiet—it normally is on Sunday—and I sense Wren’s relief at not running into the guys when leaving my suite.
In the kitchen, he goes right to the fridge, peering inside and pulling out ingredients. “Bacon and eggs work for you?”
“Hell yeah.” I sit on a stool at the island. “Need help?”
Wren just chuckles as if that was the dumbest question ever. I watch him crack eggs into a skillet before he starts laying out bacon strips.
“When did you decide to be a chef?”
He glances up at me, then back at the bacon.
“I knew I loved cooking in high school, but I wasn’t confident enough to pursue it professionally.
I went to college for two years before ditching that path and getting a job in an office doing customer service work.
That’s how I met Salem eventually. It was during a really annoying customer call one day that I made the decision to follow my dreams. I used some money I had saved to apply to culinary school. ”
“Are you happy with your decision?”
His face lights up. “I am. I love it. It’s one of the most tangible ways to make people happy. Food is celebratory and joyful. It can also be healing and comforting. I feel like it’s a calling for me.”
“I agree. Your food is really top notch.”
He smiles, turning to the stove to flip the eggs. I watch him move effortlessly, timing each component of the meal perfectly, as if it’s all second nature for him.
“What about you?” he asks. “Rumor has it you used to work at a desk.”
Chuckling, I nod and drag my hand through my hair. “The rumor is true. I worked as a chemical engineer for almost twenty years. Probably still would be if it hadn’t been for Indy’s idea to open Moby’s and being left this house.”
“You liked it?”
“I liked the actual work, but the bureaucracy and politics of the workplace were bullshit. I think a part of me was slowly dying. I got so tired of being told to conform. Like, what difference does my hair color make if I get the job done?”
“That is one of the nicer aspects of being in the food industry. Self-expression is allowed and often appreciated.”
“So damn true.”
Wren finishes plating the eggs and makes toast while the bacon fries. The scent of food makes my stomach grumble loud enough that Wren hears it and we both laugh.
“To be fair, you did work up a good appetite,” he says, smiling shyly.
“I think it’s you that did all the work.”
He leans on the island, closing the distance between us. “Are you up for more?”
“Bring it on, little rabbit.”
Jerryn enters the kitchen, oblivious to us as he looks down at his phone on his way to the pantry. Wren flinches, stepping back to put space between us just as Bane enters. He pauses, looking at us both.
“Hey, guys,” he says.
I nod. “Hey. Jerryn’s in the pantry.”
“I know. He wants some candy to munch on.” His eyes move to Wren who turns around to finish the bacon. “You missed brunch.”
“I actually got some sleep.”
A smirk tugs at his lips. “And you, Wren?”
He shrugs, ignoring the question as he butters the toast.
“Interesting,” Bane muses quietly. “Well done.”
I give him a hard look and shoo him away with my hand. He chuckles, following Jerryn into the pantry. When Wren turns around and slides a plate in front of me, his cheeks are bright red.
“We can take it upstairs and eat if you want.”
He shakes his head. “No. I’m not—” He stops speaking abruptly as both guys come out again.
Jerryn has his hand inside a bag of chocolate candies while Bane is munching on chips.
“Oh, hey, guys,” Jerryn says. “I didn’t see you when I came in.”
“You were looking at your phone,” I say.
Jerryn nods. “I bid to support this new video game and there was an update about it. Should be shipping in the next two weeks.”
“What’s the premise?” Wren asks.
“It’s an adventure game where you go to these unique buildings designed like escape rooms, but you have to find famous artifacts to unlock new clues and escape routes.”
“Ooh, that does sound interesting,” Wren says.
“I’ll let you know when it arrives and you can check it out.”
“Cool.”
Bane and Jerryn exit the kitchen and I dig into my breakfast. “You were saying?”
Wren nods, lifting a piece of bacon and biting it before answering me.
Once he’s finished chewing, he fixes his gaze on me.
“I’m not ashamed of what we do. I’m just not sure how I feel about the guys knowing.
They are technically my bosses, and I know you are too, but I don’t want them to… ” His words trail off as he shrugs.
“Don’t want them to what?”
“Treat me differently, I guess. See me differently.”
“I respect that, but this isn’t high school. We’re both adults and so are our friends.”
“Your friends. My bosses. It’s different for me.”
“You don’t think of us as friends?”
His expression goes blank for a second. “I… Maybe?”
My gut twists with guilt, knowing I already told Indy. Should I fess up now or would that just make it more awkward for him?
“No one would treat you weird. They’d probably be happy for me,” I admit.
He opens his mouth, but closes it before looking down at his plate again. “You meant it about having a crush on me?”
Chuckling, I use my fork to cut part of my fried egg. “Uh, yeah. Ask around. They’ll tell you.”
“They did,” he whispers. “I just didn’t believe it.”
“You must have on some level since you hit me up on the couch.”
He laughs softly, picking at his toast. “It wasn’t that I believed it, it’s that I thought you were cool and hanging out was comfortable. The rest of it was just hope and a trickle of bravery.”
“Well my ‘yes’ was a thousand percent based on my crush.”
“That’s really sweet, Rid.”
Before we can continue, our resident fuck bunnies, Indy and Salem, burst into the kitchen.
“Oh my god, it smells amazing in here,” Salem says, reaching over to my plate and stealing a piece of bacon.
“Hey,” I complain.
“There’s plenty on the stove,” Wren says.
Salem moans with appreciation, marching to the stove to grab another strip of bacon.
Indy grins, his eyes practically filled with hearts as he watches his man pick through food with his fingers.
I wonder what it’s like to be that in love with someone, to have your whole world revolve around one person.
Based on the look on Indy’s face, it’s fucking nice.
“Want some, lover?” Salem asks, offering bacon to Indy.
Indy nods, stalking over to the stove and letting Salem feed him. It’s an intimate moment, and Wren is watching too, but I can’t read his expression. After a few seconds, he drags his gaze back to his own plate.
Indy and Salem stumble out together a few minutes later, leaving me and Wren alone again. We eat in silence, and when I finish, I grab a few plates to load into the dishwasher. Wren joins me in cleaning up, glancing at me like he has more to say, but he doesn’t.
Once we’re finished, we walk up the stairs, and Wren doesn’t hesitate to follow me into my suite. He sits on my couch, tucking his feet under him and studying me with sultry eyes.
“What’s on your mind, rabbit?” I ask, settling next to him.
“You. This. My life.”
“That’s a lot.”
He nods, slightly smiling. “Have you ever…” He pauses, his brow creasing as he seemingly tries to puzzle out his thoughts. “I’m not sure how to word it.”
“You don’t have to be perfect with me. Just say it and we’ll figure it out.”
He searches my eyes, his warm breath fanning across my face. “Sometimes I think I want something, but then I’m scared it’s just old habits, you know?”
“Something like what Indy and Salem have?”
He bites his bottom lip for a second, nodding. “They’re so in love you can feel it. And like, yeah, I want that too, but that kind of love is rare, I think. So then it’s just chasing fantasies, isn’t it?”
I shrug, realizing our thoughts were mirroring each other down in the kitchen.
“What they have is unique to them, but really amazing love can’t be that rare.
I’ve seen it happen three times now right in my own friend circle.
I think the key is that we recognize that we can’t make it happen.
It just does, whether we’re trying or not.
That’s what I’ve learned from my friends, anyway. ”
Wren nods, still holding my gaze. “And in the meantime, we just go with the flow? When it happens, it happens?”
“That’s my theory.”
“Yeah. Good theory.” He blows out a breath. “Movie?”
I’m grateful for the change of topic, because now I’m wondering if we could fall in love, and if we did what that would even look like. That’s a challenge for another day though. Today, we’re watching movies.