Page 11 of Saving You

Ridge was there. Tangible. Reachable.

Maybe not attainable because why would a man that good-looking with his life so put together want someone as lost as Oz was, but there was a greater-than-zero chance. Even the idea of one percent sent his breath racing from his chest.

‘I didn’t think you wanted to get rid of her. But I don’t want her around people who will make her feel…’

‘Like they made me feel,’ Oz said, then regretted it immediately. He folded his hands into his lap and glanced away.

After a moment, Ridge reached over and tapped him. ‘Sorry.’

‘Can we not talk about them?’ Oz asked. ‘I just left there, and I’d rather not think about it.’

Ridge put his hands up in surrender. ‘What are you and Ina doing today?’

‘Visiting a Deaf café,’ Ridge told him. ‘Don’t worry, no coffee for her. They have frozen hot chocolate, and the whole menu has ASL on it, so she can order by herself.’

Ridge’s smile brightened. ‘Awesome. Take me sometime?’

Oz’s swallow caught in his throat, and he almost choked. But Ridge was not asking him on a date. It was not a fucking date.Not a chance. He was only trying to be friendly and involved. ‘Maybe. I took my ex there a few times. She wasn’t big on signing, but she liked the London Fog they made.’

For a split second, he swore Ridge’s face fell, but between one blink and the next, he was grinning again. ‘I can’t wait.’ He turned his head sharply and looked down the hall. ‘Ina needs help. Be right back.’ He headed for the hallway, then stopped and turned. ‘Stay for dinner tonight?’

Yes, Oz wanted to say. Absolutely. Please. Instead, he shook his head. ‘Sorry, I have to get home and grade papers.’ Luckily, it wasn’t a lie.

Ridge made a face of sympathy. ‘Next week, maybe?’

Maybe. Probably not. Oz wasn’t going to torment himself. It was bad enough Ridge would be over at his parents’ house to see the nightmare he lived with, though Oz planned to wear his processors and blend in as best he could to avoid the conflict. And he supposed it would feel nice to have some kind of ally there.

But it was a lot. Too much, at times. He wanted to carve out a little space for himself somewhere that allowed him to feel like he belonged as he was, without compromising pieces of himself. He hadn’t found it yet, and he’d been searching for a long time.

But he was still young, damn it.

There was absolutely time.

CHAPTER THREE

RIDGE

“Real talk—doesdropping my kid off with you so I can attend someone else’s kid’s birthday party make me some kind of monster of a father?”

Frey rolled his eyes. “Look, I might say yes if I didn’t know anything about Oz’s family, but I would have put up the biggest fucking fight if you took Ina there.”

Ridge felt a small pang in his chest. “Are they really that bad?”

“I’ve never met them, but trust me when I say I recognize trauma, and Oz has it in fucking droves. I’m surprised he has a straight back with the weight he carries on his shoulders.”

Ridge felt a little shocked and a little disturbed with himself that he hadn’t realized how bad it was for him. They didn’t spend a lot of time together, but they spent enough. But last week had been the first time Oz had said more than a few words about the way he’d grown up.

And Ridge knew it was only because he’d been invited to that birthday party.

“I really like Grady,” he said quietly.

“Grady’s a good egg,” Frey told him, patting him on the thigh. “If it was only him and the kids, I’d say go for it. But youand I both know Ina will have more fun with us, and she’ll get to live in ignorant bliss for a little while longer about how shitty people can be.”

In all honesty, that was the answer Ridge wanted to hear. He’d already made up his mind, but he wanted a little validation. He was going to the party because he liked Grady, but he also wanted to give Oz support. They weren’t as close as Ridge would have liked. He noticed that Oz had been keeping himself at a distance with him more than he did with other people, but he could live with it.

He was still a good person. He deserved better.

“Now,” Frey said, “can we talk about my work drama? You should have seen what Sarina did yesterday when Dr. Belke came in, and I’m still not over it.”

---