Page 21 of Burned By Love

“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 IDEAwhat 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.

---