Page 68 of On the Run
I swallowed.
“So, does this mean you forgive her for leaving?” Gage blinked innocently and sipped his coffee.
“Fuck no. It means I’m giving Trey my blessing. Things with Aimee were different. She should have talked to me. The running away is the part I can’t forgive.”
“Maybe she had her reasons, Rafe.” I shrugged. “You don’t know what was going on in her head. She took it hard when mom died, and you were angry a lot. Maybe she wasn’t strong enough to talk to you about what was going on. Maybe she felt guilty for feeling the way she did. Who knows?”
Rafe’s nostrils flared and his jaw worked, but finally he nodded. “You have a point.”
“And frankly, it’s the same with Jayd,” I pointed out, since I was on a roll. “If the situations were reversed, either of us would have kept a secret about where you’d gone.”
“Please. You’re shit at secret keeping, Beale, everyone knows this.” Rafe waved a hand dismissively. He sipped his coffee, wrinkled his nose, and reached for more sugar. “And Jayd’s not so great at keeping certain secrets anymore either.”
I took a deep breath and remembered Toby the other day on the boat, reminding me that I wassmart, and that no one should make me feel less than. “Actually, I’m really not. I did shitty in school, and I have different beliefs about the Universe than you do, but I’m not an idiot. It’s annoying when people make ignorant comments like that. They’re not fair, and they’re not true.”
Gage and Rafe both blinked at me like I’d sprouted a third head, but after a minute, Rafe’s mouth curled up at one corner. “Well, damn. Alright, then. How long have you been holding on to that?”
Probably longer than I cared to admit.
I cleared my throat, uncomfortable. “Never mind. What were you saying before? Something about Jayd not keeping a secret?” If Jayd had changed his mind and told Rafe where Aimee was, I was pretty sure I’d have known about it.
Gage made a disapproving noise, and Rafe grinned.
“I meant the tabloid story,” he said. “About him being gay.”
“Wait.” I blinked and looked to Gage for more information. “The what?”
Gage sighed and opened his mouth to explain, but Rafe cut in. “How the hell can you not know this? It was in the local paper, and I even caught it on that CelebTV News thing a couple times. It’s all anyone on the island is talking about. It’s all anyone in theworldis talking about. Do you know what year it is, Beale? How many fingers am I holding up?”
“Ohhh.” Come to think of it, I vaguely remembered something about Jayd being on the television at Blue Smoke a week ago. I also remembered Rafe flatly denying it then andagainwhen Dale showed him the newspaper right here at the Bean the next day. “Yeah, no, I heard he was in the news. I missed the details.” I’d been kinda busy.
“He’s beenbusy,Rafael,” Gage said slyly, like he could read my mind.
Rafe laughed, but there was no bitterness in it, so I laughed along.
True story, I hadn’t thought of much this week that wasn’t Toby. Even now, my first thought hearing this was to wonder what Toby would think when he heard about Jayd.
“Ifyouwere getting action a little more regularly, Rafe, you’d have more important things to think about than Jay’s—” Gage broke off when his phone chimed, and he glanced down at it guiltily. “—sex life.”
“Uh-huh.” Rafe snorted. “Go on and check it. That’s the chime that means Jay’s done some shit somewhere in the world, isn’t it?”
Gage flushed. “What? Why would you—?”
“Because I’m not the only one who’s been obsessed with Jay’s sex life.” Rafe’s smile was cutting.
“Hey! I’m only concerned because of the Extravaganza coming. Dad put you and me in charge of the concert, and—”
“Yes, yes, because he’s a sadist. Spare me the reminder.” Rafe waved a hand and reached for more sugar packets. “Well, go on. You know you wanna look.”
Gage didn’t need to be told twice—he picked up his phone eagerly. Meanwhile, I debated pulling out my own phone to see if Toby wanted me to bring him home anything, like a coffee or maybe a late lunch. I wondered if he’d appreciate it. I wondered if we had time for him to show me his appreciation appropriately before people started showing up for the party.
It was a whole new way of thinking about life, having someone by my side and… fuck it, I really wanted to keep that, keephim. Maybe I hadn’t made it clear enough to Toby that I wanted him to stay here permanently, even after his mess in New York was cleaned up. Maybe I could be more convincing.
I could find him high-speed internet, if working with the hot spot was too much of a drag. Hell, I could buy a house and outfit it with thehighest-speed internet—a field of satellite dishes in the backyard, if necessary.
“You’re grinning again,” Rafe pointed out unhelpfully, stirring his coffee with his straw.
I shot him a look. “If you put any more sugar in there, that coffee is going to stand up on its own and walk out.”
