Page 14 of Good Friends
Hey, why’d U unfriend me??? You know Porter’s here, too, right?
He deleted the message, and then blocked him.
Fuck you, asshole.
Then again, it wasn’t Jayce’s fault. Not really. Jayce wasn’t the one he’d been in a relationship with.
And he had told Jayce to do whatever he wanted with Porter.
Fucker.
He pulled up Porter’s profile, but of course there was nothing new there from the last twenty times he’d checked it over the past forty-eight hours. Porter really was…
Hiding shit.
He didn’t have the heart to unfriend and block Porter.
He closed out the app, laid his phone facedown on the coffee table, then stretched out on his new sofa.
He tried not to think about how he’d cried while assembling the scant furniture he now had, all ordered from IKEA, because he couldn’t bear the thought of walking through the store yet.
He’d sat there in his living room the other night and sobbed his way through the assembly, wishing Porter was there.
Call him. Have it out with him.
But what good would that do? Either Porter would gaslight him, or, worse, he’d admit it and then it’d really be well and truly over between them.
He was my best friend.
Then again, Gavin knew he hadn’t been much of a friend lately, either. Once he’d reached Costa Rica he’d thrown himself into his work, six or seven days a week, sometimes, and little time to socialize. It wasn’t uncommon for him not to have Wi-Fi access in his down hours, and he wasn’t going to run up a shit-ton of cellular fees just for Facebook.
Maybe Porter thought I was pulling back.
No. No, he’d been down this road before. His ex had him thinking it was all his fault, and it was Porter—ironically—who’d helped him see the truth behind the lies.
He’d grown up unable to trust his gut because of a gaslighting narcissist.
It seemed he either fell hard for guys he had no business messing with, or who had the ability to totally rip his heart out.
Considering what a hot mess his family of origin was, maybe it was time he admitted he wasn’t destined for a happily ever after of his own.
Chapter Five
Porter was on the road and heading home to Lakeland a little after nine that morning, well before most of the regulars at the resort were even conscious yet, much less able to inquire why he was leaving so soon.
And without spotting Jayce Dugger again.
Thank gawd.
The resort even gave him a refund on the night’s fee, since it was supposed to be a busy weekend and they knew they could easily turn the room.
On his way through Tampa he opted to jump off the Interstate at Ybor City to hit the IKEA store there. He hadn’t had time to go in a while. This was the perfect opportunity.
Roaming through the place always soothed him, with its tidy displays and mellow atmosphere.
I fucking miss him.
This used to betheirthing to do on a Sunday afternoon after leaving the Toucan, to stop here and peruse the displays, and then hit the grocery store section near the exit downstairs to stock up on cinnamon rolls that they swore every time they’d work off later that night in bed.
