Page 49 of See My Words

Rylan touched his cheek in silent apology and let his hand drop back to the bed. “Sorry,” he said tiredly. “Scott left last night and didn’t come back.”

Minh lay down next to him. “He’s downstairs, baby, asleep on the couch,” he said, his eyes worried. “I heard your voices last night. Did you fight over—over what happened?”

“What, the three of us? No!” Rylan exclaimed. “That was amazing, and what we were talking about had nothing to do with that.”

Minh blew out a breath, clearly relieved. “Thank you, Jesus. ’Cause I’d never wanna hurt either one of you, or mess things up.”

Rylan propped himself up on a mound of pillows. “We were all on the same page last night, Minh. No worries.” He sighed. “Basically I forced him to talk about some painful shit he didn’t want to talk about and ended up pushing him away.”

Minh gave him a rueful smile that held a wealth of understanding. “You got him to open up when he was soft and vulnerable, huh? Smart boy.”

“More like stupid boy.” Rylan scrubbed his hands over his face. “I want him to trust me, Minh, not—”

“Sweetie pie, I’ve seen that your instincts are spot-on when it comes to him. What you have to do is trust yourself and be patient with him. Don’t worry.”

Rylan reached over and squeezed Minh’s fingers. “I’ll try not to. Easier said than done.”

“Amen.”

With a wink, Minh pushed off the bed and headed for his own room. Rylan wallowed there for a while longer, until the faint scent of coffee drifted up from the first floor. He got up and pulled on some sweatpants before padding down to the kitchen.

Scott was there in front of the coffee pot, hair sticking up everywhere, his clothes wrinkled and obviously slept in. “Hey,” he said, his voice neutral, polite. “Want coffee?”

At Rylan’s nod, Scott handed him the full mug he’d just poured and grabbed himself another.

“What do you have planned for today?” Rylan asked, sitting down at the island and sipping the hot brew gratefully.

“Thought I’d do some hiking.” Scott peeled a banana and took a cautious bite, wincing a little as he chewed.

“Does your jaw hurt?”

“I’m fine.” Scott’s voice was curt, and Rylan let it go, wanting to ask if he could go hiking with him but dreading the answer. Patience. Tearing open old wounds means giving him healing time after.

“I do have a surprise for you, though,” Scott said, and Rylan perked up a little at that. “I think you’ll really like it.”

“I know I will,” Rylan said softly, half rising, intending to go over and give Scott a hug whether he wanted one or not.

Just then, Minh walked in, freshly showered, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, and Rylan watched in disbelief as Scott hooked him around the waist and pulled him close for a passionate kiss.

“Wha—” Minh sputtered, kissing him back but trying to keep his body angled away.

“Morning,” Scott murmured, letting him go. Minh threw Rylan a wide-eyed look, and anger tightened Rylan’s lips. It seemed playing games was the order of the day.

He blew out a breath, determined not to let it get to him, and drank his coffee. “If you’re going hiking, Scott, I wouldn’t mind—”

The crunch of tires on the gravel driveway outside cut him off, and Rylan glanced curiously out the window at the small SUV pulling up, his jaw hitting the floor when none other than Chris stepped out.

Rylan exploded off the stool and stormed over to grab Scott’s arm. “What the fuck is this?” he hissed.

Scott shook him off. “I called over to the club last night,” he said tonelessly. “Asked Bobby if he was there, and could I speak to him. I invited him up.”

“For god’s sake, why?”

Scott’s eyes were unreadable, but that old telltale whiteness was around his lips. “I was thinking how bad I felt for running him off that night. You said he was ready to move your friendship to the next level, and here I’ve been selfishly tying you down to something casual and meaningless, so—” He waved his hand at the window, trying to smile. “There you go.” He gave up the attempt at a grin and muttered, “I’m going to take a shower.”

Scott left the kitchen, and Minh started after him, his face red with fury. Rylan clutched his arm. “Don’t, Minh.”

Minh wrenched away. “That bloody fool. I’m gonna go knock some sense into that crazy mofo, just see if I don’t.”