by Jess Bryant
“Uh, Lem…” Trent eased her away from him with a gentle shove, “You might want to let go now.”
“What… why?” She pulled back from him, brows furrowed and then followed his eyeline to the door, when she snorted and turned back to him she only shrugged, “Don’t worry about Shane. I made him promise he wasn’t going to physically assault you before we came over. Didn’t I honey?”
“Twice.” The stoic man’s lips twitched. “You made me promise, twice.”
“See.” Lemon sniffed as she straightened herself, “Nothing to worry about.”
Trent ran a hand through his messy hair and eyed the two suspiciously, “Yeah, because the fact you no doubt coerced a promise out of him, twice, totally puts me at ease.”
Lemon rolled her eyes, “Don’t be a drama king. He’s not going to hit you. I told you that he doesn’t hate you. He knows I think of you like a brother and that makes you two almost quasi brothers, right? I mean he even left his gun at home because he knows you don’t like them.”
Trent scowled at the mention of a gun just as much as the fact Lemon had clearly told her intended more about him than he’d realized. Those green eyes met his again and Shane nodded understandingly. Trent looked away, uneasy with anyone knowing the mere sight of a weapon could send him into a panic attack.
But looking aside meant looking out the curtainless window, right at the beat-up silver trailer sitting opposite this one. It meant thinking about Lance again. As if the other man had left his mind at all. He remembered the way those dark as midnight eyes had softened with understanding as he took care of Trent, talked him through the panic.
And how he’d kissed Trent back when he’d made it out the other side.
“Trent?”
“Sorry, what?” He forced his gaze back to Lemon to find her staring at him with her hands on her hips and her brows furrowed.
“I said, how about I officially introduce you to my fiancé?” She tilted her head, “Are you okay? You seem… off somehow.”
With a huff he swiped his hair off his forehead again, “Couldn’t be because someone woke me up ringing my phone off the hook right?”
Shane snorted, “Told you to he was just sleeping off a bad day but no, you just had to come rushing over, didn’t you?”
Lemon stuck her tongue out at her fiancé, “Forgive me for worrying.”
“Forgiven.” Both men said at the same time and then looked at each other and grinned.
Lemon laughed, “Good. Okay then, well, Shane this is Trent Thorne, my brother from another mother and my bestie by choice.”
“Nice to finally meet you.” Trent nodded his greeting since they were too far apart to shake hands.
“And Trent this is my fiancé Shane Lowry, love of my life, member of the Fate Sherriff’s Department, fantastic father to three beautiful girls and as you know, a little bit kinky in all the best ways.”
“Lemon!” Shane groaned, his head tilting back until he stared at the ceiling of the trailer, as if he was praying to God for the strength not to spank her right then and there.
Yeah, Trent knew they were a little kinky already. Lemon told him everything. That was what best friends did. Besides, if anything, he was a little jealous. He’d always wanted a kinky bastard to call his own even if he’d prefer to be the one doling out swats rather than getting them.
Trent’s eyes instantly veered back out the window and God help him too but as if on cue, the door of the other trailer opened and Lance stepped out. His breath caught. Damn. He’d only thought the man was gorgeous last night. In the bright light of morning, the sun seemed to spark off his dark features and tan skin. So much tan skin, Trent swallowed hard. Lance wasn’t wearing a shirt. Only a pair of gray sweatpants. Sweatpants that he was certain if he looked long and hard enough at that he could see the outline of that big, thick cock that made his mouth water.
“What? What’d I say?” Lemon giggled uncontrollably.
“You know exactly what you said.” Shane growled and tugged his fiancé into his arms, “And that’s one.”
“I thought one was when I said…”
“You’re right.” Shane cut her off with a quick kiss on the lips, “You’re at two and since you seem determined to get to three before we even have breakfast, I’m going to get some fresh air and let you catch up with your friend.”
“But babe…”
“Hey, look. There’s Nichols and I need to talk to him, remember?” Shane raised a hand and waved out the still open trailer door, “You two catch up and then we’ll head into town and I’ll get to know your friend better, okay?”
Lemon pouted comically but Shane must have thought it was adorable because he grinned and gave her another kiss. This one was longer, lingering, and Trent looked away. Not just to give them privacy but because he could feel Lance’s dark eyes on him through the distance and the window.
He met the questioning gaze and smiled softly. Lance’s brows drew together and his lips thinned in response. Trent’s smile instantly fell. That was so not the reaction he was hoping for. Lance turned away, going to his truck and opening the door, rattling around as if he was looking for something.
“Give him his coffee before it gets cold. He looks like he could use it.”
Trent turned back in time to see the grinning cop retreating down the steps again. He shut the door behind him but it didn’t matter. Trent could still see Shane out the window as he approached Lance. Could still hear him say hey and then start up a conversation with the man that wouldn’t meet Trent’s eyes.
“So…” Lemon’s voice pulled his attention back inside the trailer, “You’re really going to stay a little while longer in Fate?”
“Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged, taking the coffee cup she offered.
“I mean, I love Fate and I’m happy you’re here, don’t get me wrong, but can I ask why the change of heart? You didn’t seem too excited about the prospect of hiding out here when we talked last night. I expected you to be up and gone before I even got here this morning to be honest.”
Trent shrugged again, avoiding her assessing gaze, “Fate’s as good a place to hide as any I figure.”
“Plus, I’m here.” Lemon grinned.
He chuckled, “Yeah, you’re here…” His eyes drifted back out the window, “And I can’t deny Fate has its attractions.”
The trailer went silent and he cringed the second he realized what he’d said. That it was obvious what and who he was talking about. Particularly considering he could barely focus since Lance had walked outside half-naked.
“Ohhhh, Trent.” Lemon’s lilting sigh had him turning back to his best friend, “Honey, you really do have the worst taste in men, you know it?”
“What?”
“The man you’re all but salivating over is straight as an arrow and an asshole to boot. Which, I mean, I guess you have a type but…” She shook her head, “I wouldn’t recommend going down that path again. If Heath outed you then Nichols is likely to break your pretty face the second you come onto him.”
Trent’s entire world flipped upside down for the second time in as many days. Straight as an arrow. Asshole to boot. His type. That lead ball of dread rolled through him again and a cold chill slid up his spine.
“Lance is straight?” The words felt thick, heavy and all wrong on his tongue.
“Lance?” Lemon’s head tilted again, “How’d you know his name is Lance?”
Trent blinked, his mind racing. Shit. Shit. Shit. Super smart blond. He’d slipped and she’d caught it. Now she was looking at him as if she was about to dissect him.
He shrugged easily, “Because you said it.”
“Did I?” She glanced from him out the window and back again. “I thought I called him by his last name. It’s a terrible habit I’ve picked up from Shane. I catch myself doing it with all the guys down at the station.” Trent shrugged when she eyed him again and luckily Lemon let it go, “Maybe I did call him Lance.”
“You defini
tely did.” Trent lied.
“Well, call him what you want, Lance Nichols is a straight douchebag and you’d do well to steer clear of him while you’re here, okay?”
Trent’s mind was still whirling. She kept calling Lance names. Horrible names. She said he was an asshole. A douchebag. Homophobic enough to beat Trent up if he came onto him. But none of those things fit the man he’d met last night. The kind, considerate gay man that had held his face and told him he was safe and then begged for Trent to let him touch him when they were in bed together.
That awful feeling of dread crawled up the back of his neck and wrapped around his throat. Made it hard to breathe. Made that pain in his chest ache as his oxygen deprived brain supplied the answer he didn’t want to hear. The one he’d been trying to deny and avoid facing since the moment Lance pulled away from him this morning and told him to go. Told him that he didn’t want Lemon finding Trent at his place. And another pinprick of something he’d missed last night hit him with the truth of the situation.
Trent should have put it together before now. It was so obvious. So obvious because it was what they’d had in common that had brought them together.
Lance wasn’t straight. He was gay. But he was hiding. He was still in the closet.
Trent wanted to curse. He wanted to kick something. Throw something. He wanted to rush outside and demand that Lance explain himself. Out himself. But he shut those thoughts down before they could get anywhere near the surface.
He had no right. None at all. After what he’d gone through, what he was still going through, there was no way in hell he’d out Lance. Not now. Not ever. Whatever reason the man had for hiding who he was, Trent had to respect it. He had to understand it. Because if he couldn’t, who would? He’d had his own reasons and he’d still be hiding if it weren’t for Heath.
He couldn’t do that to Lance.
He swallowed down the rush of emotions as quickly as they’d bubbled up. He shut down the hurt and the ache that came with the realization that he couldn’t tell anyone what he and Lance had done last night. He couldn’t tell Lemon about the feelings he was already developing for someone that was a complete stranger to him. He couldn’t even be sure that what he was feeling was real, not when faced with this new information. So he swallowed it all down and forced his mask of easy-going charm back onto his face.
He grinned at Lemon, “Well, damn. Now that’s just a waste of a perfectly good set of sweatpants.”
She giggled, “I won’t judge you for looking. He’s hot. I’ll give you that.”
“He’s gorgeous.” Trent corrected with a sad sigh.
“You want to meet him? Trust me, when you do you’ll lose the fascination. He’s a dick.”
“Well, I mean he seems to have a nice one...”
“Eww!” Lemon smacked him on the arm and then tugged him back towards the table at the front of the trailer, “No. Just… no. Trust me, even if he was into guys, Lance Nichols is not the kind of guy you should waste even a minute of your time on.”
“You act like he’s the antichrist or something and yet, your fiancé is out there yacking it up with him.” Trent pointed out, more curious than he should be.
“Shane and Lance work together. They’re just doing their manly bullshitting while we gossip.”
“What’d he do? Murder the school mascot or something? He can’t be that bad.” Trent felt his defenses rise, wanting to protect the man he’d spent the night with even if it was completely illogical.
“He’s a manwhore.” Lemon rolled her eyes, “He’s slept with like 75% of the female population of Fate. He’s a cheater and a liar and a snake. At least, that’s the story people like to tell. He mostly keeps to himself these days from what I’ve seen. Shane says the guys at the station talk like Lance thinks he’s better than everyone else, too good to grab a beer at the Roadhouse with the boys in blue, or khaki as the case may be.”
“Hmm…” Trent let Lemon’s words sink in and that ache in his chest only grew worse.
Because he recognized the description she’d just given, even if she didn’t. Lemon could just have easily have been talking about him. Just a few days ago, half of Nashville had probably been whispering something pretty damn similar about him actually.
Commenting on how Trent ran through women like they were hand towels until one day he just up and stopped being see with anyone. Talking about how in those last few months, he’d basically holed up inside his house with nobody for company but Heath as he tried to work up the courage to be who he was openly. Trent was certain more than a few people had probably said he wasn’t at their parties or dinners because he thought he was too good for them.
Damn. He and Lance had more in common than he’d realized. Only Trent wasn’t hiding anymore. He was out. Not by choice but he was out. And if Trent did stay in Fate, if anyone saw them together, Lance would get outted by his sheer vicinity to the new gay guy in town. Double damn.
Trent leaned on the table and took a long drink of his coffee. Maybe staying wasn’t such a good idea. It could only hurt Lance. Hell, considering he’d spent one night with the guy and already his chest ached and his emotions were a mess, Trent thought if he stayed he’d probably end up hurt too.
Because no matter how much he and Lance had in common, they weren’t on the same page. They weren’t at the same point in their lives. Trent didn’t want to go back in the closet. And he doubted Lance was ready to come storming out of it.
“Trent?”
“Hmm?” He glanced up from his coffee to find Lemon watching him with that sharp blue gaze.
“You okay? You spaced out on me there for a minute?”
“Sorry. Yeah. I just… still trying to wrap my head around everything I guess.”
“About Lance being an asshole?” She blinked at him confusedly.
“What? No.” He shook off the question and didn’t even have to lie because no, he didn’t need to wrap his head around that. He knew it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. Lance was kind, sweet even. He was just hiding and a little lost probably. “No, I… I just didn’t expect to find myself sitting in a trailer in Fate, Texas with any intention of staying until this morning.”
Lemon reached out and took his hand, linking their fingers together and giving him a reassuring squeeze, “What changed?”
“I don’t know.”
“A good night’s sleep maybe?” She smiled softly and he couldn’t help but smile back.
“Yeah. Maybe.”
Because he had slept well. Better than he had in ages. He’d slept the whole night through, no nightmares or cold sweats. He’d been warm and content and happy. He’d slept on a lumpy mattress under sheets that had seen better days and it had been the best sleep of his life. Because he’d had Lance tucked against him and he’d gotten to wake up to that gorgeous face and smirking smile.
And that was what had changed his mind. Even if he couldn’t tell Lemon. Even if it complicated the hell out of his already complicated life.
He’d decided to stay in Fate because he wanted to wake up next to Lance Nichols again. He just hoped that Lance still wanted him to stay. And he really hoped that trusting his feelings for a man that was practically a stranger wasn’t going to end up being the second biggest mistake of his life.
Apparently, the Trent Thorne persona hadn’t been a complete lie after all. He might not be a lady’s man but here he was mooning over a guy and wanting more than just one night. Turns out, Trent Thorne really was a hopeless romantic.
Chapter Seven
What in the hell had he been thinking? Lance nearly jerked the handle off the door of his truck. He was an idiot. An idiot for not kicking Trent out of his trailer last night as soon as he saw him. An idiot for letting, no begging, for Trent to touch him, to make him come, to stay the night. A total fucking idiot for saying he wanted to see Trent again when the truth was, it didn’t matter what he wanted.
He couldn’t see Trent again. Couldn’t be seen with him. He coul
dn’t… He just… couldn’t.
The panic that had ripped through him when Trent said Lemon was on her way… Jesus, he couldn’t remember ever being so scared in his life. Terrified. Frozen in fear. Because all of his, just go with it, don’t think about it, forget about the consequences bullshit hit him right in the face with just how huge the consequences would be if someone found them together.
Lance shook off the ache that sprouted in his chest. It should have been the thought of all he’d lose if they were caught. If he was outed. His family would be appalled. His friends would distance themselves from him. All the women that hated and despised him would…well, they’d keep on keeping on but now they’d have the truth they always said he never gave them. But it wasn’t the thought of losing the life he’d built on a foundation of lies that made him ache.
It was the thought of never seeing Trent again. He was so fucking stupid. So. Fucking. Stupid.
Case in point, he’d lost his cell phone. He’d come outside half-dressed not even thinking. He hadn’t expected to come face to face with his boss but he should have. Because where Lemon went, Shane followed these days. Or rather, the possessive bastard cleared a path for her. And not even the sight of Shane standing in the doorway of the other trailer could keep his eyes from immediately finding Trent’s through the window. He’d felt the connection between them flare. Sizzle. And he’d had to force himself to look away. To break the connection that shouldn’t exist. Couldn’t exist.
Lance cursed the universe, fate, and himself as he dug through his truck, looking for the missing cell phone. Normally he wouldn’t have given two shits about the location of his phone. Especially if he wasn’t working. But he’d promised his little sister, Lulu, that he’d take her shooting on his day off and after the morning he’d had so far, he thought putting some holes in a target was a damn good idea. It might help take the edge off.
“Hey, Nichols. What’s up?”
