Try For You
Page 11
“Baby,” I started, sitting up a little straighter.
“Oh—uh, yeah?”
I held his gaze long enough for him to look a little confused, brow arching.
“You all right?” he asked.
I reached into my jacket’s inside pocket, the only place on me deep enough to hide what I’d been waiting all week to give to him. The first two things were matching dog collars, blue and red and covered in little paw prints. The third thing was much smaller—and yet somehow bigger: a key.
Ace looked at all three with wide eyes, breath clearly held.
“I didn’t get the tags engraved yet,” I said, brushing over the silver of them. “I figured we could go together once we pick out the names, um…”
Silently, Ace glanced up at me.
“And, um…” His voice sounded a little hoarse. “And the key?”
This wasn’t the exact reaction I was hoping for, but, hey, when was he ever predictable?
“Ace, I love you. I know we’ve both been waiting to say it, but I love you and all I really want right now is to start a life with you,” I said flat-out because it was the goddamn truth. “And, I figured what better way to do that than by moving in together.”
“I—”
Ace shook his head and took a deep breath.
For a hot second, I thought he was maybe going to have a panic attack, but then his eyes were a little watery and his lips were parting into the most beautiful, heart attack-inducing smile I’d seen in my entire fucking life.
“Y-yeah,” he huffed. “Yeah.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, that’s awful eloquent,” I teased.
Ace pushed my shoulder before sinking against my chest. Our embrace was tight, like we were both afraid and excited and standing on a ledge that would lead to both of our futures if only we took the opportunity and jumped.
“Shut up,” he chuckled, clearing his throat. I never wanted to see him cry, obviously, but in this scenario, it was more than a little endearing. “I love you, too. And—all of that. I want to move in and be with you—and I mean really be with you, and—”
“Just admit it,” I sighed. “Just say it: Ryder Mueller, you’re my hero.”
Ace sniffled a little, pouting up at me. “You stole that from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
“Maybe.”
“Well, it does rhyme, so I guess it’s allowed—”
I cut him off swiftly with a kiss.
By the way he melted into it, I figured he didn’t mind.
Epilogue
Ace
The chime of the doorbell replaced the droning of the vacuum.
I put the thing upright and smoothed out my shirt, looking to the small mirror and then to Ryder, every nerve in my body alight with, well, nerves, because, fuck, I was nervous. I’d been cleaning all morning just to have something to keep me from going crazy.
Ryder, who had been no help, grinned and swept me into a reassuring kiss.
Okay, fine. That was helpful.
The original plan had been to move in with Ryder a few weeks after he asked—it would give me enough time to square up with my rental, pack my shit, and move it all to his place without interfering with work. And then Jay called.
It was the first time I’d spoken to him in years, and it brought tears to my eyes just to hear his voice; to know he had gotten my message loud and clear, and that he was accepting my offer to live with me in Harlan.
As much as I wanted to live with Ryder, I couldn’t leave my cousin on the street any longer. Ryder’s place was too small to host him, but my place was the perfect size: there was my bedroom and an office I barely used that could easily be converted to another bedroom. So the weeks I would have spent moving my things to Ryder’s were spent instead preparing for Jay to come home.
Home.
How long was it before I started thinking of Harlan as home?
How long would it be before Jay thought of it that way, too?
Ryder was understanding about it, too, which was a blessing in itself. Not only was he cool with it, but he even helped with moving furniture into the office and picking up shit he thought Jay might need without me even asking. Perfect.
As long as we can still have sexy sleepovers, was Ryder’s only condition, eyes soft and lips close, then I’ll be fine until you can eventually move in with me.
I told him, That’s a given, and then jumped him.
In the final week, I’d been a nervous wreck.
I hadn’t seen Jay since we were both fifteen years old, and, after doing the math, I figured when I opened the door, he would be thirty-three. The gap was daunting. He wasn’t a little kid anymore. Life was so different—for both of us. It was impossible to know what I’d find when he knocked on my door—
Which he was. Right now.
“Holy shit, okay.”
Ryder patted my back and pushed me lightly towards the door. “You got this, baby, I’m right here.”
I shot him one last thankful look before reaching for the door handle.
The Jay Pittman I knew was always so bright and full of love and life. Maybe that’s why it had hurt so badly knowing he’d been kicked out of his house. The family wasn’t a welcoming or warm group of people, but they were all decidedly unified when it came to shunning Jay. There was nowhere for him to turn. They all made sure of that, my parents included. When I tried to reach out to him, they put a swift stop to it.
We were both helpless teenagers at the time. I was powerless to disobey my parents, and he was left on his own, nothing more than a memory to the family by the time they’d closed the door on him.
And now I was opening it back up.
Don’t fucking throw up on him or something, I told myself.
The bell rang again, followed by a soft knock, and that was enough to break whatever anxious spell that was keeping me frozen. I opened the door, breath held, and just a glimpse was enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Where he was once vibrant, this new Jay was now lifeless. It was like the soul and happiness had been stripped away from him, life having taken its toll after what the family did to him.
“Jay,” I breathed.
He stood before me, slim and shaking, his green eyes watching me, a touch of hope breaking through whatever darkness clouded them. Before he could second-guess anything, I crossed the threshold and pulled him into my arms. I’d never hugged someone so hard; I’d never been so afraid to let go.
Jay just trembled in my arms.
I ran a hand through his light brown curls.
“I missed you,” I heard him say, voice cracking. “I missed you, Ace, oh my God…”
All I could do was hold him tighter.
He was my blood, my cousin, hurt and broken. We had a bond nobody in the family could understand—both of us were cast out for being gay. There was no family to go to anymore, except each other. Jay had been alone for far longer than me, but I was lucky enough to have found Ryder almost immediately after.
I’d make it my mission to make sure Jay fell in love with the world again. It had happened for me and it could happen for him, too.
I turned my head to share a troubled look with Ryder, who only met my eye with determination. It was Ryder’s and my silent agreement, understood without words: we were going to work together to fix this. He was a rock; he’d been mine and I knew he’d support me in being Jay’s.
We can fix this.
I’d never been so grateful to be in love.
We can fix this.
After all, we were a team and there wasn’t anything we couldn’t face together.
Get ready for book 3 in the For You Series, All For You.
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Try For You
For You: Book 2
J.P. Oliver
© 2019
Disclaimer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are all fictitious for the reader’s pleasure. Any similarities to real people, places, events, living or dead are all coincidental.
This book contains sexually explicit content that is intended for ADULTS ONLY (+18).