“Start small,” Sebastian suggested.
“We leave here.”
“Good start.”
“Go back to the hotel.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll talk to Jace,” he said.
Sebastian nodded, wiping his mouth with his hand.
“Do you want to talk to Daniella?” Callahan asked.
“Not here,” Sebastian said. “There’s nothing more to be said. At least, not without lawyers.”
“I’m sorry,” Callahan offered, wrapping an arm around Sebastian’s shoulder and pulling his best friend close. Sebastian sniffed. “Okay, so we go back, I’ll talk to Jace, then we’ll get a drink, and in the morning, we’ll all go home.”
“What then?”
Callahan didn’t have an answer for that. He could barely think beyond what happened after getting back to the hotel, his brain screaming at him to find Jace, find Jace, find Jace. He didn’t know what happened after that.
“You said to start small.”
“I did.” Sebastian snorted, a small smile forming on his face. “Right then. Car, hotel, boyfriend, drink.”
“Then home.”
“Then home,” he agreed.
They both turned their backs on the event and walked silently off the campus, the heels of their shoes clicking against the concrete as they went. None of the town cars were there because the event was scheduled to run another two hours at least. Sebastian flagged a cab and they climbed in, not exchanging any other words.
There wasn’t anything that needed to be said, though. Callahan knew their lives were both about to change, maybe for the better or maybe worse. He didn’t know, and the not knowing scared the shit out of him, but his heart stretched, desperate to reclaim the way it had felt in the quiet moments he’d shared with Jace. Callahan would do what he needed to reclaim that, to foster it, and build it into something Jace deserved.
He rolled his phone over in his hand and stared at the blank screen, swiping it open and sending another message to Jace. It too went unanswered, but he’d almost expected that.
They reached the hotel, Sebastian paid the driver, and they walked together into the lobby, Sebastian coming to a stop outside of the bar.
“I’ll be here when you’ve sorted your man,” Sebastian said, tilting his head to the side.
“I think I have a lot of explaining to do,” Callahan said.
“That’s fine.” Sebastian grinned. “I have a lot of drinking to do.”
“Did you really do it on purpose?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“Did you set him and me up in this fallacy with the intent of something coming out of it?”
“Jace is a fighter. He’s a good person,” Sebastian answered. “You need someone like that.”
With that, Sebastian turned, not having answered Callahan’s question. Callahan continued on toward the elevators, hitting the button for his floor. The ride up took an eternity, and he swore if he breathed deep enough he could still smell Jace in the small space. He couldn’t be that far behind. He had time. And he didn’t know how to make things right, he didn’t know how to explain or what to promise, but he would try. Sebastian was right. Jace was a good man, but he was far too good for Callahan.
He swiped his key against the door and a green light beeped. The lock disengaged and Callahan pushed the door open.
“Jace!” he called, throwing his phone onto the couch as he entered the room.
