“What about Cooper?” Wyatt turned a wry eye to him. “What would you say to him?”
“That’s an unfair ask,” he muttered, setting his beer down a little harder than necessary. There were lots of things he wanted to say to Cooper, but he didn’t stand to see how any of them would improve their relationship or enhance their communication. They were mostly just ideas and feelings. Things Adam had learned about himself over the course of the time they’d been committed to each other.
“How so?” Wyatt pressed.
“All of the things I think of to say to him are just feelings,” he said. “Emotions. Nothing that needs a conversation, just things that exist.”
“Feelings like what?”
He let out an annoyed breath. “Can we talk about this another time?”
Wyatt grinned. “If you commit to sharing one of the things thatjust existwith him, we can talk about something else.”
Adam licked his lips, turning his attention once again to the back yard. He worried there would always be a part of him that lived with the fear of losing Cooper again. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing, so he often relied on saying nothing. But as he’d learned earlier in the week, all that had gotten him was some unnecessary tension and a fairly sore pair of nipples. If anything, his experience with Cooper had proved everything he’d just said to Wyatt. There was no harm to come from baring his soul to the man he loved.
“It’s a bit daunting, isn’t it?” he asked, well aware the question was posed to his much younger son and not a peer or a friend.
“I dunno.” Wyatt shrugged. “I’m the one getting a divorce before thirty. I may not have the best advice, but you’re the one who said communication is key, so what do you really have to lose?”
Chapter22
Cooper
Cooper loved the silence of living alone. With Adam at his house, or Wyatt’s house, however they wanted to look at it, Cooper had gotten so much work done on the backlog of orders he’d accumulated over the past couple of weeks.
It was just shy of one in the morning when the front door opened and closed. He listened to Adam drop his keys and wallet, then take off his shoes.
“I’m down here,” he hollered, and then he started to clean up while Adam shuffled down the stairs. He looked a little worse for wear, and Cooper abandoned his task to meet Adam at the bottom step. “Are you okay?”
Adam’s features were pinched, and he answered with a small shake of his head, dropping his forehead onto Cooper’s shoulder. Instinctively, Cooper wrapped Adam in his arms and pressed a kiss against the side of his head.
“Do you want to talk?” he asked.
“I want you to talk,” Adam croaked. “I want you to tell me that I’m not the worst dad in the world or the worst boyfriend. The worst friend. You talk to Grant sometimes. Has he ever told you I’m a bad friend?”
“What?” Cooper was confused, flipping off the light switch and ushering Adam up out of the basement. “What are you talking about?”
“I let Wyatt down. I let you down.”
“When did you let me down?”
Adam reached the top of the stairs and turned, giving Cooper a look that indicated Adam thought he should already know the answer. “Before.”
“Have you been drinking?”
“Just a couple of beers. I’m not drunk.”
“Just introspective?” Cooper turned off the stairwell lights and closed the basement door. Resting a hand on the small of Adam’s back, he guided him through the house and into the master bedroom. He pulled Adam’s shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor before setting to work on his pants.
“Wyatt thinks I left him,” Adam grumbled, standing still and letting Cooper divest him of his pants. Cooper left Adam’s underwear on, kneeling down to peel off Adam’s socks before leading him to the edge of the bed.
“No, he doesn’t,” Cooper promised.
“He does.” Adam furrowed his brow. “Me and Mike.”
“I assume that’s what you two talked about tonight?”
“Among other things.”
