Brandt leaned forward and gave me a sad frown that seemed genuine. “I’m not calling you a liar. Youthinkyou’re telling the truth. I even think you’re a good guy. But how the hell could you possibly mean that?” He shook his head, eyes wide. “I’m forty-four and I don’t even know what I want to do with my life.” The smell of alcohol nearly knocked me over when he leaned his chin closer for emphasis.
“Just because you’ve never had a single desire to settle down, doesn’t mean other people don’t,” Flynn said and sounded ready to murder. His brows dove and he rubbed at his temples. “I was younger than Judge when I moved in with....” He clammed up and turned to stare out his window.
Brandt groped up front and it took everything in me not to shove his hand back between the seats. He rested trembling fingers on Flynn’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I know that. I mean... it’s....”
“You don’t understand it, I get that,” Flynn snapped, but his nose was getting clogged, probably with tears he was holding back, and my heart hiccupped. Was he sad? “But I want it. I’ve always wanted to have a nice home with someone who loved me to sleep beside each night, and you’re telling me it’s wrong, or that no one else wants that. Wants me. You’re telling me I’m wrong.” His shoulders slouched, and as mad as I was at his friend for making him sound so heartbroken, he was also the cutest fucking drunk in the world. That man with those solid shoulders and that beautiful silver hair wanted someone to take care of him and it was sweet. I was also more than ready for the job.
Brandt moaned and knocked his head against the back of the seat. “I’m sorry, that isn’t what I’m saying at all.”
“Then why can’t Judge want to be with me?” he turned to whisper-yell at Brandt, like he thought maybe if he leaned close enough to the seat I wouldn’t hear him.
“Judge does want to be with you,” I was quick to fire into their argument.
“See!” Flynn said, pointing at me, but then he turned and smiled. “Hey, he said he wants to be with me.” Flynn’s bad mood vanished, and I laughed as he slid his hand over to rub my thigh. I linked my fingers with his and snickered as they wriggled between mine.
“I’m sorry I was so mean,” Brandt whined, and I was still amused as Flynn gave me the final directions to Brandt’s house. The little place was in an okay neighborhood... maybe—I’d always thought of the east side of New Gothenburg as being one of those places you didn’t go at night if you could help it. That probably wasn’t fair, though. All the houses seemed like they were in good shape, and most of the neighbors had security lights on, but Brandt’s home was dark. Sighing, I parked the car in his short driveway.
“Let’s get you inside.” I glanced into the rearview mirror, and Brandt gave me a shy, embarrassed smile. “I’ll forgive you for accusing me of being a bounce-back fuck if you get in your house safely.”
“Oh, I’m fine,” he said, waving me off with such exuberance it made me even more worried than I already had been. How much had they drunk?
“We’ll wait until you’re in, and you text Flynn you’re okay. No arguments.” I glared at him in the mirror.
He stared at me, brows furrowing, and I smiled.
“Yeah, okay. Thank you for the ride. You better be nice to Flynn.”
Once he had the door open and managed to get out on his feet, he wobbled, and I held my breath as he closed the door and stumbled toward the front of the house. He stopped and pulled his keys out of his pocket, swaying while he held them up and sorted through them, clearly searching for the one that belonged to the front door. He flinched as a cat ran past him, then bounded after it with his hand out, intent on petting it.
“Will he be okay?”
“Yes, this is a normal night for him,” Flynn said, but we both held our breath as he slipped to one knee on the sidewalk before he straightened again and went on. The cat danced out of reach, and he seemed to give up and head in the direction of the house again.
“Just like this?”
Flynn snorted. “Well, no. Tonight was stressful because we were talking to donors, and afterward Dr. Hun bought the wine, but she had to leave early, and after she left everyone else abandoned us, so that left me and Brandt alone with six nearly full bottles of good wine.”
My chest tightened. “Six?” I glanced down at his belly. “That’s a lot.”
He smiled, and I ended up grinning back because he was so pleased with himself. I couldn’t get over how cute he was like this, not that I wanted to see it often. “We were able to give away three of them, but....” He shrugged.
“Okay,” I said with a laugh. “Please call me anytime. I never want you to get hurt driving home or hurt anyone else.” I brushed my hand over the short hair on top of his head. “I care about you too much for that.”
He grimaced. “Yeah. I wasn’t actually planning on driving home, but the last time we paid for a ride and were lit, the driver gave us shit about it, so Brandt didn’t want to get an Uber. And then the car wouldn’t start anyway—”
“It’s fine, but youwillcall me in the future.” I leaned closer and stared at him. “No questions.”
He nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
The words had an immediate effect on me and I groaned as my cock plumped and pushed against my jeans. The porch lights on Brandt’s little house lit up, and I figured getting him inside was the best we could do for him, so I pulled out and pointed the car in the direction of Flynn’s house. “Did you have a nice time?” He was so quiet that I glanced at him and had to laugh at the stricken expression. “What happened?”
“Uh.” He took his hand back from me. “I think.... Okay, the event tonight was to have a meeting for potential donors to let them know how we would use their money for the law school. Talk to them. Convince them to give more.” He grimaced and looked so frantic that a little lightbulb went on in my head. We’d had an early dinner tonight, and Papa had been talking about a fundraiser. Why I hadn’t put two and two together at the time, I wasn’t sure. Flynn’s phone vibrated in his pocket and he tugged it out before shoving it back in, so I assumed it was Brandt finally letting him know he was inside.
“Which one did you meet, Dad or Papa?”
He groaned and rubbed at his face, eyes open far too wide. “How did you guess?”
“It’s a small world,” I mumbled. “And they like to brag that Jury and I are in law school. Plus, I knew what they were up to tonight. I am smart enough to put a few things together. So, which one?”
