“If I do, would you be willing to promise you’ll come out here so you can keep an eye on him for yourself?” It was dirty as hell, but it just might work. He and Mav were attached at the hip from what Deegan said, and it made sense that Tanner’s worsening mood directly correlated to how long it had been since he’d seen Mav.
“That’s probably a good idea,” he agreed. I wouldn’t admit that it hurt to hear him change his mind when it was looking after a friend instead of being with me. He had a big heart, and as much as he needed me to take care of him, he was still motivated by looking after others. “So, you’ll do it?”
“I’ll try, but no promises.” I didn’t like keeping things from him, but I couldn’t tell him I was pretty sure I already knew where to find Mav. It wasn’t the most common name out there, and Jack had been raving lately about a new employee at the club. I justified not telling him by remembering that there was a chance it was a coincidence, and they weren’t the same person. I didn’t want to give him false hope any more than I wanted to lie to him.
Later that night, I headed to Club DeSires to look around a bit. On my way, I called Jack.
“Ryan, good to hear from you, man.” He sounded so damn happy that I couldn’t help but be jealous. He had his hands full, between the club and his boy, but he’d never sounded so full of life.Thatwas whatIwanted. And if I could get Tanner out here, I was certain we’d be seeing more of Jack and Slade. He and Slade weren’t exactly the same, but enough they’d be fast friends. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“So, this is going to sound strange, but I’m hoping you can help me.” I explained the situation with Mav ghosting Tanner. When I asked Jack to confirm if they were the same person, he was understandably reluctant. In this world, discretion was everything, and he didn’t want to make a bad situation worse. Little did he realize, I was prepared to grovel. “Listen, I warned you it was strange, but I promise there’s no bad blood between the two of them. They’re both a bit lost on their own, and if this is the same Mav, I’m pretty sure he’s not calling Tanner because he’s worried that Tanner will tell him he’s being impulsive and irrational.”
“That’s not the kid I know,” Jack scoffed. “And if it is, I promise he’s in good hands. I never pegged John as being into guys, but when you see the two of them together, there’s no denying they fit. He’d kick the shit out of anyone who tries hurting Mav.”
“Yeah, well you’d have to understand these two.” I sighed heavily. Their relationship was a complicated one. It had been since they were kids, and I doubted Tanner would ever stop worrying about Mav. “They have a lot of history, and from everything you’ve told me, the Mav you’re getting to know is a far cry from how he was back home. I just… If I can make sure he’s okay and reassure Tanner, it’ll go a long way toward making my home life a bit more peaceful.”
“Speaking of, any update on getting him to move out here?” Leave it to Jack to ask the tough questions. The unforeseen benefit of investing in the club was he and I spent more time together than we used to. Even though I wasn’t on-site every day, I was still involved behind the scenes.
Jack had become something of a sounding board for all of my frustration. I didn’t want Tanner to know how much I struggled with the distance between us because that would influence if and when he moved closer to me. At the same time, it sucked knowing we’d been so close to him packing everything he owned to follow me out here, only to have life kick us down.
I grunted, still annoyed about the fact he sounded closer than I’d heard him since we’d originally talked about our living arrangements before Nana’s stroke. And I knew it wasn’t fair to assume it was Mav influencing his decision, but it sure as hell felt that way.
“Uh oh, trouble in paradise?”
“No, nothing like what you’re assuming,” I responded. “Just, earlier today, he promised he’d come out here if I make sure Mav is okay.”
“And you’re butthurt because it’s notyouhe’s rushing out here to be with,” Jack guessed when I didn’t fill in any other details. “Have you considered the fact, knowing both of you are out here is what made him change his mind? It’s been a while since his grandma got sick, so the timing might be right and it’s a happy coincidence.”
“You could be right,” I conceded. “But what if he gets out here and realizes he made a mistake?”
“What if he gets here andyourealize things seemed more solid than they were? What if you’re the one who feels like moving in so quickly was a bad move for your relationship?” Even though he couldn’t see me, I flipped him off. Neither of those were going to happen. Yes, we hadn’t spent much time together, and a lot of that was under less-than-ideal circumstances, but we’d loved one another longer than either of us realized. Failure wasn’t an option. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you bite down on that tongue any harder. My point here is, neither of you know for certain how things are going to work out once he’s settled in and you’re not just visiting. Living together is totally different. You’re going to learn shit about him you’d rather not know. Are you ready for that?”
“I’d happily put up with his annoying habits if it meant having him here with me,” I insisted. And I meant it. He couldn’t be any more annoying now than he was as a teen, and that time hadn’t changed how I felt about him.
“Then I suggest you pull your head out of your ass and book a flight to help your boy move out here.”
Hell yes. That sounded like the best idea I’d heard all day. But first, I needed to lay eyes on Mav so I could reassure Tanner he was okay.
22
Tanner
I wasself-aware enough to know I’d go insane sitting around my empty apartment while I waited for Ryan to call and let me know if he’d found Mav, so I picked up the phone to call in reinforcements. My promise to Ryan this morning meant I had a lot of work ahead of me.
When Mav moved, he only worried about his own shit because he figured I still needed furniture and everything else to survive on my own. I was even more annoyed that he’d moved out now, because it meant I had to clear the apartment so I could move. And the rusty Honda Mav had left so I’d have wheels, wasn’t going to cut it.
Haley went above and beyond. She and Deegan arrived at the apartment a little over an hour later, arms heaped with boxes, old newspapers, tape, and markers.
“It’s about time you quit stringing him along,” Deegan grumbled as he dropped a stack of boxes in the middle of the living room.
“It’s good to see you, too.” Before, I would have assumed this was his passive-aggressive way of letting me know he still wasn’t thrilled about me being with his best friend, but we’d spent enough time together that I knew he was just worried about both of us. “And I haven’t been stringing him along. I would have happily flown home with him if it wasn’t for Nana’s stroke.”
“You could have told Mom to shove it,” he suggested, as if that was an option.
Sure, I could have, but she would have made everyone’s life a living hell. “She wasn’t wrong. I’m the one person in the family who could take the time off, and her paying the balance of the rent through the end of the lease made it worthwhile.”
That was the reason I was able to leave with a moment’s notice. I wouldn’t have to worry about the management company giving me shit about moving out two months before the lease came up. She was going to lose her mind when she realized pressuring me into taking care of Nana made it easier to run off with Ryan.
“Either way, that doesn’t make it okay for her to assume you didn’t have a life of your own,” Deegan argued. “You have to really stand up to her or she’s never going to quit walking all over you. Trying to piss her off isn’t the same as doing what’s best for you.”
