“I’m fine. I promise. Everybody stop worrying.” The way Kaden melts into Luke’s embrace tells me his boyfriend is not the problem here.
“Guys, can I have a second with Kaden, please?” Luke asks us, ending his questioning eyes on mine before I look at Kaden.
“I’m good,” he assures me.
Gabe joins the rest of the group outside and starts explaining what happened in the restaurant.
He describes a guy with Kaden in the hallway near the restrooms, and right away, we all know who it was that fucked with him once again—Tyler.
I turn around to go back inside, shaking with anger, but Gabe grabs my bicep. His bare touch on my arm sends a tingling sensation all the way up to my neck, regardless of his firm grip.
“Ender, don’t. Let Luke handle it, please.” I turn to walk away until Gabe gently tugs me toward him again. “He won’t let anyone hurt Kaden, trust me on that one.” I want to tell him no, and continue walking in there, but the emotion behind Gabe’s words stops me.
“Who drove Kaden here?”
I raise my hand to answer Luke.
“Can I trust you to take him home, walk him to his apartment door, and not leave until he’s inside, and the door is locked?”
To say I’m impressed with Luke’s protectiveness is an understatement. “That’s not even a question—yes, absolutely.”
I see Gabe in my periphery, staring at me instead of watching Kaden contesting whatever Luke is asking of him.
“Swoon,” Faith and Connor remark about something Luke said.
Obviously, my mind is more focused on the man who I behaved like an idiot toward, but somehow, he still seems interested.
After everyone says goodbye, Gabe still lingers close by as we walk away. I catch a glimpse of him over my shoulder, and I’m gifted with his gorgeous smile. The little bit of hope I had for his forgiveness has returned. I offer him a smile in return; thankful he hasn’t completely given up on me—yet.
When I get back in the car, I grab my phone to text Gabe. He can let Luke know that Kaden got home safely—at least, that’s what I tell myself.
To my surprise, when I open my phone, I have two texts from Gabe.
It was really nice to see you again, Ender.
I hope you all made it home safely.
Now is not the time to respond—not with Connor leaning over the center console, staring at my phone before I even have a chance to close it.
“Uh-huh. I thought there was something going on,” he says, one eyebrow cocked. “He practically undressed you with onelook in the restaurant. Start talking, and I want every little detail.”
“We are not having this conversation—there’s nothing to talk about. Leave it alone.” I have no intention of talking about Gabe with him. “Can someone just text Luke and let him know Kaden is home safe?”
Music fills the car as soon as I start it, drowning out Connor and giving me a welcome reprieve from his interrogation.
As soon as we walk in the door, we gather our snacks and plop on the couches for a movie.We decide to watch ‘I Love You, Man’ for about the tenth time, but halfway through, both Connor and Faith pass out, cuddled up on the big couch together. Without their running commentary about the movie, I’m left with nothing to distract myself with but my phone. I scroll through my text thread with Gabe—it’s heartwarming to read his playfulness and dedication to keeping in contact with me. I feel awful for ignoring him for so long, and the feeling doesn’t let up until I finally text him back.
Home safe. Finishing up a movie. It was nice to see you too.
Thanks for letting me know. *smiling face with hearts emoji*
The seconds tick by at a snail’s pace as I wait for him to strike up a conversation. My heart flutters when I see the typing indicator.
Did you enjoy your dinner?
I ran out of the cinnamon ones, so I’m stuck with a bag of the assorted basic flavors.
*face with tears of joy emoji* Don’t worry, I won’t tell Luke you basically insulted his menu.
