Brock lets go of Braden’s arm. “You can go now.”
Braden storms off. I hear the front door swing open, then slam shut.
“I’m going to bed,” Brock says.
He leaves, and I’m alone in the living room, stunned and confused. What the hell just happened? Did Brock just stick up for me? Why is he letting me see Jackson?
I go to my room and call Jackson and tell him what happened.
“You should’ve seen Braden,” I say. “I’ve never seen him that mad.”
“Stay away from him,” Jackson says. “When he gets that way, he loses control. Stay in your room and lock your door until he’s calmed down.”
“He’s not even here. He left.”
“He’ll still be pissed tomorrow. Try to avoid him all weekend if you can.”
“What do you think this means? Brock telling Braden to leave us alone? You think he’s saying we can date?”
“Brock won’t be a problem. It’s Braden we’ll have to deal with unless Brock can keep him in line.”
“How do you know Brock won’t be a problem? Maybe he was just going easy on me tonight. He could change his mind in the morning.”
“Shit,” Jackson mutters.
“What happened?”
“My security cameras aren’t working. I was trying to see the recordings for tonight but there’s nothing there.”
“Why were you checking the cameras?”
“I thought I heard someone out back. I went to check, but didn’t see anyone. You weren’t back there, were you?”
“No. Maybe it was Braden. What time did you hear the noise?”
“Right when I got home so it couldn’t have been Braden. But now that he knows about us, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to do something. I need to try to fix this.”
“Do you know how?”
“I’ve fixed them before. Sometimes it’s just a loose wire. The wind was bad tonight. It could’ve knocked the cameras around.”
“Maybe that was the noise you heard.”
“Maybe. I need to go check. Should I call you back when I’m done?”
“I’m really tired. I’m going to try to sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”
“Just avoid him. Braden will calm down. He just needs a few days.”
“Can we do something tomorrow? I need to get out of here.”
“Sure. I have practice in the morning, but I can come get you after that.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow.” I pause. “I love you, Burt.”
He laughs. “We don’t need the code names anymore.”
“Then I love you, Jackson.”
