“Is she okay?” I asked.
He glanced at Jake then back at me. “No, but we can talk about it later.”
Riley started to walk away, but I snatched his wrist and pulled him back into my arms, holding him until he finally relaxed into me. I didn’t hesitate to kiss him when he pulled away, not caring at all that Jake was watching.
“Don’t be too long, okay?” I said, after telling him where the closest coffee shop was.
As soon as he was out of the apartment, Jake’s pretty-boy face split into a wide grin. “What. The. Fuck! Never thought I’d see the day-”
“Oh, shut up,” I growled. “And you need to give me the damn key back. I don’t remember ever giving you one.”
He scoffed. “You don’t remember that, huh? Ouch.”
I could feel the questions rolling off him in waves, but I had a few of my own first.
“How’d he find you?” I placed the mug of coffee Riley made me earlier in the microwave to warm it up and began eating a banana while I waited. I was halfway finished with it before stopping to wonder how the banana even got there. I didn’t buy fruit. Ever.
“I found him, actually. Tosh called me in a panic since you weren’t answering your phone. Demanded I come here to check on you even though she wouldn’t tell me what was going on. Your apartment wasn’t in my zone to patrol for the night, though, so I had to wait until I was off. Your boy was waiting by the door when I got here.”
My jaw dropped. Riley was waiting by the door? For how long, I wondered. And how did he even find my apartment? I vaguely remembered him saying he ran into my sister at the hospital and put the pieces together.
“You better not have said something to him, Jake, or so help me,” I warned.
“Trust me, I had a thousand questions for your little boy toy, but I didn’t say shit. I was too worried about you. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Tosh that worked up, Beck. So, stop stalling. Tell me who Gray Eyes is or tell me why you were drunk off your ass last night. I haven’t seen you that bad since the army. Scared the shit out of me, if I’m being honest. Your guy was pretty upset, too.”
Guilt pressed down on me, reminding me of all I’d put not just Riley through, but Jake too.
“Yeah, uh, sorry. His name is Preston, but you might hear me call him Riley. That’s what I knew him as when we were in foster care together.”
“Foster care? I figured he was the guy you mentioned from your past, but I didn’t think childhood.”
I nodded. “He was…ismy best friend. We lost touch right around when I graduated high school. He just disappeared one day and I never knew where he went.”
I pulled my coffee from the microwave, taking a sip.
“Oh, shit, Beck,” Jake said in a heavy tone as realization dawned. “That’s why you were so messed up when we met, then. Fuck, why didn’t you tell me about him? I could have helped you look. You know the PD has good resources for that kind of thing.”
I dropped my gaze, unwilling to meet his eyes. I’d lost count of how many times I considered it, but for some reason, I could never bring myself to ask the Atlanta PD for help, least of all Jake. I’d fucked Jake more times than I cared to admit just to try to forget Riley, so it felt wrong on all kinds of levels to ask him for help.
“He’s never been an easy subject for me. Riley was there through all the hard shit, you know? When my mom lost her rights to me and when my sister took me in even though she barely knew how to feed me or herself. He was there. He was everything, Jake. For five years, Riley was everything. It really fucked me up not having him anymore, especially not knowing what happened to him. That’s why I joined the army.”
“So, what, you were dating before he left? He seems a few years younger, though. Probably just figuring out he was gay when he left, right?”
I shook my head. “No, we never dated, but we would have, I think, if his grandfather hadn’t found him. His name changed when he was adopted. That’s why I could never find him.”
“How did you then?”
I pointed at the ship on the wall. “He made that.”
Jake was dumbfounded. “Wait, your guy is the artist from the market?”
Pride swelled in my chest at the mention of his work, and I couldn’t help but smile. “You should see some of the stuff he does, he’s amazing. Anyway, yeah, I saw his picture on the website and recognized him, even though he had a different name.”
“So that’s why you went back.”
I nodded.
“And, what, he just happened to be single? Don’t tell me he was miserable and pining for you too? You can’t be each other’s happy pills, Beck. Life doesn’t work like that.” His stern face revealed just how concerned my usually carefree, flirty friend was.
