That meant so much he wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
Riley shuffled closer, tucking his head under Brent’s chin. “So has this helped? Are you ready to go home tomorrow?”
Brent sighed, shifting his arms to wrap them around Riley. “Yeah, mostly. I’m okay, I’m just… I’m dreading the pity, y’know? The looks people are gonna give me. Like they did when mom and dad died.”
The pity had been the worst part. People acting like Brent was too delicate to touch after his parents’ death had made him feel so alone, so isolated. Like he’d never be part of the community again, like people were afraid that if they got too close to him, they’d die, too.
Riley hadn’t been like that. Not at all. Riley was good at tragedy.
Probably because his dad had died first.
“They’ll be on your side,” Riley said. “You know that. People love you.”
“It doesn’t matter whatsidethey’re on. I don’t really want people taking sides. I just don’t want them feeling sorry for me.”
“So you need a beautiful wife by tomorrow night?” Riley suggested.
Brent laughed. It wasn’t what he meant, but that was exactly the way Riley’s mind worked. “I don’t think that’s the perfect solution you’re presenting it as.”
“Really? Because I look great in a dress. I’ve got the legs for it,” Riley said.
“I… have no idea how to respond to that.”
The mental image of Riley in a dress was all kinds of confusing.
He probably did have the legs for it, though.
“They’re very comfortable,” Riley said. “Surprisingly so.”
“If this is an elaborate plan to get me into a dress, I’m not falling for it.” Brent paused. “You would make a beautiful wife, though.”
“Thank you,” Riley said, laughter in his voice. “That’s really all I wanted to hear.”
Brent snorted. He knew Riley was just trying to cheer him up, but it was still working.
He also fully believed that Riley had worn a dress at least once. Riley wouldn’t have given a damn about that kind of thing.
Brent wished he could be more like Riley in so many ways. Not that he wanted to take up wearing dresses, but in a general sense, he wished he didn’t worry so much about what people thought. Life would have been so much easier.
“Hey,” Riley spoke up again, lifting his head out from under Brent’s chin. “You know I’ll stick with you, right? I’m not going anywhere until you’re okay. Whether you like it or not.”
Brent’s stomach clenched. He’d expected Riley to disappear as soon as possible once they got back.
“I think I’d like it,” Brent said after a moment, his heart hammering in his chest.
If Riley was planning on staying, did that mean…?
No. It couldn’t mean he wanted them to be together. Brent wasn’t about to get that lucky.
Besides, Riley almost certainly thought this was a rebound thing, and Brent wasn’t sure that it wasn’t.
They were better off leaving all this here, cherishing the memory, and going back to being friends.
Brent could live with that.
He’d have to.
