Page 33 of Sweet

After I leave the bathroom, I’m still in my head, mentally comparing Jess to the one picture Cas sent me weeks ago. It’s no use, really. I can’t rely on memory alone this time. They aren’t built so differently that I can say for certain, nor can I rule out the possibility entirely. I end up crawling into bed with more questions than answers. The bed shifting must disturb Jess because he moves closer to me before wrapping an arm around me with a contented sigh and kissing my shoulder. Not even while awake. He really does stuff like that even in his sleep, because that’s how sweet he is.

The next morning, Jess leaves early since he’s opening. I see him only in passing at work since I’m closing again. More than likely, we’ll head back to my house again on Sunday evening, butwe haven’t made any official plans. I’m thinking about that on my way out, because as much as I’m looking forward to calling Cas tonight, I’m also dreading the thought of having to bail on him again when Jess stays over. I’d almost rather talk all night with Cas than spend it fucking Jess, and that can’t be normal.

As soon as I turn right out of the parking lot of the store, my headlights illuminate a truck pulled off on the side of the main road… and Bailey. Huh. After turning around in the empty street, I park behind him, then step out of my car.

“You okay?” Not really sure what else to say, since his truck doesn’t look as if it’s been in an accident and I don’t see a flat.

“Yeah…” Bailey says. He throws his hands up, clearly frustrated, but doesn’t let it break the surface. “I think it’s the transmission, but I have no idea.”

“Okay, hop in and I’ll drive you home,” I say.

“You don’t have to…”

“How else are you getting home?”

“Tow truck should be here soon and I need to be here. Thanks, though.”

“I don’t mind waiting.”

“You just got out of work.”

“How do you know?”

Bailey swings an arm out and gestures to the dark building in the distance. Okay, maybe he does know. With a sigh, he puts both hands in his pockets. Now that the sun has gone down, the air has a slight chill again.

I pull my hoodie over my head and hand it over, but Bailey shakes his head. All while he shivers from a sudden breeze. “It’s fall, dude. That’s why I wore long sleeves.”

“Well, it was warm when I left this afternoon.” Bailey makes an exasperated sound, but he takes my work sweatshirt from me and pulls it over himself.

“Do you have to stand out here for the tow truck?”

“I don’t think so,” he says.

“Let’s wait in my car. I don’t mind.”

“You have to be up early tomorrow.”

“Are we staying out all night? Because an hour or two won’t make that big a difference to me. I never go to bed when I should.”

“Me either. I don’t learn.” Bailey softly chuckles, then lets out a long sigh before walking toward my car.

The door’s unlocked still, so he climbs into the passenger seat, unprompted. I join him and turn the heat on low to take the chill out of the air.

“So…” As much as I want to ask about him and Jess, I don’t let myself. “Long day for you too, I take it?”

“You could say that.” He sighs. “Most days are. I’ve got a lot going on and not much time for anything else. Anyone else.”

Well, that opens a door I shamelessly waltz through. “I figured as much, you know, since you aren’t seeing anyone… right?”

“More or less,” he says. “Why?”

I shrug. “I figured Jess would be the first to tell me otherwise.”

As much as I’m hoping to hear how he feels about Jesse, Bailey doesn’t take the bait. He snickers but says nothing else on the subject. “You two really are close, huh?”

“Yeah, we met on the job. Maybe four years ago? It was right after I moved out here. And Jess worked for the farm all through high school, then came back after college. Once I got hired, we became friends really fast.”

Bailey hums.

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