Page 79 of Until You

Chapter Twenty-One

Tyler walked into his condo, feeling good about his day with his brother. After he’d skipped the barbecue, he’d asked Eric to see the latest X-Men movie with him, then they ate dinner before Tyler dropped him off at home, making plans to see him on Wednesday night for dinner.

He felt like a first-class asshole. When he’d asked Eric to lunch, it had been out of obligation, but now he realized how much he liked the kid and really wanted to be part of his life.

Someone had to step up and make sure he was taken care of.

He expected the familiar suffocating feeling to swoop in, the tightening around his throat that made it difficult to breathe whenever he thought of someone being dependent on him, but it never came. Instead, it felt good to be needed.

He wouldn’t screw his brother over like their mother had screwed them all over.

He sat on his leather sofa and realized his mother had defined his life—not just his past, but his future, too. He didn’t trust people because neither of his parents could ever be counted on to be there when he needed them. But he also realized he had let some people in—Matt and Kevin. Britt and Randy.

What about Lanie?

Lanie scared him. He suspected he was going to end up like that poor bastard Ricky Henderson. Earlier he’d thought it was worth the risk, but now he wasn’t so sure.

She’d sent him a text while he’d been in the movie, but he’d discovered it as they’d walked out of the theater. He’d stared at it for several long seconds before he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He needed to figure out what he wanted first.

But a few hours later, he still had no answer. He wanted to respond to her text, but several hours had passed. What was he going to say?

He glanced around his apartment, trying to think of what to take a photo of. His bed seemed too crass. And truth be told, as much as he wanted her there, if she said she wanted to see him and not have sex, he’d be happy to have that too.

That realization washed through him, and he sank back into the couch. He’d never wanted to just hang out with a woman before without the possible reward of sex. He wasn’t sure he could ever be just friends with Lanie—he wanted her physically too damn much—but so far, he enjoyed her company out of bed as much as he enjoyed her in it.

He stood and moved to the living room window, then took a photo of the city lights. He attached it to the text he’d agonized over before he hit send.

This beautiful view will have to do until I see you on Thursday.

Then he waited. Nothing.

He sat back on the sofa and turned on the TV, then flipped through a couple hundred channels, finally landing on an old movie, but he felt unsettled and he was unsure why. Was it Lanie? Was it thinking so much about his mother?

He checked his phone in case he’d missed the vibrating alert. Nothing.

He’d gotten up to take a shower and go to bed when the phone rang. His heart sped up until he saw Matt’s number. He moved to his window as he answered.

“Hey.”

“How are you doing after your run-in with Nina Saturday night?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why don’t you get to what you’re really calling about?” Tyler barked.

“And what’s that, Mr. Mind Reader?” Matt asked in a calm voice.

“Lanie.”

“Hey, what you do with Lanie is your business. I’m more worried about you jumping back into dating after taking such a long break.”

“Five months isn’t that long.”

Matt paused. “Look, I know we’re guys and we don’t talk about our feeling much, but I want you to know you’re not alone. You have friends who care about you. You can talk to me and Kevin about anything.”

“I’m fine. I promise.” He paused. “I spent most of the day with Eric.”

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