Page 70 of The Shots You Take

And bought me flowers, Riley wanted to add.And helped at the shop. And stayed when I told you to leave. And held me last night until I slept well for the first time in over a week.

“It was a long time ago,” Riley said weakly. “Whatever we had.”

“Too long ago?”

The obvious answer was yes, of course. But sitting here now with Adam, even with their gray hairs and the gulf of years they’d both lived without each other, it didn’t seem like long at all. “I don’t know,” he said, because it was all he could offer.

Adam’s lips formed half a smile. “I’ll take it for now. Come eat.”

He stood, and Riley followed him to the kitchen. They ate at the table, the flowers pushed slightly aside so they could see each other. The chowder was delicious, despite the recipe being pretty basic. It was buttery and warm; perfect comfort food.

“I’m really impressed with myself,” Adam said. “Like, I should open a restaurant.”

Riley smiled. “There’s a retirement plan: Shep’s Soup Shack.”

“Yes! Perfect.” He reached for another roll. “How was work?”

“Fine. I think a lot of people were disappointed that you weren’t there.”

“Aw, now I feel bad.”

“Don’t. You’ve done plenty.” And then Riley realized how rude he’d been. “Is your shoulder any better? You shouldn’t have been cooking—”

“It’s a little better today. And the cooking was fine. I’m lucky it’s not my dominant arm.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Good, but you should be resting it. You said you’re getting more surgery soon?”

“Very soon, I think. I meet with my doctor on Wednesday, and I’ll probably get a date then. I’m getting the joint replaced.”

Riley winced. “That’ll be rough to recover from.”

“No doubt, but much better in the long run, I hope.”

He ran his finger along the gilded edge of his dessert plate. “I saw that game. When you got hurt.”

Adam huffed. “Which time?”

“The first one. That weird hit where your arm got twisted behind you.”

“Yeah. That was the bad one.”

“I should have called you, while you were recovering. Or at least sent a text to let you know I was, I don’t know. Concerned.”

Adam smiled. “Concerned?”

Riley leaned back in his chair. “I felt sick about it. I was mad at you, but I also wanted—” He stopped himself. What he’d wanted to do was fly to Toronto and take care of him.

“I would have liked that,” Adam said quietly. “For what it’s worth.”

Riley swallowed.

“I thought about you a lot,” Adam continued. “All the time, during those years.”

Riley felt like Adam was holding his heart in his hand, alternating between caressing it and squeezing until Riley wanted to scream in agony. “I tried not to think about you at all,” he said.

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