Page 18 of Yours to Break

“I feel untethered. I don’t know how to deal withcaringfor him. I don’t just want to sleep with him,” I said slowly. “I mean—I do. God, I do, fuck. But I also want to know his favorite food or what he looks like when he wakes up. I want… all of it. Even the boring shit. Especially the boring shit.”

Hayes didn’t speak for a long beat. Then he let out a quiet whistle. “Wow. You’re fucked.”

“Yeah,” I said, letting my head fall back against the chair. “I know.”

There was another pause, then he said, “I don’t think you’re wrong, you know,” his voice softer than usual. “I think I might want the same thing.”

That surprised me. “You do?”

“Yeah,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just… didn’t want to admit it—didn’t want to say anything about it.”

I let out a breath, half a laugh. “So, what do we do?”

Hayes shrugged. “Maybe we try things his way. Soften our approach. Court him, I guess? Give him a rock like those penguins do?”

“The fuck?”

“He likes animals—likes watching documentaries where they follow wild animals around. I may have watched one or two. And now, if he brings up penguins? Boom. I’ve endeared myself to him. What kind of psycho knows that penguins give each other rocks?”

I snorted, “Obviously the kind that includes you.”

“Oh, fuck off, Hudson.”

Hayes’s smirk lingered even as he tossed a cushion at me, but there was something different in his eyes—lighter. Hopeful, maybe. Like he could already picture Oliver’s surprised, suspicious face when he handed over some shiny little pebble, pretending it meant nothing when it meant everything.

I leaned back into the couch, arms crossed, letting the quiet settle. “You really watched documentaries for him?”

Hayes didn’t answer right away. He shrugged again, more self-conscious this time. “I wanted to understand what calms him down. The world freaks him out. If I can give him a pocket of quiet—something familiar—maybe he won’t look at us like we scare him.”

It was ridiculous. We’d stolen people, broken bones, burned literal bridges—but here we were, talking aboutcourtingsomeone like we were awkward teenagers. Trying to figure out how to get a skittish thing like Oliver to come a little closer, stay a little longer.

9

Oliver

It’d been almost a week since I’d heard from Lane. It wasn’t like we spoke every day, but we’d usually text a bit here and there, or he’d send pictures of Chloe, or memes, or justsomething.

The only reason I was able to work today was because I promised myself that I’d stop by his apartment after closing. My anxious mind kept telling me that I must’ve done something wrong and Lane had blocked me; if that was the problem, maybe we could hash it out in person. I was also terrified that his stalker might’ve hurt him. If that were the case, I’d never forgive myself for waiting this long to help. I took a big breath in and released it slowly.

Lane was probably fine; I was overreacting.

Everything was fine.

It had to be.

I nodded resolutely, continuing to fold and hang the new vintage clothes I’d received. I needed to focus on work, and then everything could be sorted out later.

“Darling, where are you hiding?” A voice crooned.

Oh joy.Which one of them was it today?

I sighed and left the small back room where I kept my new finds.

“Can you please stop with the pet names? Especially at my place of business,” I asserted, turning past the large wooden pillar at the center of the floor. I held back a groan–both Hayes and Hudson stood at the counter.

“We’d stop if you agreed to a date,” Hayes said as his eyes roamed up and down my body. I looked down at myself, wincing as I realized I still had my yoga pants on. At least I had a baggy knit sweater on, so they couldn’t really see the shape of my upper body. I hated wearing form-fitting clothing in front of others. Though honestly, I’d gone to bed last night wearing this outfit and had been too focused on Lane’s radio silence this morning to change.

Hudson piped up, “One date. We pay for everything. No sex.” They looked at me like expectant puppies, but I was confused. I thought they only wanted to hook up with me.

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