Page 10 of After Hours

Horror that I had somehow hurt him flew through my mind, and I cringed with my hands tucked under my arms. “I’m sorry, I—”

He shook his head and dabbed at the corner of his lip, a spot of blood appearing on one finger. “I forgot I split my lip with the whole climbing thing. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I made you bleed!”

Zane chuckled gently and reached for me. He pulled me in and tucked me in the circle of his arms, his uninjured cheek resting against my curls. “Shh, baby. You did not. The rocks did.” He pulled back and met my eyes. “Believe me, kissing you was worth it. Just wait until I get all healed up.” With one final quick squeeze, he pulled back and scooted toward the ladder.

He didn’t kiss me again when he dropped me back off with the inn, but he did give me one of his sweet, quirky smiles. “I’ll text you.”

That promise and the hope of more kisses once his wound healed kept me warm all the way back to the cabin. The term of endearment – baby- echoed through my mind. It made me feel all cozy inside. As far as first dates went, I had to say that one was pretty perfect.

Chapter 6

Zane

Wyatt sat on the back patio again, his laptop open but facing away so I couldn’t see what was on the screen. He spent a lot of time out there despite the dropping temperatures and some chilly autumn drizzle over the past few days. I worried about him, but that was nothing new.

I wanted to ask what he was doing on his computer or what he planned to do once his shoulder healed but couldn’t quite make myself do it. What if the pressure tipped him back into his old life? Sitting on the back porch was better than spending his money at rough bars or getting wasted in strangers’ basements.

Every morning, he stripped the blankets off the couch and folded them neatly at one end. He washed his dishes and tookout the trash. He never interrupted my after-work nap and stayed quiet when I went to bed before nine even though I knew he stayed up much later.

I worried about him, but it was a different kind of worry than I had before. Clean and sober Wyatt was a mystery, and I found myself wanting to get to know him better.

He tapped a few more keys on his laptop before closing the lid and looking up. A quick smile flashed when he caught me watching him, and he got to his feet and came inside, tucking his laptop under the side table near the couch. “Hey, Z. What’s up? I was just…” He waved his hand vaguely toward the patio and shrugged.

“What?”

Wyatt’s eyes widened and he glanced at his laptop again before meeting my gaze. “What what?” My brother didn’t usually act secretive. He was more often guilty of oversharing stuff I didn’t want to know about.

I sighed and headed to the kitchen to make coffee only to find the pot already hot and waiting for me. My mug filled, I muttered “Thanks” before sitting at the little table by the front window. When Wy hovered, I pointed toward the second chair. “Sit down and talk to me.”

Although he sat without complaint, he didn’t look comfortable at all.

“What’s up, Wyatt?” When he frowned and opened his mouth, I realized I probably sounded like an asshole trying to interrogate him. “You’re being the best roommate ever, and I really appreciate it. I’m glad you’re getting to PT so you can heal up and all. I have zero complaints about anything, so don’t start with the self-deprecating shit or apologizing for things, okay?” I flashed him a smile, glad my lip healed up quickly from the unfortunate first-date split.

His shoulders dropped an inch, and he heaved a deep breath. “Well, good. I mean, thank you, bro. I don’t want you…” He trailed off and shifted to stare anywhere but at me. “I don’t want you to hate me.” His voice got even quieter. “I put you through a lot of bullshit.”

Forget talking at each other across the table. I got up, dragged him out of the chair by his good arm, and pulled him into a hug. What had I said to Oscar? Family was forever. I wasn’t going to have Wy feeling bad about needing me when he was working so hard to better his life. “Wyatt, you’re my brother. My twin. We shared a womb, for fu—”

“Eww, bro. Don’t talk about mom’s innards, please.”

A laugh burst out, and I thumped him on the back before letting go. “Yeah, you put me through some stuff, but I’m here for everything now, okay? As long as you keep remembering to be the type of man, the type of brother, you want to be… We’re good.” When he nodded, I pushed him gently back into the chair. “So, what’s up?”

A look I’d never seen on my brother’s face before appeared. It was one I recognized from way back when I was learning some things about myself and trying to figure out how to tell mom and dad. Wyatt huffed and gave a strange smile. “You’ve had a boyfriend, right?”

An image of Oscar’s sweet grin filled my mind. We weren’t anything like boyfriends after one date and a few meet-cute run-ins, but it was easy to imagine us heading in that direction. “Um, I have in the past. Nothing too serious.”

Wyatt tipped his head. “Aren’t you dating someone now? You mentioned a date the other day. You know any guy you date has to get the twin seal of approval, right?”

“Oh, is that so? All of a sudden, you’re the gatekeeper for my love life? What makes you think you can judge the quality of gay men for me, huh?”

He shrugged and got that funny smile on his face again. “Well, there’s this guy I met at the recovery meeting place.”

I blinked and sat back against the hard wooden slats of the chair. My brother hooked up with a long string of women in the past. I didn’t know if I could call any of them relationships, but they were always all obviously women. The other half of his comment hit my brain, and the surprise turned to concern. “Wait, you met him at recovery? That’s not… Wyatt. That’s not a good idea. Isn’t that one of the rules, that you don’t date other addicts?”

He shook his head. “No, no. He’s not an addict. He’s the janitor.”

“You’re hooking up with the rehab center janitor?”

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