Page 72 of Tender
“Together,” Cosimo told him.
It wasn’t everything he wanted to hear, but for the moment, it was enough.
CHAPTER TWENTY
MILES
Slamming the laptop shut,he leaned back in the window seat. He loved the back living room with the perfect view of the ocean. There was a small path that led from the pool to the beach, and while he hadn’t gone out there on his own, he was tempted now.
He’d always lived close to the coast, but it was rare when he got to indulge in leisure days where he could sit by the ocean and not worry about what he was sacrificing to do it. Where he could feel the waves lapping at his feet, and the breeze on his face, and the sun warming his shoulders, and not care about responsibility.
Stretching his legs, he stood up and decided that’s what he wanted now. Emmett was in his office working, but he was going to ask him to come anyway. The door was cracked open when he got there and he peered inside, his heart doing a little flip at the sight of Emmett in his button-up and thick-framed reading glasses.
It took a beat for the older man to look up at him, and though he looked stressed, his mouth curved into a tiny smile. It wasn’t his usual grin though, which made Miles’s gut twist. ‘What’s up?’ It was a sign Miles had started to recognize.
“I was thinking about going down to the water for a walk. Do you want to come?”
“No,” Emmett said, his gaze flickering back to his computer.
Miles waited a beat for him to say something else. A maybe later, or a, we can go in a few. But there was nothing.
“If you’re sure,” he chanced.
Emmett didn’t look up at him again. “I’m sure.”
And that was it. The silence was entirely dismissive. Swallowing against a thick throat, Miles turned away in horror when he felt his eyes get hot. He had no business getting upset. Emmett was clearly busy, and he was the one interrupting. He had no right to expect Emmett to cater to him all the time.
Fuck.
Was he really becoming such a spoiled brat after only a few weeks of attention?
Hurrying through the house, he debated about staying in, but he would drive himself up the wall if he did that. His thoughts were already spiraling, and he knew he wasn’t going to keep himself calm if he went back to the couch.
Grabbing his shoes, he headed out the back door, to the little gate, and headed up the path. By the time he got to the water, his heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. The sand was hot, but the pain was slightly grounding as he kicked off his shoes and headed toward where the waves were hitting the shore.
They were so small he couldn’t make out the sound of them over the wind, but the sight of them was soothing. He found a wet patch to sit on and dug his toes in before pulling his phone out of his pocket. He was tempted to send Emmett an apology text, but he knew that was just him seeking attention.
He thought about bothering Cosimo, but the man was at work dealing with tiny babies and their hearts. He had no business interrupting him either.
He settled for Juno instead.
Miles: Do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try, you’re going to screw up everything good in your life?
Juno didn’t answer by text. Instead, his icon popped up with a FaceTime. Miles thought about ignoring it, but he answered instead, and the moment Juno’s face appeared, Miles burst into tears.
“Oh, honey,” Juno murmured softly. “What happened?”
“Nothing. I just…fuck, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Every time I have something good, it’s like I sabotage it.”
“Are things not going well with the hot guys?”
Miles almost laughed. He’d given his friend a very brief rundown of what had been going on and where he was living.
Now he was starting to wonder if maybe he should have let his friend bully him into leaving, because if it all fell apart now, he was going to be completely and totally crushed.
He sniffed and passed a hand down his face to clear up some of the tear tracks. “I thought they were. Um…it was, you know. Okay for a bit.”
Juno wasn’t looking directly at him. It was like he was distracted by something at the top of the screen. Miles had been suspicious about him when they were together for Oliver’s wedding. Something about his eyes. But he ignored it again. For now.
