Page 15 of The Jock
“Some of them are. Mostly I keep an eye on them and they tell me what they need.”
Colby reached out and gently brushed his fingers against a fluffy leafed plant. “I was hoping you’d come have a drink with me tonight.”
Taylor looked bemused. “Why?”
“Well, because I’m trying to be a better brother than I have been. And I wanted to show you that I’m sorry for what happened. I hate that I can tell you’re still mad at me.”
Taylor looked away, turning his attention back to his plants. “I’m not mad. I’m embarrassed, okay?”
“Okay,” Colby said. “I still want you to come have a drink with me. If you need help with your plants, I can totally lend a hand.”
Taylor reached out and moved the fluffy plant out of Colby’s reach. “I’m not sure I trust you.”
“Hey, those trees you abandoned at my place are still alive, I’ll have you know.”
Taylor looked shocked to hear that. “They are? I thought you’d have given them away or left them behind a dumpster or something.”
“I’d planned to smuggle them back into your place, but we know how that turned out. And once that went tits up, I thought it must be an omen or whatever. So I’ve been taking good care of them. Got them one of those special lights too, because none of my windows really get enough sunlight for them.”
“Okay.” Taylor sighed. “I’ll go for a drink with you.”
“Great. I’ll meet you out front.”
Taylor made a strangled sound. “Now?”
“Yeah?”
“Like right now?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I don’t care what kind of hole-in-the-wall you’re going to drag me to, I’m not going smelling like deep fryer. I’ll be out in fifteen minutes.” Taylor stomped into his bathroom and half a minute later, Colby heard the shower start.
He made his way to the bathroom door. “Did you need help with the plants?”
“If you touch my babies, I will murder you in your sleep, Colby.”
“Okay, so no touching the foliage. Got it.” Colby went to the living room and thought about stretching out on the couch and grabbing a fifteen-minute catnap, but he doubted that he’d wake up if he gave in. He texted Milo instead.
They’d kept in pretty steady contact since Colby went to see the show and Milo had apologized several times for the behavior of his ex-boyfriend. After he explained that it was a recent breakup, he changed the subject, clearly uncomfortable discussing it in more detail with someone he just met.
That was okay though, because they had other things to talk about. It turned out they were both fans ofAmerican Ninja Warrior. They’d even watched an episode together. Sort of. They streamed it and texted back and forth. It was easy to talk to Milo and it made Colby want to talk about Milo.
There was something that held him back, though. Nash had met him, so it wouldn’t be weird to start talking about this random new friend he made. But for some reason, whenever he tried to bring up something Milo said, or something he talked about with Milo, he clammed up. It was like he was hoarding all his thoughts about Milo like a greedy dragon.
Colby let Milo know that he and Taylor would be there soon and to save them a couple of good seats. Milo responded with a bunch of kissy emojis and before Colby could think too much about why that made his stomach tighten and his face heat, the bathroom door swung open and Taylor walked across the hall to his room with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“I need five more minutes.”
“That’s fine. Did you eat at work or do you want food you didn’t cook for a change? I think the place we’re going has food.”
“I like my food,” was Taylor’s response. He came out a minute later in a pair of jeans and a tight t-shirt. A flashy belt drew Colby’s attention for half a second. It was enough to give Taylor pause.
“Is it too much?” Taylor reached for the buckle.
“You’re fine. Where we’re going, your belt won’t be an issue.” Colby pulled his keys out of his pocket.
“Are you sure?”
