Page 35 of Curtain Call
“Of course, I did. That’s why I had you install one,” he winks at her.
Colin was smiling now thinking of Riley being in his home. A home he thought one day they’d share. During the renovations, he added some shiplap walls, a farmhouse sink, and some distressed brick to add to the old charm of the cottage house. The farmhouse look is very popular, but it’s more about keeping it true to the house design and the old-world feel of Rockport. Anything modern would have looked out of place. Besides, Colin didn’t want his home to feel like a dentist’s office waiting room.
“How was he,” Colin asks. “He was still a little distant and groggy this morning when I left.”
“Hungover and moody.”
“Shit. Do you think -”
“Yep.”
Colin had his suspicions about Riley’s weight. He also knew that Riley would overthink last night since Colin slept in the guestroom and not with him. Colin also knows that he needs to intervene even if it means losing him again. He would rather lose Riley as a friend than lose him by saying goodbye at his gravesite.
Colin: Hey babe. Can we meet up later? Would love to see you.
Riley: Just leaving your place so be sure to lock up. Going for a run. I’ll stop by later after checking in with the parentals.
Colin feels like the last two weeks have been a dream. He waited for so long to be with Riley, but now he feels like Riley is slipping right through his fingers. He’s grasping but can’t hold on to the slippery person Riley is becoming again. Maybe he built this up in his head too much. Maybe he rushed things and Riley wasn’t ready. He just feared that if he didn’t, he would lose Riley to NYC again.
Colin finishes putting away boxes of popcorn seeds in the storeroom when he hears the chime of the theater door opening. Entering through the doors side by side are Mac and Jax. They are holding hands while Mac carries a tray of three coffees and a chai latte for Riley in the other.Jax is carrying a white bag of baked goods in his free hand.
“Two things. One. You're a God send because I’m dying for some coffee since I forgot to buy more pods for my machine,” Colin says before motioning between Mac and Jax’s intertwined fingers, “and two, what’s this? You didn’t mentionthiswhen we talked earlier.”
“That’s because we talked aboutyourmess,” Mac teases.
“Riley’s not a mess,” Colin jokes. “Speaking of Riley, did you tell him aboutthis?”
“I talked to him this morning, butIwas not the topic of conversation,” she says while dropping Jax’s hand to lift a cup out of the tray, “you were.”
Jax rubs his temple with his freed hand.
“You wouldn’t happen to have any aspirin by chance?”
“My purse is in the truck,” Mac replies while reaching into her pocket for her keys.
“There’s some in my desk. Up the stairs, the door on the left, in the middle desk drawer.”
“Nowyouare the Godsend,” Jax tells him before setting the bag on the counter and heading down the hallway.
Colin looks at Mac with wide eyes while leaning over the counter to get closer to her.
“Details, please.”
“They are wonderful. Very sweet and attentive.”
“Wait. Did you?” Colin wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer because that would give him a visual that he wasn’t prepared to have floating around in his brain.
“I’ll only kiss and tell if you do,” she winks at him, “but according to Riley, you didn’t even sleep in the same bed.”
“It’s not that I didn’t want to, trust me, I’ve thought about it way more than I should, but Riley was so drunk that it didn’t seem right. It felt wrong in fact. When Riley got to my place, I started to help him undress and only made it as far as his shoes and pants before he passed out.”
“Wow, I didn’t realize he wasthatdrunk.”
“If we are going to take this any further, sexually, I need him to be coherent. And since I am technically still a virgin, I need it to be special. Memorable, even. Not some drunken fling.”
Last night, Colin sat on the bed next to Riley and ran his fingers through his hair. He slid the back of his palm down his jaw and kissed his lips. He rested his open palm on his chest and felt his heartbeat. He eventually squeezed between Riley and the edge of the bed where his ass hung off just to hold Riley close to him for a moment. He didn’t share any of this with Mac. He didn’t share it with Riley either.
“Well, my love,” Mac reaching over the counter to cup his hands into her,” I understand, but with the history between you two, Riley may not. There are some mixed signals, and you know how his brain overloads.”
