Page 72 of Street of Dreams
Swallowing hard in order to hide his emotions, Jake buried his face in the length of Mac’s hair and inhaled the scent that was ingrained into his memory. It was woodsy and sweet. He just wanted to get lost in it and forget that he just put his heart on the line, but he couldn’t. He knew he didn’t deserve Mac’s love, but it still hurt like fucking hell not to hear the words back.
He thought about the song Mac sang tonight.Breakdown. And he wondered if Mac’s heart was irreparably broken. “I’m . . . I’m sorry,” he said, slowly, in a voice barely above a whisper.
“For what?”
“I know that song was about me. I saw the way it affected you. I’m sorry I hurt you. It’s the last thing I wanted to do.”
Mac’s brows pinched together, and his chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about that song. It was hard enough to sing it. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Jake nodded, feeling worse for bringing it up.
Mac took another deep breath and relaxed again. After a long pause, he asked, in a soft voice, “So, now what happens?”
There was so much that Jake couldn’t tell him. “I know you’re tired of hearing it, but you just gotta trust me. I’m making things happen. Things that are going to change the neighborhood.”
Mac propped himself up on one elbow in order to face Jake. “What the hell is going on? I heard you bought a liquor store and you and your brothers are driving fancy cars.”
Jake displayed a crooked smile and lightness filled his heart. “Have you been talking to Skylar about me?”
“No.”
“Liar.” Jake laced his fingers behind his head and smiled up at the ceiling. At least he wasn’t the only one keeping tabs. He’d been cyberstalking Mac ever since he heard him on the radio that day he almost caused a pile up on I-90. That reminder brought a bitter memory to his head and his stomach twisted into a knot of jealousy. He leaned on his elbow and turned toward Mac. “What the fuck did you mean, you got a boyfriend?”
Mac had the motherfucking audacity to smile. “Jealous?”
“Damn fucking right. I can’t make this any clearer.I’myour boyfriend. I don’t care what the fuck is going on with us right now. I’m still your boyfriend.”
Mac shook his head, still wearing an amused smile. “You got issues.”
“I’m not fucking joking.”
“Relax,” Mac said, lazily, snuggling into the pillow and turning his gaze up to the ceiling. “It’s not serious. He’s just someone I hang out with sometimes.”
“Well, stop it.”
“You have no claim over me.” Mac had perfected his own smug smile and air of indifference. “Until you do, I’m free to do what I want.”
Jake let out a frustrated chuckle. “You are really pushing my buttons.”
Mac suddenly sat up and looked directly into Jake’s eyes, his face deadly serious. “I’m done waiting, Jake. I’ve been done. You say you got some big plan in the works. Whatever it is, make it fucking happen. Now. Because I’m not sitting around and waiting for you to drop in and out of my life until Ben turns 18. It’s been almost a year. Fucking do it already.”
Jake was silent while thoughts swarmed in his head and his heart pounded with both fear and hope. He needed to move things along faster than anticipated. It could backfire, and go very wrong, but if things went as planned, it would be his salvation. “OK. I’ll fucking do it.”
