Page 97 of The Long Game

He noticed Garrick eyeing him and sat up straighter, stopped bouncing his leg, and tried to rein in his racing thoughts.

“You look like you’re about to crawl out of your own skin.”

And damn Garrick for knowing him so well. Jack thought about lying but Garrick would see through that, too.

“Grady and I are together,” Jack blurted.

It was Garrick’s turn to sit up straight. “Yeah?” A huge smile grew on his face.

“I mean, after we talked in the hospital, I went to his place and we…”

“Banged like a screen door in a hurricane?” Garrick asked, positively gleeful.

Rhian clapped a hand over his face. Savannah sighed as she sat at the head of the table, shaking her head mournfully.

Jack glared at his friend. “No,” he said. Then allowed, “Well, not exactly. We’re working on that. Grady’s apartment is a madhouse right now, and the boys need our attention.”

“Our,” Garrick repeated.

“Well, yeah, Grady needs help,” Jack said, wondering why he sounded defensive. He didn’tfeeldefensive about it.

Garrick put his hands up. “I’m not judging. Honestly, I wouldn’t expect anything less from you. You’ve always been a good friend, Jack, even before things changed between you and Grady.”

“That’s just it,” Jack said, trying to put the thrum of nerves under his skin into words. “It’s only been a few days. I don’t know shit about dating, but I’ve seena lot of people do it and I didn’t think I would feel so…”

Garrick cocked his head, waiting for Jack to find the right word.

Rhian slid onto the bench beside Jack until their shoulders bumped together. “Vulnerable?”

Jack sighed. “I guess. I just—I don’t want to screw this up. I don’t want to beneedy.No one likes that, right?”

“That depends,” Garrick said with a shrug. “Everyone’s relationship is different. What do you mean by needy, though?”

“I don’t know…I want to be with him all the time. And when we’re together, I have this constant urge to touch him.”

Garrick exchanged knowing looks with his partners. “And what does Grady think about that?”

“Well, I haven’t said anything to him about it. I mean, it’s only been a few days. And that’s weird, too, right? I should sleep at my own house sometimes and give him space.”

“Do you want to?”

“No,” Jack admitted.

“Has Grady asked you to?”

“No.”

“So, why would you do that?”

Jack shrugged again. “I don’t know. It feels too good too fast. Aren’t we supposed to be figuring things out?”

“And you’re not?” Savannah asked curiously.

“No,” Jack admitted. “But not in a bad way. More like things arealreadyfigured out.”

“You two have been close friends for a long time,” Garrick pointed out. “It makes sense you already know a lot about each other’s likes and dislikes. Where your strengths and weaknesses are.”

Jack shook his head. “I think we still have things to learn.”

---