Here For Us by A.M. Arthur

Author:A.M. Arthur [Arthur, A.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Briggs-King Books
Published: 2017-03-16T16:00:00+00:00

Maybe it was the second please, but Chet visibly acquiesced. His entire body relaxed, shedding the rigid posture and boss persona he’d descended the stairs with. Cris had come down to the studio to think, perhaps even make a decision about quitting for good. Chet showing up hadn’t shocked him, but to hear that Chet had spoken with Jake about personal shit Cris didn’t know?

That hurt.

“When Jake was a teenager, his father left him and his mother for another woman,” Chet said. “It hurt him deeply. He and his mother moved here to start over, but when his mother died unexpectedly, Jake was left to fend for himself. He landed on his feet, according to his own words, but I believe his sense of being left behind and/or abandoned by those closest to him was exacerbated by the recent situation with his former roommate. It left him in an emotional space that limited his ability to trust you.”

Christ, he could have been a shrink.

Cris turned the words over in his mind, horrified by what Jake had lost, and still worried about what he’d done in order to “land on his feet.” Cris had been in a similar position at a similar age: alone, with no family to help him, desperate to scratch out a life in a very cruel world that did its best to punch down on anything it saw as “other”.

“His hesitation makes more sense,” Cris said. “But to flat out dump me and not even explain himself? All I got was ‘I’m not the one for you.’ No actual reason for that, by the way. And I get fear, believe me, but…fuck if I know but what anymore.” He slumped against the couch, sad and angry and confused—the same state he’d been in for weeks.

The best answer Cris had come up with was that for some reason, Jake had decided Cris was better off either 1) alone and single, or 2) with Chet. And since Chet had made his feelings perfectly clear on the matter, option one was all that was left.

“Jake did say a few things to me,” Chet said slowly, “that intimated he may have thought you were better off with me.”

Even in the dim light, Chet visibly blushed. He also tensed, retreating into a less intimate, more official persona.

“What did he say?” Cris asked.

“That you deserved someone solid and settled. He thinks very poorly of his own impulsive nature. In fact, he seems to think poorly of himself in general, which is disheartening in someone with so much potential.”

“This is all such a mess. I feel like all I’ve done this month is hurt two people I really care about.” He twisted his wrist so he could squeeze the palm of Chet’s hand. “I’ve been super unfair to you in all this, and I’m sorry.”

“You’ve done nothing to apologize for, but if it helps to hear it, you’re forgiven. We’re both grown men. We know how to own our choices.” Chet winked. “Speaking of

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