The Rules of Dating a Younger Man by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

Author:Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward [Keeland, Vi & Ward, Penelope]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: C. Scott Publishing Corp.
Published: 2024-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

Brayden

I rolled into Seneca Falls early on Friday afternoon. There was no sign of Alex yet. For all I knew, she would decide to back out. If so, maybe I could concentrate on getting some freaking work done again this week. Her ghosting me might be easier than having to face her. Who am I kidding? I’d be crushed if she didn’t show up. I wanted to see her. I needed to see her.

The only way to describe this feeling was nervous exhilaration. I was both excited to see Alex and dreading having to hold back. What I’d done when she visited the City—pushing her up against the wall of that building and kissing the hell out of her—had to be a one-time deal. I couldn’t lose control like that if she wasn’t mine. That would be torture.

Needing to expend some nervous energy, I decided to go to the hospital to visit Will. It had been a while since I’d checked in on him.

After getting set up with my volunteer badge, I went to his room. Peeking through the door, which was cracked open, I found him in bed. He was looking out the window. It made me sad to think of all the things he was missing, the normal kid stuff that people like me took for granted when we were younger. At least Ryan hadn’t gotten sick until he was a bit older. Still too young, of course, but our childhood had been unscathed, filled with so many precious memories that didn’t involve a single hospital stay among us, from what I could recall. Will couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven. He deserved to be making memories outside of this damn place.

I knocked lightly.

He turned, smiling. “Brayden…”

“Hey, man, how’s it going?”

He struggled to sit up. “I finished the books you gave me. They were really good.”

“You enjoyed them? You can tell me the truth if you didn’t. I won’t be offended.”

“I wouldn’t lie. Life’s too short to read bad books. Trust me, I wouldn’t have finished them if I didn’t like them.”

“Well, I’m glad.”

“It felt good to get lost in that world. So, thanks.” Will stared out the window again.

“You seem kind of down.” I took a seat. “Everything okay?”

“Not really.”

My heart sank. “What’s going on?”

“There’s this girl from school. I really like her, and she wants to come visit me. We’re neighbors, actually. But I don’t know about her coming. I don’t want her to see me like this, not looking my best. But I also don’t want to tell her not to come. That’s kind of rude.”

“You want to see her?”

“Yeah. Just not…like this.”

While I was relieved that his news had nothing to do with his health, I wasn’t sure what advice to give him. I scratched my chin. “Do you like her?”

“What do you think?” He glared at me. “I wouldn’t give a crap if I didn’t like her.”

“Got it.”

“I wish I didn’t like her, though. It would make things easier.”

“I feel that more than you know, buddy.

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