Page 10 of Tangled With You

Seriously, he was a fucking coward.

Or maybe he wasn’t. Maybe Trevor wasn’t what he wanted.Maybe this was just Ollie’s psyche finally putting his relationship withCourtney to rest. Because even though it had been years since they totallypulled the plug, he hadn’t dated anyone seriously since Courtney had told himshe was done being a ping-pong ball in the off-again/on-again relationshipOllie had been steering.

Fair enough.

God knew, Ollie had been a shit. He liked Courtney. Hell, heloved her. But every time they got close to the wedding, he’d gotten cold feet.Because maybe he didn’t love her enough. Maybe he didn’t love her like that.

He couldn’t blame her for finally tossing her hands up.She’d put up with him for longer than he deserved, and the way he’d bounced heraround was at the very top of his list of lifelong regrets.

That, and not asking Trevor to stay.

Because, yeah, he wanted Trevor. And trying to convincehimself otherwise was ridiculously, fucking stupid.

Shit.

The realization slammed through his head with such forcethat there was no denying it. Despite the talk on the balcony, once they’dsettled down for the movie, that’s what he’d expected. Maybe not sex, butsomething.

And, come on, let’s be honest, he’d expected sex. Especiallyonce he’d seen the way Trevor looked at him after the movie. Like Ollie was thesecret surprise in the cereal box.

Still, he could hardly blame Trevor for going home,especially after how Ollie had freaked out about the damn pizza.

Ollie was an idiot. Not only that, but he was an unfair one,too. He owed Trevor the truth. Not the bullshit we can be friends eventhough you’re attracted to me truth, but the real truth. The truth thatOllie was attracted right back. And he was just too confused or scared orunsure to do anything about it.

He’d spent his whole life thinking he was going to find awoman. Get married. Follow his parents’ path. Then he met Trevor and everythingshifted. How did he deal with that?

For that matter, could he trust that? What if the attractionwas some sort of emotional and sexual rebound from the fiasco that wasCourtney? He didn’t want to hurt Trevor like he’d hurt her.

And now you’re really being arrogant, McKee. He’sattracted to you, sure. But that doesn’t mean wedding bells. You’ve slept withfriends before. Look at Jamie. You’re both fine. You even joke about it.Pursuing whatever this is with Trevor doesn’t mean your whole life is going toflip. It doesn’t mean a massive identity crisis. It just means you’re hot forthe guy. And, yeah, unexpected, but real. So why not pursue it? You can stillbe friends. You know you can.

Maybe.

Or maybe he was justifying.

He was definitely thinking about it too much. Because rightthen he needed to go to sleep, but his head just kept spinning and he was sodamn tired of these whirling thoughts filling his brain.

Apparently, identity crises were a pain in the butt.

With a sigh, he forced himself to just be still. To letsleep come to him. To think soothing thoughts. Like the fact that no matterwhat, he’d see Trevor tomorrow because Ollie had insisted he take an Uber home,which meant that Ollie had the keys to Trevor’s BMW. He’d take it over in themorning, and in the light of day, all this angst would seem stupid and pointless.

Or, at least, he hoped it would.

Chapter Four

Ollie was up at the crack of dawn, the thought of seeingTrevor again having not only prodded him awake, but also made him hurry thoughhis morning routine.

Then he realized it was only eight on a Sunday morning, andprobably a little too early to be dropping by. Which was why he spent the morningcatching up on work emails and attaching cabinet doors in the kitchen.

He managed to occupy himself that way until ten, then showered,grabbed the keys he’d confiscated from Trevor, and headed to the front door,intending to put Trevor’s BMW through its paces as he hauled ass toward Venice.

The moment he opened the door, he saw Cassidy Cunningham onthe porch, her hand raised to ring the bell. They both jumped in surprise.

“Sorry. Didn’t expect you to be right there,” Cassidy said.Her hair was blue today with a few streaks of pink. It fell in waves just belowher shoulders, and blended with the wildly colorful tattoo of an exotic birdthat dominated her upper arm. “Do you have a sec or are you heading out?”

“Both,” he said, holding the door open and gesturing for herto come in. “I was going out, but I’m not in a hurry. What’s up?”

“I come bearing gifts,” she said, stepping over thethreshold as she passed him a small, blue gift bag, tied with red twine. “Ijust opened a third franchise, this one in Long Beach, and the first two areraking in a nice little profit. Plus, I wanted to see how your place is comingalong.”

A tattoo artist, Cass had started her career with onesuccessful parlor in Venice Beach, not far from where Trevor shared a condowith Leah. A few years ago, when Ollie was still practicing law, he’d helpedher franchise the business. “You didn’t have to do this,” he said, holding up thebag.