Page 50 of Balance

“Would you mind telling me what the actual fuck that was about?” I stopped a few feet from Jett to keep myself from choking the life out of him.

“Everyone knows our business. I don’t like it.”

“Everyone does not know our business. Troye knows because he fucking thought of it, and Charlie knows because best friends tell each other shit. Which is why I’m starting to think that maybe you’re not my best friend because you sure as hell won’t tell me what the fuck is your goddamned problem.”

For a second, he looked like I’d slapped him, but the expression quickly hardened.

“I’ll tell you what my problem is.” Jett unwound his arms from his chest and took a step toward me. Other men might have backed up, but not me. Jett was all bark, no bite.

“There you are.”

We both stopped and looked at Charlie walking out of the restaurant. Because they’d been sitting down when Jett and I walked in, I hadn’t noticed the height difference between Jett and Charlie. Not until he marched up to him and stuck his finger in his face, wagging it like an angry parent.

“You have a lot of fucking nerve, you know that? And I’ll tell you why.”

Jett tried to speak but Charlie cut him off.

“No, you had your say and, frankly, no one cares what you have to say right now. Certainly not me, but you’re going to listen. Now, I know you want to protect your company and shit, but Troye’s idea isn’t exactly revolutionary. We all know it’s a cute idea, and it will sell well, but it’s not going to reform the landscape of video games or anything. You’re not solving world hunger with it or bringing about world peace. And I don’t know who the fuck hurt you, but I do know that it wasn’t me, and it wasn’t Matthew, and it sure as fuck wasn’t Troye.”

Charlie took a breath, and I thought he was done, but it turned out he was just getting started.

He parked his hands on his hips. “Troye is the nicest person you’ll ever meet, and you’d be so lucky to have him date your best friend. Do you know why? Because he’s loyal as fuck. He’s kind. He gives a shit about people, even when they don’t give a shit about him back. And right now he’s in there probably thinking the worst.”

“And what would that be?”

“For Troye, it’s coming between the two of you. For me, the worst-case scenario is you not pulling your head out of your ass.”

I coughed to try and cover my laugh. The more Charlie talked, the more sheepish Jett looked.

“Look, Charlie…”

“My friends call me Charlie. You can call me Charles.” Charlie looked over his shoulder and met my gaze. “You should head inside and comfort Troye before he dissolves. We’ll be in shortly. Right, Jett?” Charlie looked back at Jett. There was still some anger in his expression, but no more than the usual amount he carried with him on a daily basis.

“I’ll see you inside, Jett. But if you can’t come back and be nice and apologize for being a fucking bastard, maybe you shouldn’t come back in at all.” I didn’t wait to see the look on his face. I know that the last thing Troye would want was to come between Jett and me, but the way I saw it, Jett was the one being a difficult prick. If anyone was coming between us, it was him.

I’d always known Jett could be a pain in the ass. He meant well, but sometimes his lizard brain took over thinking for his rational, reasonable brain. Honestly, the man probably needed therapy. Or a good ass kicking from Charlie.

I found Troye inside, picking at a plate of pie and ice cream. His shoulders were curled inward, and he’d slumped down in his seat, trying to take up as little space as possible. Not caring about what people thought, I moved my chair right next to his and sat down.

“You have a wonderful friend,” I told him, dropping a kiss on his cheek. I put my arm around him and anchored him to my side. “I’m sorry about Jett. If I’d have known he was going to be in grade-A prick mode, I’d have left him at home.”

“I’m sorry I messed things up.” Troye was no longer eating now, just pushing a bite of pie around some rapidly melting ice cream.

“You did nothing wrong. Jett is… well, he’s my best friend, but he’s been on a tear recently. He had no right to go off on you and your friend like that. I’m the one who needs to apologize to you and Charlie.” I found myself smiling at the memory of Charlie storming out there and sticking his finger in Jett’s face. “You should’ve seen him go after Jett.”

“Oh, I can imagine. Charlie is pretty fearless.” Troye glanced up at me and tried to smile, but it was easy to see his heart wasn’t in it.

“I’m sorry about dinner.”

“If it’s not my fault, it’s not your fault either.” Troye leaned against me, letting me take more of his weight. Reaching for the fork, I took it from him and scooped up a bite of pie.

As I lifted the fork, he sucked in a breath.

“Is this okay?” I asked before continuing. It wasn’t too late to take the bite myself, but whenever I was around Troye, I had this urge to take care of him. To dote on him and make him happy. His sorrow was like a song being played in the wrong key.

“Yeah,” he whispered. Under the table, he put a hand on my leg and squeezed, like he needed to borrow strength from me.

It was one of those slow-motion moments when everything was perfect. Troye was snuggled close to me, the weight of his hand was grounding on my thigh. His lips parted at the same moment that his eyes closed, lashes fluttering against his cheeks. The fork entered his mouth, and I watched the way his lips caressed the fork as it slid back out. I swear I could hear nothing but the blood rushing through my body, determined to pool between my legs.