Page 63 of Praised
“Owen doesn’t like my house,” Archie said, a small frown pulling at the corners of his mouth as he looked around. His place was relatively modest compared to the rest of us, but it still dripped with quiet luxury. And since his boyfriend moved in, there were dozens more personal touches than before, all of which I’d never have expected from Archie, but he allowed because he loved Owen so much.
“He likes you.”
“He loves you,” Grayson said.
“And you love Rob,” I reminded him.
Grayson sighed, tipping his head back and staring up at the ceiling. “It’s a lot.”
“What does your little friend Wesley think?” I asked.
Even though Grayson had immediately taken a liking to Archie, his best friend was a twenty-something named Wesley Sutton. He’d come around on a handful of occasions—working for Rob, living with Grayson, and being about ten years away from being able to handle his liquor.
He was a good kid.
Grayson, on the other hand, was an absolute menace.
“Wesley practically lives with his boyfriend now, so I know me moving in with Rob would give him the out he’s been looking for to cut the tie.”
“So you refusing to move in with Rob is keeping Wesley from moving in with his boyfriend?” I arched a brow. “That feels selfish.”
He rolled his eyes and Archie laughed, finally realizing that I’d finished his lemonade in the absence of my own. He took all of the empty and near-empty glasses into the kitchen to get refills, leaving Grayson and me at the table together.
“Itisselfish,” he agreed, looking a decade older than he was. “But it’s complicated.”
If anyone knew about complicated these days, it was me. I gave him a sympathetic nod and told him as such.
“I like where this is going,” he said, leaning close. “Let’s change the subject before your stubborn best friend gets back.”
“He cares for Rob,” I said. “And you.”
Grayson’s face softened, but went hard again as Archie came back from the kitchen with fresh drinks and a charcuterie board.
“Tell me about your complicated,” Grayson said.
I’d agreed to come over because I wanted to talk about it… no, Ineededto talk about it. Rose had me all turned around, and I could barely keep track of what I was meant to do and who I needed to be. First, I’d made him see that I didn’t have to change at all to deserve a chance with him, which had been easy. But as things progressed, I realized he needed a little more care than I’d thought. He was nervous around me, skittish, and so I’d proposed a thirty-day plan to prove my worth to him.
The idea by itself was absurd because I’d never had to prove myself to anyone. That wasn’t a life or a struggle I’d ever known, and maybe that made me cocky or arrogant, but so be it. Much like Rose, I knew my worth. I’d committed to this test run to easehisnerves, but the game wasn’t sustainable. I couldn’t go as far in with him as I needed to if I knew the risk of him leaving was on the horizon.
As much as it pained me to admit it, I had a heart and that would break it. It would be easier than breathing to fall in love with Rose, who bloomed under my hand, from my praise and my words. He was a manifestation of every dream I’d never realized I had, and I didn’t want that to end in a handful of weeks. I worried if I asked for more, if I changed the terms, that I would lose him altogether, though.
“Rose is complicated?” Archie grabbed a small pickle and shoved the entire thing into his mouth.
“Extremely.”
“Why?” Grayson asked.
“Because I want more than he’s willing to give,” I said.
Grayson let out a bark of laughter and reached forward to assemble a finger sandwich from the charcuterie tray between us. “Trust me, that’s not as insurmountable as you think it is.”
“It feels that way.”
It had only been two days, but every second I spent away from him had me feeling like I was sliding down a mountain while he continued to climb toward the summit. He had caved in and let me take him shopping Friday afternoon, but when he saw the price tags, he balked at thirty pairs. I wouldn’t have even noticed the change in my bank account, but Rose was verging on angry over the cost, so we settled on seven and the promise of a fashion show before the weekend was over.
I thought about how badly Rob must have wanted Grayson to move in with him, the same with Archie and Owen, because that proximity was heady, it was potent. But it worked both ways, and while having Rose around more might make sure I won in the end, I might also end up losing parts of myself that I hadn’t planned.
“He didn’t want anything to do with me at first,” I told Grayson. Archie already knew the gist of the story. “But I proved that he did.”
