Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 156808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 784(@200wpm)___ 627(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 784(@200wpm)___ 627(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
“Your parents are so worried. You need to wake up.”
Nothing. No response. It was the same every time he visited. No matter what he said, nothing ever seemed to work. He had to figure something out, because he couldn’t visit every day. The drive to Ellis County ate up too much time. He had work to do.
~♥~
Arik lifted a hand, drawing the waitress’s attention and then pointed to his glass of wine. He looked at his watch and sighed as he reached for his glass, downing the last of the contents. “We should order,” he said, after swallowing the large gulp.
“We have time. Mom’s got the kids,” Gage said and sat back, crossing one leg over the other as he relaxed in his seat.
“Be patient. He’s dealing with a lot,” Trent added, leaning in toward Arik, resting both arms on the table.
“Trust me, I know. And he’s refusing to discuss any of it with me,” Arik said, mimicking Gage’s stance, threading his fingers together, trying to calm his ass down.
“Are you asking him questions?”
Arik ignored Gage, picking up the new glass the waitress set down and taking a big gulp of wine.
“Are you driving?” Gage asked.
“No, I Ubered over. I thought Kellus could drive us home.”
“I spent most of the afternoon with him. He’s trying with everything he has to make this work for everyone involved,” Trent said, speaking directly to Arik.
Arik pointedly stared back. It seemed the normally uninvolved Trent was taking a stand. All right. He was willing to listen. Perhaps Kellus had been talking to Trent. If so, he needed to know what Gage’s husband knew, because his guy sure wasn’t sharing with him.
“A needs to stop acting like a petulant child.” Gage sneered, looking back and forth between the both of them.
“Shut up,” Arik said, lifting his glass to Trent, trying to get him talking. “What’s he trying to make work?”
“The whole thing.” Trent began ticking off Kellus’s obstacles one by one with his fingers. “His family is back in his life, his history with this man, his moral code, his obligations to everyone, his strong sense of responsibility, his business, and then there’s you. It’s a heavy load.”
“He won’t let me help, not even when I can,” Arik shot out defensively.
Trent gave a humorless laugh, shaking his head, taking a long sip of his drink. He exchanged a look with Gage who turned toward Arik, giving a shrug. Showing Gage was just as lost as he was.
“Just what exactly does that mean?” Gage asked Trent.
“You two don’t get how intimidating you can be. Guys like me and Kellus, we’re normal, everyday men. You two are in a class all your own. It’s a decision to be in a relationship like this.”
“I’m not following you,” Gage said, sitting up a little straighter now, intently staring at Trent. “You aren’t happy?”
“No, it’s not that, and this isn’t about me. It’s about Kellus. You two live life on a different level. You don’t deal with things like making sure your bills are paid or that your makeshift foundation isn’t quite steady enough to stand on.”
“But I have lived like that. I built my company myself,” Arik said, not accusingly, just sincerely trying to understand.
“Yes, you did, and so did I. My risks included the twenty dollars I had in my pocket. Yours came from the connections you made through your Ivy League education and your last name. I’ve lived on both sides of these very different lives; it’s an adjustment. Even more than that, you two lack the significant boundaries that the rest of us have spent our whole lives living within. Kellus is as invested in his past as I was with mine—mine just came in the form of children. It doesn’t mean there’s not room for more, but when those past obligations demand attention, he has to deal. He wouldn’t be the man you love and want if he didn’t take those responsibilities seriously.”
Arik nodded, absorbing Trent’s words. He did love Kellus for the integrity he lived by, but Trent seemed to be talking class structures, and that was something he just didn’t get. Arik never looked at anyone based on what they had accumulated.
“Have I made those responsibilities easier?” Gage asked Trent quietly, clearly he wanted to understand too. His cousin was invested in the conversation for far different reasons, and Arik could hear the deep concern in Gage’s voice.
“You know what you’ve done for me, but you embraced my past and sealed our fate.” Trent turned and gave him a pointed look. “Have you done that for Kellus?”
Trent’s direct stare hit him hard and the silence between them held. He thought he’d tried to accept Kellus’s history. Well, more so, he hadn’t let Kellus’s baggage stop him from pursuing…
“Gage and I meshed our lives together. I was way more stubborn and concerned about a new relationship than Kellus. It’s taken a lot to get us here,” Trent explained, taking Gage’s outstretched hand.