Page 11 of Finding Isaac (Foggy Basin Season Two)
Isaac
“So, wait, he’s making you wait to get to know him better?” Jack asked. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter at Nuts and Bolts while waiting for me to answer.
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t mind,” I said and rubbed the back of my neck while avoiding his eyes at all costs.
“Sure,” Jack said, stifling a laugh as he walked to the tool display before coughing loudly to cover the “bullshit” I definitely heard.
“Leave him alone, Jack. Just because you jumped my bones as soon as you got the chance doesn’t mean he needs to,” Hudson said as he walked out from the backroom and gathered Jack in his arms before dipping him with a big kiss. “Best day of my life.”
“Thanks for taking my mind off it,” I yelled at them, making them both laugh.
“Tig likes you, and I get the feeling he hasn’t had the best of luck with relationships. Give him the time he wants. Don’t worry, you’ll be knocking boots before you know it,” Hudson said.
“Knocking boots?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s an old saying.” He shrugged his shoulder like we should all fucking know it, but considering the dumbstruck look Jack was giving him, he hadn’t heard it before either.
“I just want us to fuck,” I said. Now it was him staring at me with the same look Jack had just a moment ago.
“And that’s my cue to go back to the office,” Hudson said, and fucked off back there.
“What the fuck does that boot thing mean?” Jack asked me.
“I have no clue. We can ask Mr. Atkins when he stops by.”
“Yeah, I think I’d rather not,” Jack said, and we laughed knowing he would tell us exactly what it was with all the details because he wasn’t known for sugar coating anything.
“We’re going on a date tonight,” I said, and couldn’t hold back the smile.
“He makes you happy,” Jack said.
“Yes. Happier than I would ever admit.”
Jack hugged me, and it felt so fucking good I didn’t want it to end.
He was my best friend, and the only person in this whole fucking town I knew I could always count on.
He was my ride or die anytime of the night or day and any day of the week.
It had always been that way since the first time we met, and even if he was taken, it would never change.
He was my safe place, and the one person who always knew what I needed.
And right now, I needed this fucking hug.
“He likes you a lot. I can see it in the way he looks at you, and I think he’s talking to Hudson on the sly. So, listen to what he says. He’d never tell you what to do, but I think he’s giving you useful clues as to how to help him.”
“Clues?”
“Something must have happened between him and an ex. Hudson said something about it after he’d talked to Tig the other day,” Jack said.
“Tig said he doesn’t want to rush, that he’d done that before and wants to take his time,” I said. “I didn’t think much of it at the time.”
“We have all made mistakes in the past that we’d rather not deal with ever again. Hudson doesn’t know much about Tig’s life after he left here. They kept in touch, but Tig is very private. He doesn’t share his personal life,” Jack said after glancing toward the back of the store where Hudson was.
“Do you think he’d care if I talked to him about Tig?
” I asked. I didn’t want to pry or find out something Tig may not want me to know but I wanted to check there was nothing to be concerned about in his past. The last thing I needed was some crazy ex showing up at my door in the middle of the night.
“Go ask him,” Jack said and greeted a customer who’d walked in.
I walked to the backroom where Hudson was seated at his desk doing who knew what on the computer. He looked up when he noticed me and nodded his head in greeting. “What’s going on, Isaac?”
“Can I ask you something?” I took a seat on the other chair in the room, and he turned to face me.
“Sure. Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah. Nothing I can complain about anyway. I just wanted to ask you if you knew anything about what happened with Tig and his ex. He mentioned an ex, but he didn’t say what happened.”
Hudson relaxed back into his chair and folded his arms. “I’ve known Tig for years and I’ve never seen him as crazy for anyone as he is for you. If there is an ex, I wouldn’t worry about it,” he said without answering my question.
“Hudson, I know you and I haven’t known each other very long, and I don’t want to start trouble, but when you showed up here and Jack was all into you, I was pissed off. Then I got to know you, and I saw how happy you make him.”
“Isaac, I never meant—”
“I want that too. What you two have. You’re meant for each other, and I cannot imagine either of you with anyone else. You’re disgustingly in love, and I want that.” I was shocked and simultaneously repulsed by what I’d just word-vomited all over Hudson’s desk, but it was true, every word of it.
“You really like Tig,” Hudson said, and I ignored the smirk he now wore. “I never thought I’d see you all tied up over anyone.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m ‘tied up,’ whatever that means.”
“But you want to be,” he said. Fucking Hudson.
“Yes, and I need your help—or advice. Possibly both.”
“Hudson?” Jack said from behind me as he walked into the office. “Isaac never asks for help with anything.”
Hudson’s face softened as he listened to Jack and before looking back at me. “You know he’s going to be pissed off if he finds out we’re all working together.”
“Tell me what to do then,” I said.
Hudson glanced at Jack once more before meeting my eyes. “Okay, I’ll help. He might have mentioned he was going to the store later.”