Page 86 of Finley

“The day we went out to celebrate,” Brantley said, finally piecing it all together.

“Yes. But I… The meeting with the other partners wasn’t supposed to happen until I got home.”

“In another week.”

“Yes.”

“I see,” Brantley said, slowly turning to walk out of his room. When he got to his door, he stopped, looked at Daniel, and tried to mentally prepare himself for what was about to happen. “Well, congratulations,” he said as Daniel took hold of the suitcase handle and walked toward him.

When they were standing only inches apart, Daniel reached out, but this time, Brantley was the one to step away. He wasn’t sure what reaction Daniel’s touch would incite in him.

“Brantley—”

“Don’t. Don’t do that. I’m really proud of you, Finn,” he managed, though he wasn’t sure how with the knot in his throat. “This is everything I could’ve hoped for you.”

Beep! Beep!And there was the taxi.

“You better go,” he said, willing himself to keep it together as Daniel’s eyes trailed over him.

“This was?—”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, not wanting to hear. Unable to at this stage.

He clenched his jaw and fought back the emotions that were threatening to break him. He’d done this before, said goodbye to this man. He could do it again and survive—right?

When it was clear he wasn’t going to say anything else, Daniel nodded and walked down the hall to the front door, the whir of the suitcase the only sound.

Brantley stepped out of his bedroom and into the hall to watch him go. As the distance stretched between them, and the old wound gaped open as though newly cut, Brantley thought it was a miracle he was still standing. It might have had something to do with the wall he was hanging on to, but when Daniel opened the door and glanced back, he ordered himself not to crumble. If this were the last time he’d see Daniel, then he didn’t want the man to remember him broken.

God, this was harder than he’d ever thought it would be. Who knew that the second cut would be even deeper than the first?

As Daniel rolled his suitcase out the door and pulled it shut behind him, Brantley lowered his hand from the wall and felt it shake.

The silence quickly swallowed his home up—and him along with it—as he staggered to his door to lock it. Then he turned around and slid to the floor. The same place where he’d first mourned the loss of Daniel Finley.

AS THE CABpulled away from Brantley’s home and drove toward the main road, Daniel kept telling himself,Keep your fucking eyes forward, keep them forward.But the farther the car drove, the harder it was to stay put, and the trembling in his hands wouldn’t stop.

He’d known days ago that it was going to be hard to leave again after all of this, but he’d thought he would have longer to prepare. Longer to get over the body rush, the pleasure he’d been lost inside…But no.Reality had come earlier than either of them had expected, and it was just about killing him because the expression in Brantley’s eyes had been so fucking sad. And that was the last memory of him Daniel would have.

Resting his head back on the seat, he shut his eyes and cursed the fact that he was forever destined to love the one man he could never have.

All over again, he was going to have to forget.

All over again, he was going to have to stop reaching for him.

And all over again, he was going to have to reconstruct the wall he’d erected, and smashed down, in the name of Brantley Hayes.

“HONEY, I’M HOME,”Daniel called out as he walked through Brantley’s back door and threw his bag on the floor.

Final exams were over, letters were coming in from the law schools he’d applied to, and life, as far as he was concerned, was pretty fucking amazing.

Now, if only he could find…

“Ahh, there you are,” he said as he walked into the kitchen.

Brantley was sitting at his kitchen table. When he looked up, the strain on his face had Daniel rushing over to him.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he pulled a chair out and sat, looking at the piece of paper Brantley had a death grip on.