Page 70 of How We End

Maverick:

Again?Everything okay

Wyatt:

Yeah its personal

Maverick:

Like

Wyatt:

Like its personal & I’m not going to tell you

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

WYATT

December 11

I had thought about what Margo said.And she could give me all her what-ifs, but she wasn’t me.My life wasn’t black and white like hers.I lived in all the grayness of right and wrong.I wasn’t about to make a decision that would change my life based on a two-month relationship.That was something younger me would’ve done.

And right now, Julian and I were okay to live in the shades of gray.We’d deal with the what-ifs when the time came.

The security system alerted me that he was here.I had given Julian his own code for the house.I also changed Maverick’s, not that he ever came here.That would be too domestic for him, and it would ruin the whole idea of me not being a whole person.Having a life outside of the bedroom.

It made Maverick a client and Julian more.

I also could be Wyatt with Julian.I didn’t have to answer the door in nothing but his T-shirt and a steel-gray thong, but I did because I wanted to.Because he liked it when I did.And I liked seeing him happy.I opened the door to see him carrying an overnight bag, dressed in a pair of gray joggers and a Vegas Coyotes blue sweatshirt.“Hello, Mr.Silver.”

Julian stepped inside the house, letting his duffel bag fall to the ground.At five foot ten, most men didn’t make me feel small, but standing toe-to-toe with Julian made me feel small.

“Hello, you.”He smiled at me.“Nice shirt.”

“Isn’t this why you left it on my floor?”I teased.He had left this and several other things.A watch I’d considered wearing, random bits of clothing.It didn’t bother me.In fact, I liked it because it meant that he would always come back.I still had that fear of the sun rising on our relationship.

“No.I should be better about that.”

“I like it.”I rose up on my toes and kissed him.He smelled clean and like Julian.Not like my other clients, who reeked of expensive cologne and aftershave.Or in Maverick’s case, cigarette smoke and scotch.

I stepped away from him and over to the bar.Las Vegas was an entertainment city, and this house was built for that.It had a bar on each level and one on the large patio by the pool.“Do you want something to drink?”

“Water would be great.”

I looked over my shoulder at him, a bit surprised.Julian wasn’t a huge drinker.But he normally joined me in a glass of wine or a beer.

“I have a game tomorrow.”He picked up his bag and tossed it by the stairs that led up to the bedroom.“That, and Anders thinks I should join AA.”Julian sat down on the couch.

I poured myself a glass of white wine.“AA?Is there something you’re not telling me?”He had a few things to work through.Didn’t we all?But I didn’t think his drinking was one of them.I grabbed a bottle of water and walked over to him.He pulled me down so I was straddling his lap.

“Yes, Anders is a dumbass.He thought the A stood for assholes.”He took the glass of wine and took a sip before handing it back to me.“You look stunning tonight.”

“This old thing?”I asked, taking a drink of wine.

“Yeah.”He ran his hands up the back of my shirt.

I watched him as I took another sip of wine.I could tell something was bothering him.I could see it in his eyes and see the tenseness in his neck and shoulders.“Everything okay?”