Page 41 of Love Medley (Med Wreck Romance #1)

Chapter thirty-one

Jake

M y life has been a rollercoaster lately, and though I feel disoriented most of the time, it’s the best kind of thrill.

If it means more time with Lucy, I’m all for it.

The date with her was incredible. She seemed to belong in my apartment, and I wondered what it would be like if she moved in.

The thought of integrating my life with Lucy’s is…simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating.

Thoughts like these never popped in my head when I dated Sam—in hindsight, I never felt comfortable with the thought of her in my space. Her moving in with me never crossed my mind.

And then there was the call room. I close my eyes. Skin on skin—no barrier between us. I already felt deeply connected to her, but after that moment? It was like she was woven into my very DNA.

But before I can think any further, my phone pings.

Wyatt: Hey Joker. You around for dinner tonight? My treat.

My brother hasn’t used that moniker in years. Stomach tightening, my first thought is…uh oh. Is he okay?

And then, almost like an afterthought, a sharp pang spreads in my chest seeing my childhood nickname in black and white.

I’d been hoping to hear from him after that awful dinner at the Whitlock McMansion, but I haven’t had the guts to reach out to him on my own.

Even though I know he was probably just busy, I couldn’t deal with the possibility of further rejection.

Me: Sure. What are you thinking?

Wyatt: Why don’t I just head over to your place at 7? I’ll bring some food.

Of all the people in my family, I’ve missed Wyatt the most. He doesn’t tear me down with criticism like my dad and Sterling. And he exudes more warmth than my stiff, formal mother. He’s the brother that I might actually have a chance at having a relationship with.

Wyatt arrives right at 7pm with some delicious-smelling Chinese takeout from one of our favorite restaurants, Asian Garden. For once, he’s dressed down, with a blue button-down, short-sleeve shirt and jeans. After he drops the bags of food on the table, I hand him a cold Heineken.

“Thanks, Jake,” Wyatt says. He clinks the top of his bottle to mine, and we both take a sip.

“So,” I say, gesturing for him to take a seat at my small dining room table. “I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

Wyatt has the grace to look sheepish. “Yeah, the time got away from me yet again. I’m terrible about keeping in touch.”

“It’s okay,” I say. “I’ve been busy at my new job too.”

“How is that going?”

“Pretty well.” I recount the past few months to my brother. As I talk, I sense my shoulders easing down. I didn’t realize I had been so tense.

When I make it to the end of my spiel, to my surprise, I add, “I met someone.” I don’t think I’ve ever talked about a girl to anyone in my family. It didn’t seem worth it. But Lucy really means a lot to me, and I realize I want Wyatt to actually know me.

Wyatt’s eyebrows shoot up. “Really. Who?”

“Her name is Lucy Chang. She’s a med student at Blackwell.

” I briefly tell him how we met, but I leave out Sam and Sterling, because I don’t want to talk about them right now.

As I speak about her, I feel my spirits lift even higher.

Lucy is such an incredible person, and I’m honestly lucky to experience her glow.

I’m doing a shitty job of describing her, but I’m desperate for him to see her the way I do—because he's the only one in my family who might.

After I’m done, Wyatt exhales audibly. “Wow. So you met this girl who has an abusive ex, got sucked into a fake dating situation, now you guys are, what? Together?”

That’s what he got out of this? Disappointment slices through me. The only time I reach out to someone in my family, this is what happens.

I’m not sure why I’m surprised, though.

“Is that so hard to believe?” I try to keep my voice steady.

“Jake, I’m just trying to understand. It sounds like Lucy has a lot going on. Are you sure you want to insert yourself into all that?”

“Lucy’s worth it.” Why doesn’t Wyatt understand?

Is he not even trying to? How many times do I have to get my heart demolished by my family before I stop trying?

I guess I just thought—no, hoped—that Wyatt would be different.

“They’ve been broken up for a while. I’m not going to pass this amazing woman up just because you think she has some baggage. ”

Wyatt shakes his head. “I just don’t want you getting hurt. And isn’t she graduating soon? She’s a fourth year, right? What then?”

“We haven’t talked that far.” After this lukewarm reception, I’m certainly not telling him I plan to move wherever Lucy matches. “But there are nursing jobs everywhere. So that’s not the end of the world.”

“Wait. You’ve known her for what? Three weeks? And you’re already thinking of possibly uprooting your life in Blackwell, where you’ve lived your entire life, and moving for a woman you barely know?”

Something prickles under my skin. I know he means well, but it sounds like judgment disguised as concern. And I’m done feeling judged.

“How would you know? You haven’t dated anyone…ever! What do you know about falling in love and feeling like your life is finally slotting into place?”

The words leave my mouth before I realize I’ve raised my voice. I never do this. Not with family. Not with anyone. But hearing my fears echoed out loud by the one person I thought would understand—it breaks something loose.

Wyatt is still, staring at his glass bottle for a long time. Finally, he sighs. “You’re right that I don’t know anything about falling in love. But I do understand the relief that comes from your life starting to make sense. My opinions are probably colored by what I’m going through right now.”

My anger immediately leaks away. “What do you mean?”

A longer pause.

Finally, Wyatt lifts his eyes to mine. “Jake, I’m gay.”

My mouth drops open. But as memories flood my mind, his admission makes sense.

This is why Wyatt has never dated, at least to my knowledge.

And why he’s probably buried himself in work.

He’s always been better dressed than any of us, with a ridiculously good eye for everything from clothes to interior design to art.

Of course, none of that means anything on its own. But add it to the fact that I’ve never once heard him talk about a woman—or anyone, really—and yeah. It clicks. The pieces fit in a way they didn’t before.

Closing my mouth quickly, I place my hand on his arm. “Wyatt, God, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. You were just trying to protect me. As for being gay? That doesn’t change how I feel about you. Not in the least. I’m in your corner no matter what. I’m honored you told me.”

Wyatt laughs, but sadness colors the sound. “Thanks for not judging me like the rest of our family will. I knew you’d be supportive. While I didn’t mean for it to come out exactly like this, I did plan to tell you. Sometime soon, if my courage failed me tonight.”

My heart goes out to Wyatt. He must have felt so lonely with this epiphany. It’s hard being different, and our parents aren’t exactly accepting of homosexuality. Unsurprisingly, they are heavily conservative.

“How long have you known?” I ask.

“A while. Like you said, I haven’t really pursued any relationships.

At first, I chalked up my disinterest in women to being too focused on my career.

In school, I kept to myself and my studies.

But when I went to law school, I fell for a straight guy in my study group.

I was in denial even then. I just buried myself in more work, hoping the feelings would go away, but they didn’t. ”

“Wow.” That must have been so hard for him. “Have you thought about telling Mom?” I ask .

“Yeah,” Wyatt says. “But honestly, I haven’t mustered up the balls. She’d probably understand more than Dad, but she’s always caved to his way of thinking.”

“Maybe not.” I quickly tell him about the phone conversation we had recently. “She’s sidestepped Dad in the past for me—maybe she will for you too. It might be worth giving her another chance. But either way you decide, I’ll support you.”

“Yeah. I’ll think about it.” Wyatt wipes at the condensation on his beer bottle. “You know, I’ve always been jealous of you.”

“Me?” I thought I couldn’t be more taken aback during this conversation, but apparently, I was wrong. “You and Sterling are the superstars of the family.”

Wyatt shakes his head. “Are you kidding me? We’re just what Dad’s made of us. He’s dictated our paths in life since we were in diapers. When Dad says jump, we jump. When he says do something, Sterling and I are fighting each other to be his yes man. But you? You chart your own course.”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t have anything to do with courage. I’m just not built like you guys—you have buckets of ambition and drive and the smarts to back it up. I might be able to make the grades, but I just don’t want it that much. You’ve never wavered from the path.”

Wyatt gives me a half-smile. “I don’t really think that’s as positive a thing as you’re making.

We never strayed because we didn’t dare to.

But you? You know who you are. You’ve always gone after what you’ve wanted.

You understand what people need. You always have.

You made me laugh when I was upset about something Dad said or when I was crushed by a bad grade.

That’s valuable, Jake. Nursing is the perfect job for you. No matter what anyone says.”

I’m completely thrown by this conversation. Over time, I’ve accepted that I won’t impress anyone with my career choice. I’m a happy-go-lucky guy, but I’m average by any metric. And I’m okay with that most days. But then this?

This shakes my view of myself.

And my mom too. During our recent phone call, she recognized my teaching abilities and acknowledged that my dad treated me unfairly.

And Luke. His words at TNT a few weeks ago reverberate through my head. You just need to man up and realize how awesome you are . I had kind of laughed off his comments and put them aside.

And finally, Lucy. How many times has she told me how much she admires me for standing up to my family and doing my own thing? How proud she is that I’m forging my own path?

But now Wyatt is saying the same thing. If all these people that I admire are saying these things to me, maybe I’m not seeing myself in the clearest of lights.

It’s a lot to unpack.

“Wow, thanks, Wyatt. I… guess I never thought of it that way.”

“You should. Because to me, you’re more of a superstar than any of the rest of us in this fucked-up family. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the courage to tell our family that I’m gay. You, on the other hand—you know what you want, and you just go for it.”

“Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment. ”

“When’s the last time you caved to our father’s expectations?”

“Med school…” I mutter.

“And then you found a way to drop that and pursue what you really loved, no matter what our parents thought. And to anyone else with eyes, you’re impressive. I mean… do you know any other hard-working nurses that also play in a piano bar?”

I don’t know why I’ve never told Wyatt about my part-time gig. Maybe I was worried he’d look down on it. “You know about that?”

“I work a lot, but I don’t live under a rock,” Wyatt chuckles while taking another long sip of his beer. “You definitely lead a much more interesting life than I do. I’m super boring in comparison.”

“You should swing by TNT sometime,” I say. And to my surprise, I mean it.

“I will. I’ve wanted to for a long time.”

We drink in silence for a few moments.

I clear my throat. “I don’t think I can stand smelling this takeout anymore. How about we dig in?”

“Sounds good.”

Wyatt’s gone all out with his order: fried egg rolls, fried rice, noodles, beef and broccoli, General Tso’s chicken, and my favorite, mushu pork. As we eat, we exchange lighthearted banter and reminisce about ridiculous pranks we played on each other when we were younger.

It’s nice. Really nice .

After we finish eating and clean up the leftovers, Wyatt mentions he probably needs to get going—he has an early morning meeting.

As he gets his shoes on, I say, “Hey, don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t be,” Wyatt says, and I believe him. Maybe there’s hope for us after all.

But after Wyatt leaves, his questions remain. They echo in the staggering silence.

Is he right? Is Lucy just going to leave me?

Does it even matter?

My heart is hers for the taking, even if she leaves it behind.