Page 94 of Necessary Space

“What exactly do you think you’re going to do with this unplanned time off, Wes?”

Beside me, the tension radiated off Hendrix’s shoulders. I wanted to step toward him, to offer him my support the way Grayson had done for Wesley, but in light of where we’d left things, I wasn’t certain my touch would be welcome.

“I wanted to talk to you about this in private,” Wesley mumbled.

“You can,” Gray interrupted, stare flickering toward me. “Grab that bottle, Miles. Let’s go for a walk.”

“We can’t take the bottle of wine on a walk with us,” I said.

Gray rolled his eyes like I was an idiot. He held out his hand and Wesley dropped his key ring into Grayson’s palm.

“We can go to Wes’s house.”

“It’s my house,” Hendrix corrected.

“It’s your company’s house,” I reminded him, a bitter jab after the last conversation we’d started and not finished.

“We’ll go,” Hendrix said, stepping toward his brother.

Stepping away from me.

Grayson turned and said something to Wesley, who nodded and squared his shoulders. Hendrix reached them, pausing. His attention shifted from one to the other and back again before he reached between them and opened the front door. He waited for Wesley to step onto the porch, then he followed after.

He didn’t bother saying goodbye to me before he closed the door behind them.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

Hendrix

It took allthe effort in my body to not forcefully manhandle Wesley through the front door. I closed it and locked it behind him for good measure, partially to keep him in and partially to keepmein. The discussion I’d been having with Miles was left open-ended, and I knew that wouldn’t keep for long. He could stew in his jealousy about Colin while I dealt with whatever absurd plans my brother had come up with on his day date with Grayson.

The both of them were trouble on their own. Together, who knew what they’d come up with? But earlier in the day after talking with my mom, I didn’t have many options and Grayson had been the best one.

“Talk.” I leaned against the door and crossed my arms over my chest. Wesley turned on his heel, mirroring my pose.

“I don’t want to live in Brixton anymore,” he said.

“Then finish school and move.”

“I don’t want to wait for that.”

“You made a commitment to school,” I reminded him. “It’s not just about you.”

“Mom isn’t the one getting a degree,” he snapped, gesturing wildly with one of his hands before tucking it safely back into the crook of his arm.

“It’s her money.”

“Less than half. The rest is scholarship and you know it.”

“So you’re just willing to waste the opportunity the scholarship has allowed you?” I arched a brow.

“It’s not an opportunity I want,” he protested, huffing out a tired breath before spinning away and stalking into the kitchen.

By the time I caught up with him, he was bent over and rummaging around in the fridge, muttering under his breath about the lack of non-alcoholic drink options. Which was ridiculous because if I had known he was coming, I would have at least picked up a six-pack of Coke or something for him.

“I don’t understand what the rush to get out of town is.” I tried to soften my tone, uncross my arms. I did what I could to present my sympathy instead of my confusion, which would have been the least I owed Miles, yet I hadn’t given it to him. I grimaced, wanting to make things right with him, but needing to deal with Wesley first.

I hoped things with Miles would keep, because the longer I was home, the more I realized how inappropriate my reaction to his question about Colin had been. He hadn’t accused me of anything. Sure, he was jealous, I knew that about him and I understood it. I shouldn’t have amplified his emotions, though. I should have helped ease them, but I’d only made things worse. Then I’d called him out over his age, which was one of the things I really did love the most about him.