Page 46 of Necessary Time

“What about you and Colin?” Grayson snatched his car keys off the counter and stepped toward the front door. “Come on. We’re going to be late if we don’t leave five minutes ago.”

I chased after him, locking the door behind me, then running to catch up to him near the elevator.

“About what’s been going on between us,” I said.

The doors slid open and we stepped into an empty cab.

“The way you’ve been draining each other’s balls dry every night for the past week?”

I thumped my head against the back wall of the elevator and closed my eyes. Grayson wasn’t wrong with his observation, but it felt like such a crap thing to say about whatever was happening between me and Colin. Things with us felt important, but in a way I couldn’t explain and I knew if I tried, the words would just get messed up. That was one of the great things about him. I didn’t have to explain it. He understood. We were on the same page.

“I mean—” The ding of the elevator landing in the parking garage interrupted my thoughts. Grayson stepped off the elevator and I followed behind, taking bigger than normal steps to catch up with him. He was shorter than me, but he had a quick gait, undoubtedly from trying to keep up with Miles, who was well over six feet tall, for years.

“I won’t tell,” he said. “I don’t want to lie about it, especially to Miles, but I won’t offer it up.”

“I don’t want you to have to lie.”

Grayson pulled open the driver’s side door of his car and slipped into the seat. I waited for him to unlock the passenger door and I repeated the motions, pulling the seatbelt on and unrolling the window as soon as he turned the ignition on.

“You know I have AC, right?”

My arm hung out the window, waiting for him to make it onto the street.

“I like the air,” I told him. “The weather wasn’t this nice in Brixton. Like, there hasn’t been shitty weather since I moved.”

“We’re supposed to get some rain this weekend.”

“Rain isn’t bad weather. You’re just jaded because you’ve lived here for so long.”

“Maybe,” he agreed, driving us through the city. “But back to the topic at hand.”

I chuckled, unable to not find amusement at the double entendre.

“I’m ninety-nine percent sure Miles is not going to hit me with a direct question about the nature of yourfriendshipwith Colin. But if he does, I’m not going to lie.” Grayson dragged his tongue across the front of his teeth. “But that said, I don’t know what the real nature of your relationship with Colin is, and I’ve put my foot into it with your brotherandMiles before about making assumptions, so it’s probably best I stay out of it entirely.”

“I don’t want you out of it entirely.” I sighed.

“Do elaborate.”

“We’re friends, right?” I rolled my head to the left, studying Grayson’s profile for any signs of hesitation.

“Of course. You wouldn’t be living with me rent-free if I didn’t like you at least a little.”

“I want to pay rent,” I said.

“Then get a job.”

“I don’t know what I want to do.” With a half-finished degree, I wasn’t going to get anything more than entry level and I could get a low-pressure retail job or fast food for the same amount of money. Fact of the matter was, I’d been taking advantage of Grayson’s money for long enough. My savings account was dwindling and even if he wasn’t going to make me pay rent, I needed to have some kind of income and I needed it soon. Also, I didn’t want Colin to keep buying me dinner.

“You’re getting off-track,” Grayson said. “Yes, Wes. We’re friends.”

“I want to be able to talk to you…to a friend…about some of this stuff. With Colin.” Jesus, this was embarrassing. “I don’t have anyone to talk to or ask questions.”

“You can’t ask him?”

“It’s different.”

He laughed, mouth pulled into a huge smirk as he asked me, “Do you know what poppers are yet?”