Page 48 of When Ben Loved Jace (He Loved Him #2)

It isn’t working. As much as I adore him, and despite how patient we’ve tried to be, there comes a time in any relationship when you have to admit that it simply isn’t going well. Time to pull the plug and call it quits. No matter how bad that might sting.

“And over here,” Greg says, gesturing grandly, “is your brand-new kitchen! Just imagine your kids lined up at the breakfast bar each morning.” He plops down on one of the stools, making his voice sound higher.

“Daddy! Daddy! We want pancakes!” He hops back up again.

“All right, all right,” he says in a deep tone.

“Geez, who knew that being a parent could be so stressful. Good thing I’ve got my own wine cooler!

” He opens the door to a small refrigerator before beaming at us. “How awesome is that?”

“I don’t drink much,” I say.

“Our kids might though,” Jace murmurs.

“All four of them,” I reply after snorting.

We’re currently being shown a five-bedroom house. Five! When we told Greg that we hoped to start a family someday, he really took the idea and ran with it. That’s the problem. His vision of our future doesn’t really mesh with our own.

Greg isn’t discouraged by our flippancy. “You can stock the cooler full of soda,” he suggests. “That’ll leave extra space in the fridge.” Which is so large that he has to spread his arms wide when opening the butterflying doors. I swear there’s more space inside than Jace’s whole trailer.

Married life is good, but not without its complications.

Our living arrangements in particular. Most of my possessions remain in the two-bedroom duplex I moved into with Allison shortly after graduating.

I’m still paying half the rent, because it wouldn’t be fair to stop.

Not with all my stuff there. I can’t shift it to Jace’s place because there simply isn’t room.

As charming as the trailer might be, I’m sick to death of living in it.

And in someone else’s driveway. Jace is ready for change too.

Considering that his best friend is a real estate agent, we thought it made the most sense to turn to him for help—a decision that I have come to regret.

“Time to check out your new garage,” Greg says, opening yet another door .

We stick our heads in.

“Enough room for three cars,” I observe. “We’ll have to buy one more.”

“Hey, the little tykes are gonna grow up fast and start driving eventually. This house is what I like to call future-proof.” Greg grins at us. “What do you think?”

Jace is at a loss for words. I’m not but decide to hold my tongue.

Greg raises his hands. “Talk it over. I’ll be on the deck out back, admiring that view of the golf course.”

“Jace…” I say once we’re alone.

“I know,” he says with a sigh.

“Does he think we’re loaded or something?”

“Greg is used to catering to a particular class of clientele—” he begins.

“Yeah, rich people!” I interrupt, having heard the same explanation last night when I expressed my misgivings. “Maybe we need to find a real estate agent who caters to poor folks like us.”

Jace shakes his head. “It would break his heart. Greg was so excited when I told him we were ready to buy a house. I don’t want to injure his professional pride.”

“I understand,” I say with a nod. “We’ll take this house then. I’ll walk the streets at night so we can afford it, but hey, I won’t have far to go since the people in this neighborhood have some serious money.”

“Do I get to be your pimp?”

“Jace!”

“I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you.”

I follow him outside to the deck. Greg spins around with an eager expression. “What did you decide?”

“It’s a beautiful house,” my husband says, “but we’re looking for something smaller.”

“ Much smaller,” I emphasize. “We only really need one bedroom.”

Greg’s face falls. “But you wanna start a family!”

“Someday,” Jace says gently. “For now, smaller would be good. A stepping stone on the way to buying a house like this.”

Greg takes the news well. He straightens up and nods in determination. “Got it. Just give me a few minutes to line something up. I’ll meet you out front.”

“See?” I say encouragingly as we leave him in the backyard. “That wasn’t so hard.”

“Not at all. I just really…”

“Love your best friend?”

He smiles and nods. “Yeah.”

Greg’s enthusiasm has rebounded, along with my optimism, by the time we climb back into his SUV.

He drives us downtown, right into the heart of the city, which piques my interest because I enjoy the culture there.

The car slows next to a tall building before making a right turn into the parking garage beneath it.

“Now this isn’t a house,” he says, “but it is small and would be a great starter place.”

Jace glances over at me. I shrug and nod.

We take an elevator to the top floor. The hallway there only contains two front doors.

My stomach sinks as soon as we walk inside one of them.

The industrial loft deco is awesome, but I can already tell from the sprawling room sizes, and the floor-to-ceiling windows, that it’s probably outside our price range.

I’m absolutely certain when Greg mentions a private rooftop terrace.

The kitchen appliances are state-of-the-art. The bathroom has a freaking bidet!

“And here’s the bedroom,” Greg says, ushering us in. “Just the one, as promised. Check out that view! Imagine looking at that while getting it on. Doggy-style would be perfect, so you can both enjoy it at the same time.”

I walk to the windows where half the city is on display, but I’m not interested. I only want to ensure that Greg can’t see my expression. I’m especially glad I did so when he tells us the price.

“That’s almost as much as the last place!” Jace says in shock.

“Yeah, but your utilities won’t be as much. You’ll save on gas too, since you can walk to all the restaurants and stuff.”

“That’s true,” Jace says, as if it’s even remotely a realistic option. He doesn’t point out that we wouldn’t be able to afford to eat at those restaurants. Or anywhere else ever again.

“What do you think, Ben?” Greg prompts.

I turn around with a tight smile. “We’ll have to talk it over.”

“Cool! I’m starving. Who wants lunch? We can scope out some of the local flavor. My treat.”

That sounds good to me, since it will be one of our last meals if my husband doesn’t start being more direct with his best friend.

We walk to a nearby grill with a trendy interior, the menu prices confirming that people around here have a lot more disposable income than we do.

After we’ve placed our orders, Jace excuses himself to use the restroom.

“So what do you think?” Greg asks me. “I know you still need to talk it over, but give me your personal top three.”

“None of them,” I admit. “They’re all too expensive.”

Greg shakes his head in confusion. “Jace told me that the bank approved a loan of—”

“I know, and we were surprised too, but if we take them up on it, we’ll be paying off the mortgage for the rest of our lives.”

He peers at me in confusion. “Are you sure? Jace is getting those sweet international routes now. And you work at the hospital. That has to pay well.”

My days of slinging frozen yoghurt are well behind me.

I work as a speech language pathologist, which is extremely gratifying.

I get to teach young people how to manage speech impediments and help adults regain communication skills after injuries and illnesses.

Allison alerted me to the position while in residency for the counseling work she does.

Being a pathologist wasn’t something I ever envisioned myself doing, but I absolutely love the work.

There’s just one downside. “The hours are only part-time. I don’t even get benefits.

What I make is barely enough to cover rent and utilities, so I’m not bringing much to the table. ”

“Well sure,” Greg says, “but Jace has been living for free in Adrien’s driveway for all these years. And with me before that.”

“Which is the only thing that made it possible for us to save up for the down payment. Otherwise we’d be living paycheck to paycheck.”

“Shit,” Greg says, leaning back. “I had no idea.” He blinks. “I’m doing really well for myself. So is Michelle. We could chip in.”

“No!” I understand now why Jace was so protective of Greg’s pride, because I feel the same way about my man.

He wouldn’t like being offered a handout, no matter how well-meaning.

“That’s very sweet of you, but we’ll manage on our own.

Maybe we’re not ready to buy a house. That’s no fault of yours.

We can rent something until I start pulling my own weight. ”

Greg shakes his head. “You don’t want to do that. Not if you can help it. You’re better off putting all that money into something you own. Otherwise you’re basically giving it away.”

“I agree. But I also know from my credit cards that you can get stuck paying interest instead of the… whatever it’s called.”

“The principal.”

“Yeah. I’d love a cheap little house somewhere in a neighborhood that’s safe and quiet, but maybe that’s unrealistic for us at this point.”

Greg puffs up his chest. “I’ll make it happen.”

“We can’t accept—”

He shakes his head. “That’s not what I mean. I’ll find exactly what you want. This is what I do. Just bear with me. Between getting hitched and moving here, things have been crazy. I haven’t got a handle on the new market yet. I’m usually better at this sort of thing, I swear.”

“That’s okay.” I can’t help smirking. “We can cuddle instead.”

Greg blinks. Then he laughs. “Hey, this doesn’t reflect on my prowess. No amount of stress can keep my little guy down! Wait, I didn’t mean to call it—”

“Don’t worry, I know you’re a stud.” I lean forward and whisper in conspiring tones. “Girls talk. Michelle is very impressed.”

“Really?” He grins at this news. “Awesome!”

Jace returns to the table. I wish I’d had just a little more time alone with Greg, so I could ask him not to mention what we discussed. My husband wouldn’t like that I painted such a bleak picture of our financial situation, despite it being the truth. We get by, and that’s good enough for us.

“You know what?” Greg says suddenly. “I’m not feeling any of the places we’ve seen yet. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all nice, but they don’t really fit you guys. Know what I mean?”

Jace looks at me quizzically.

I shrug. I’ll share the gist of the conversation with him later. Now isn’t the time.

“I wouldn’t mind a few more options,” Jace admits.

“Perfect!” Greg says. “We’ll call it a day and start again tomorrow. For now…” He rubs his hands together. “Here come those starters!”

— — —

Despite the productive conversation, I’m still a little apprehensive the next day. Greg’s sales pitch is more muted than usual as we drive past houses that are—thank goodness—relatively small.

“The neighborhood isn’t exactly up-and-coming,” he says, “and isn’t likely to be anytime soon.

There’s no new development slated, but I’ve done some research and crime is low.

” His SUV slows and pulls up in front of a single-story house with an overgrown lawn.

“There isn’t a garage, but you could always park in the street and put your trailer in the driveway.

You won’t be able to get it in the back, because of the privacy fence. ”

“Samson would like having his own yard,” Jace says, sounding upbeat.

“The trees are nice,” I add as we get out.

Adrien’s neighborhood might be affluent, but it’s also sterile.

The foliage here is untamed, the branches of gnarled trees forming a canopy above the streets.

The property itself is unassuming, a cracked walkway leading to a pale-yellow house with a steepled roof.

Windows line each side of the green front door.

Squirrels bound out of our way and birds take flight as we approach a porch sectioned off by wooden railings.

“It’s a bit of a fixer-upper,” Greg warns after opening the door.

We’re ushered into a small living room, lavender paint peeling off the walls. I’m getting granny vibes.

“We’d have to replace the carpet,” Jace says.

“If I was you,” Greg says, “I’d pull it up. There’s a patch missing in the bedroom. You can see the hardwood floors beneath. You’d just have to restore them.”

“There’s only one bedroom?” Jace asks.

Greg nods. “That’ll hurt your resale value, since families won’t be interested.”

“We’ll just have to sell it to another gay couple then,” I reply.

“Assuming we move at all,” Jace adds.

“You know what?” Greg gestures to the hall. “Discover the rest on your own. I’ll be out front.”

There isn’t a lot more to see. A separate kitchen occupies one side of the house, a bathroom and bedroom filling up the rear. The hallway that runs down the middle of it all ends in a door that leads outside to a patio and a backyard even more overgrown than the front .

“The fence is in good shape,” Jace says before smiling at me. “What do you think?”

“I’m crazy about it,” I admit.

“Me too!”

“I wonder how much it costs.”

That puts a damper on our enthusiasm. Neither of us wants to be disappointed.

“But if it was within our range…” Jace says leadingly.

“Let’s find out before we get our hopes up.”

I follow him to the front, but it’s too late. When walking down the hall, I can already imagine our lives here. Waking up in the bedroom together each day, basking in the kitchen’s natural sunlight while having breakfast, cuddling up on the couch in the living room… I want this!

Jace opens the front door. “How much?”

Greg spins around. Then he tells us.

Jace nods solemnly. “Just a moment please.”

He shuts the door again and turns to face me. “What do you think? It needs a lot of love.”

I smile. “That’s the one thing we have plenty of.”

He grins. I follow him outside to the front porch.

“Well?” Greg asks with transparent hope.

“We’ll take it,” Jace informs him.

“Yes!” Greg leaps up and down before plowing into us both for a hug. “I’m so happy!”

Jace chuckles. “You’re welcome to crash on the couch anytime you like.”

“Or the bed,” I say as Greg’s muscular torso presses against me.

“I’ll be sleeping in the trailer,” Greg says. “You horn-dogs are way too loud. But yeah, I’m gonna be over here all the time. Especially when I get in trouble with Michelle.”

“Our house is your house,” Jace assures him.

I already love how that sounds. Our house! The one that I will share with my husband. I can hardly believe my luck, because at the tender age of twenty-five, all of my dreams are coming true.