Page 5 of Coming Home
“Stop it.” He waved a hand at me. “We were sixteen, Cole. Just kids and you were...cute.”
I huffed out a laugh. “I was cute?”
Reed had been much more than that. The word beautiful came to mind. He still was.
“You know you were.”
“And what about you? You weren’t cute?”
Reed’s head shot up as he finally met my gaze. “Are you saying you thought I was cute, too?”
His cheeks burned red, and his teeth nibbled his bottom lip. He was looking pretty damn cute right now. The urge to kiss him hit me, and I had to stop myself from sealing our mouths together. We had had so much fun messaging one another at all hours of the night. I had a few rough morning practices because of that, but I had never regretted it. I had liked him a lot. And was disappointed when he disappeared on me.
“I did.”
What was the point of lying? The moment I had seen him, I had wondered what it would be like to kiss him, to hold him in my arms. And more. I had only kissed one boy since I had realized I was bi, and that had ended in heartbreak for me. After that, it had been only girls. Not that they had been terrible, but I was wary of falling for someone again. Bryant had opened my eyes to what it was like to be with a guy, but I was terrified of what would happen after that summer.
Reed’s face split into a smile. “I wish I had known back then. Things might have been different.”
“But we’re here now. That’s all that matters,” I assured him. “Now, I think you should show me some of your moves.”
His brows shot up. “My moves?”
“Yeah, your dance moves. Show me what you’ve got.” I suddenly wished he was wearing tights and a shorter top that showed off his body.
His mother stepped back through the front door before I could say anything else.
I wanted to ask him what he meant. How would they have been different? A couple of his mother’s students arrived then, and our conversation ended, but my mind kept whirling.
What did that mean? Did Reed have a boyfriend? Had he wanted more from me? And now I wanted to know exactly why he had stopped talking to me. I would ask him as soon as I had the chance.
“I LIKE IT HERE,” Icommented as we stepped back outside.
I had hoped to watch Reed teach some of the class, to dance and show off his body, but unfortunately, Jillian had shown up and that didn’t happen. I remembered some of the reels Reed had posted, the flawless way he moved. He looked like he was made to dance, like he didn’t even have to think about it; he just did it. Now was not the time for my dick to get hard.
“It’s quiet.”
Reed chuckled. “Yeah, you can say that again.”
“It’s nice, though. Growing up in Boston, I guess I’m just used to the city and all the cars and horns and people. Do you miss this? Now that you’re in New York, I mean?”
“I do. It took a little getting used to all the noise when I moved, but it doesn’t bother me anymore.”
I nodded. “Dad loves it. He was in Boston for so long, and now he can just relax.”
The sudden urge to call him hit me. He was on an airplane with his new husband, whom I loved dearly, and I just missed both of them. I was an adult now, though. I had to get used to being on my own.
“Are you okay?” Reed asked. His brows were pinched together.
I tried to swallow around the lump in my throat as my stomach twisted. Maybe I should have eaten something other than the energy drink that was currently threatening to come back up. Maybe I should have gone with my dads on their honeymoon. They had invited me, but I thought that would have been weird. But with school, I hadn’t spent that much time with them, and now...
“Hey, come on.”
Reed grabbed my hand and tugged me to the coffee shop, Bean on Main,at the end of the strip mall. The place looked closed, but when he pushed the door open, the bell announced our arrival and the smell inside was heavenly. All coffee, chocolate, and sweet.
“Oh, goodness, are you okay?” Tate Frost rushed over to us. “Sit, please. I’ll grab you some water.”
Reed smiled at me and patted my shoulder, then followed him. Moments later, they appeared next to me. Reed with a bottle of water and Tate with a chocolate croissant in his hand.
