Page 41 of The Arrangement

God, he sounded so defeated. What nerve had his brother struck to affect him like this? I wanted to hold his neck like he did for me, like I’d seen Mitch do for Andy. But I wasn’t confident in my ability to pull it off, least of all because I didn’t knowwhyit was so damn effective. Maybe Mitch would be able to tell me later tonight, or better yet tomorrow, assuming I could get this disaster back on course.

Instead of doing something I was unsure of, I went for something riskier. I grabbed his hand. “I want to be there for you like you’ve been there for me. Please, James. Let me support you.” Something flickered in his eyes. I didn’t even know what it was, but I knew I wanted whatever it was with my entire being. “Please, James,” I repeated, my voice unexpectedly thick, and squeezed his hand.

He took a deep, stuttering breath, and when he squeezed my hand back, I thought for a second my heart might actually pop like the seed capsules of a jewelweed. “I guess we should head back to the shop.” He looked around, and before he could admit to being lost, I chimed in.

“Actually, I was thinking since we’re here already, we could hit up the Bay Breeze Cafe. We should be‌ between the morning and lunch rush, so no line. Get out of the heat for a bit. What do you say? I’ll even get you the sweetest thing I can find.”

He chuckled, and a warmth that had nothing to do with the rising temperature spread through my chest. “No need to oversell it. You had me at ‘breeze.’ Now where exactly is this joint? Because I’ve passed a few places and I can honestly say I haven’t seen that name once.”

I smiled broadly, already tugging him back toward the drive and a rather convenient aged oak, if I did say so myself. Once we were firmly in the shade and obscured from nosey jerks, I pulled him close so he was pressing me against the tree.

“Something on your mind, Weathers?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

My smirk slipped free about the same time I slipped my hand beneath his shirt to feel his furry belly. “I promised you something sweet, didn’t I?”

His eyes widened, and he glanced around where the steady vehicle traffic couldn’t care less and the foot traffic was virtually nonexistent. “Here?”

“Just kiss me, JD.”

He hesitated a moment, then lowered his head to brush his lips delicately over mine. It was possible he was uncomfortable with the public setting, but I didn’t think that was it. I suspected it had something to do with whatever nerve his brother had struck, and for some unfathomable reason, I was convinced this would help. Also, I was a greedy shit, desperate for more kisses,who would happily devour this man given the opportunity. So, when he didn’t immediately pull away, I released his hand and grabbed the side of his neck to hold him in place so I could kiss him the way I wanted.

Between heartbeats, I suddenly found myself crushed between the immovable force of two-hundred-year-old gnarled wood and JD, and it was fucking perfect. The suddenly intense kiss tapered off until we were simply standing there, our foreheads pressed together, sharing the same air.

“My flower name is also my favorite flower,” I said out of the blue, my eyes still closed, lost in the moment of connection.

“Mmm, because there’s so many fewer of those.”

“Shut your face.” I laughed and pushed him away. “That’s the thanks I get for giving you a hint?”

He crossed his arms, forcing his t-shirt to strain across his chest. “What makes you think I needed a hint?”

I snorted. “You’ve been struggling pretty bad.”

“Oh yeah? How’s this for struggle?”

Before I knew it, JD’s arms were uncrossed, and I was bent over in a headlock. Had to admit, of all the ways I’d imagined one of us bent over, this hadn’t made the list. Not that I had a list. Okay, there might be a list. But it was all JD and those damn romance books’ fault for giving me the ideas.

“Ack! Let me go, you freaking giant. No fair!” I shoved against him with the expected result—aka none—while laughing.

“Hey, queers, get a fucking room!” a voice shouted right before a sizeable rock thunked into the oak tree hard enough to leave a dent.

JD instantly let me go, and I scooped up the rock, then sent it sailing into Brody Beechum’s bike wheel in one fluid motion. It slammed into the spokes hard enough for the bicycle to wobble. Try as he might to regain control, the wheel was fucked, and hewent crashing to the ground. He might be able to limp along home, but there was a replacement bike in his future.

“Fucking asshole!” Brody shouted, grabbing another rock and hurling it our way. I watched impassively as it once again missed its target.

“I see your aim hasn’t improved.”

“You owe me a new bike, you fucking fag,” he clapped back, as original as ever. He was talking out of his ass for sure. If only he’d been here a minute or two earlier, then he would have really gotten an eyeful.

“I don’t owe you shit, Brody. Learn to mind your own fucking business. Or have you still not learned about throwing rocks and glass houses? And if you don’t like it, then you can cry to your daddy like you always have.” I crossed my arms and waited for the comeback.

Brody’s gaze darted between us, then, like the back alley coward he’d always been, he picked up his bike and began walking his janky ass home. When it was clear he wouldn’t be circling back for retribution, I turned to the poor, abused oak tree. Plenty of people over the years thought I was a little off my rocker for talking and cooing to plants, encouraging them, but plenty of studies showed how effective it was. Besides, wasn’t like it could hurt.

“Did that big ol’ bully hurt you? That’s okay. You’re stronger and more resilient than he’ll ever be.” I lovingly caressed each superficial wound, gently clearing away the damaged pieces. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught JD watching me and quickly straightened up. One of these days I’d remember other people could see me when I did shit like that. “What?”

“That’s one hell of an arm you’ve got,” he said with an appraising look.

I beamed at him. “Varsity baseball. Third base. Wanna guess what position Brody played?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.