Page 8 of Forged Forever

“I am. The cake was delicious. You did an amazing job.”

I see his cheeks tinge pink despite the low lighting. “Thanks. You know I haven’t given up on us. No pressure, but I wanted you to know I’m still very interested.”

I open my mouth, not sure what to say, but E gently presses a finger to my lips. “No response needed, beautiful. Just wanted you to know.”

He looks so earnest and hopeful when I stare into his golden eyes shining from the light above us. Taking a deep breath, I nod and lie my head on his chest. I honestly have had little time to think about our relationship with everything going on. I obviously haven’t forgotten what we shared, but between Jake, Nick being gone, and school…well, it’s something I need to figure out. Seb's been great at not pushing me about E, keeping two separate relationships going without complaint. I know he'd love the three of us to get together again, though.

Things wind down around 8pm, everyone respectful of the scheduled time. I’m a sweaty mess, having spent most of the night on the dance floor. We help Troy empty the room, which is surprisingly clean considering how many attended. I give Gabby a hug before Troy and Seb help carry her gifts upstairs.

At home, I call Jake to check in after getting into my pjs. He’s still angry, but it’s a simmering anger now. He hasn’t talked to his dad tonight, and Ray is giving him space.

Chapter 4

On Sunday afternoon, I find Alex and Jake playing a video game when I arrive at Jake’s condo, and Ray is already gone to stock up on groceries and essentials. Leaning against the doorjamb, I smile at Will, watching them together. They have headsets on, both using voice commands to fight a group of zombies. Alex didn’t mention he was coming over here yesterday, but it’s not uncommon to find one of my guys here nowadays.

Alex notices me first with a smile as his character dies on screen. “No, no, no. Alex, man, we were almost at the end of the level. What happened?” Jake whines.

Alex nods my way as Jake turns. “Hello boys.” I step into the room, placing a kiss on Jake’s cheek as Alex steps around the bed for a quick hug.

“Sum, have you been here long? Why didn’t you interrupt?” Jake asks.

“Didn’t want to break your concentration, but Alex died anyway,” I smirk.

“Next time say something, woman, and I’ll pause the game.” Jake rolls his eyes at me.

“Noted.” I take a seat on the edge of his bed. “So, what are the plans for today?”

“Distraction.” Jake restarts the game, so I get comfortable and watch. Jake eventually turns on a comedy, and Alex excuses himself to go home.

“Wanna talk, handsome?”

“Nope. Talked to Cameron already. Come snuggle, please.”

Will slides Jake over so I can get in bed beside him and watch the rest of the movie, and Jake is asleep by the time Ray returns. Ray has dark circles under his eyes and the fine lines are more pronounced across his face, but he gives me a smile as I leave. I hope the two of them can get past this tension quickly.

Tuesday morning, I’m up early for school. Ray texted me last night that he contacted Erin and she insisted on flying down here. I’ll find out more details when I visit.

School is uneventful and quiet today. After completing my statistics homework with Bay and Alex, I drive myself over to visit Jake. I’ve stuck to the schedule the guys created for me when Jake and Ray moved in. Running Mondays and Wednesdays after school and on Saturdays. Tuesdays and Thursdays after school for school projects, studying, or homework. Most days I visit Jake after those activities. Ray is in his office on the phone when I enter the condo, so I wave to him and enter Jake’s room. “Hey handsome, Will,” I greet.

“Sum, how was school today? Will and I played tennis. He sucks at it.” Jake seems in a better mood today, a noticeable change in his demeanor.

Will is smiling, shaking his head at Jake. “School was school,” I smile. “Statistics is much easier than precalculus. I got a 95% on my quiz. How was physio?”

“Best time of my life,” he replies, a tiny smile playing on his otherwise neutral face.

Chuckling at him, I kiss his cheek and then pull the rolling chair over to his bedside, plopping down. “Glad you had so much fun.”

He gives me a genuine smile. “This smoothie is fantastic, though. My favorite yet.”

I’ve been giving Ray herbs and supplements to help Jake recover since they moved in. Between Alex and me, we came up with several promising ingredients. Ray blends them into a smoothie once a day for Jake to drink. “Good. How are you and Ray doing?”

A scowl etches itself onto his features, his lips pressed into a thin, unpleasant line. “I’m still mad.”

“Understandable. He did the best he could at the time.”

“I know Sum. Let me be mad, okay? I need to, for a little while.”

Holding my hands up in surrender, I smile. “You do you, Jake. You’ve been doing amazing with all this, honestly. Take all the time you need. Now, switching topics, I hear your mom is coming.”