Page 51 of Balance

“Good boy,” I murmured. Resisting the urge to pull him into my lap took monumental strength. If I didn’t think that it would humiliate Troye or get us kicked out of the restaurant, or both, I’d probably have given in and done it.

It was a good thing Charlie and Jett returned just then. Charlie plopped down in his chair and eyed the dessert that Troye had been picking at.

“I like the way you think, Troye.” Charlie flagged down a server and asked for three more desserts. The server left, looking relieved that the drama at the table seemed to be over. When he was gone, Charlie swung his gaze over to Jett. “Well?”

Jett took a deep breath, expanding his shoulders, inflating his chest, and then he let it all rush out of him. I wasn’t sure what had gone on after I left, but whatever it was, Jett looked… softer somehow. I was used to seeing him with a hint of anger or a baseline of irritation. He was all business, all serious, all the time. But now that had been stripped away, and I saw my friend for what he was underneath all of those masks.

Exhausted. The bags under his eyes had bags, and there was a look in his eyes that was the closest thing to defeat I’d ever seen.

“Troye, I owe you an apology,” Jett paused and glanced at Charlie, who made no motion, no outward signal at all, but I had the feeling the two of them were communicating. Jett turned back to Troye, and it was his turn to curl in on himself. “Look, I know today was important to you, and I know I fucked it up. I won’t pretend that I had a good excuse or that I was justified in the way I went off like that. But⁠—”

“Brrt.” Charlie made a buzzer noise and Jett winced.

“I had no reason to behave the way I did, and I hope you can forgive me.”

Under the table, Troye squeezed my leg, just once, reminding himself that he had my support, that I was there for him to lean on. No matter what.

“Well, if you survived Charlie and were allowed to return to the table, you must be actually sorry. So, yes, I forgive you.”

Jett’s face went through a catalogue of shades of pink. “Charles had a few choice words for me. I believe he probably wanted to toss in a few more motherfuckers, but he showed great restraint.”

Charlie merely smiled. “All in a day’s work.”

The pie arrived, much to the relief of everyone at the table. Charlie led the conversation to safer topics. Mostly, he kept his attention on Jett.

“Do you know what you need?” he asked, a forkful of pie hovering in the air. “You need a dog.”

“I don’t have time for a dog.” Jett was unusually aggressive with his next bite of pie. It was a wonder that the china didn’t snap in half with the amount of force he used to cut a chunk off his slice.

“Which is exactly why you need one.” Charlie eyed Jett like he was a puzzle he was determined to solve. I could tell that it made Jett uncomfortable, but I chalked it up to him being embarrassed about acting like an asshole. “You need to make time for something that isn’t your company.”

“I make time for plenty of things.”

“Torturing your best friend by acting like an idiot at dinner doesn’t count.”

Jett scowled but stayed silent.

“Eat your pie,” Charlie said with a smile, but underneath it, the hard edge he had with Jett was easy to see.

Whenever his gaze settled on Jett, his face was stern. Eyes like iron pinned Jett in place like a butterfly stuck to a spreading board.

But when Charlie looked at Troye, he was all sunshine and rainbows. Puppies and kittens didn’t hold a candle to his smile. I counted myself lucky that the two of them had never hit it off in a romantic way, because I was sure if they had, I’d never have stood a chance. I got the feeling, however, that Charlie liked more of a challenge.

When it was time to go, I paid the bill, leaving a generous tip for the server who’d taken care of Troye. We trickled out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk. I kept Troye tucked against my side.

“Look, Troye,” Jett started. He glanced at Charlie with the kind of wariness you saw in dogs who’d been kicked one too many times and found it hard to trust. “I really am sorry about earlier.”

“Jett, if anyone understands getting wound up about stuff and not being able to unwind in a normal, rational way, it’s the guy who flopped down on a stranger’s lap on a crowded airplane with full intentions of spending the whole flight there.” Troye slipped his arm around my waist. “But sometimes things work out in spite of ourselves. Remember that.”

Charlie reached over and ruffled Troye’s hair. “I’ll see you around, buddy.” Then he flicked his gaze to me. “Take good care of him.”

It was more than a parting phrase; it was approval. It was Charlie’s way of letting his best friend know that he approved of me.

“I plan to,” I answered. There wasn’t a single thing in the world that I wouldn’t do for Troye. Meeting him had been the best thing to ever happen to me. Like Jett, I’d been wrapped up in my work. In running a company and helping with the project to improve the lives of foster kids. Kids like Jett who’d been saved by the system and all the kids who hadn’t been.

But I’d lost sight of life. I buried myself in work and kept chasing lofty goals. Always grinding. Never stopping. And then Troye came along and threw himself into my path. His presence in my life was a reminder that I needed to make room for a life in my schedule. That I needed to play as much as I needed to work. He grounded me so I could soar.

“Let’s go home.” I didn’t have to qualify that I meant my home, which felt increasingly empty when he wasn’t in it. I’d never minded living alone before, but now my house was like a tomb when Troye wasn’t there.