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I hugged him back, already feeling a little better. I’d never been an emotional person. In fact, I’d always been pretty clear-headed and level when it came to tough situations, knowing how to rein my feelings in to prevent a bigger issue, but it seemed like lately I was losing my ability to not give a fuck.
My walls were crumbling around me and I knew why. I just didn’t want to admit it out loud.
“Hey,” I said as we broke apart our hug and took our seats.
“So, tell me about this guy that’s got you all—” He whistled, a slow smile spreading across his face.
I sighed.
Well, it’s now or never.
“He’s not just... some guy. Cade, he’s...” I struggled to find my words, but true to his nature, Cade was as patient as a saint with me.
“It’s... Nolan.”
“Nolan riding your ass again at work? I told you—”
“No, Cade. The guy that’s... It’s Nolan. We sort of... ran into each other on the trail at the Towers, and I sort of made a bet with him, and he won, and we sort of went on a date, but it wasn’t supposed to be a date, and then we kissed, and started making out in my truck, and I lost it, and he ran off, and...”
“Slow down, Dawson. One thing at a time...” Cade said, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration.
“I just, uh... I think somehow I may have fucked shit up, and I’m not sure what to do.”
Cade smiled, shaking his head. “I knew it. You got it bad, huh?” he said slyly.
On instinct, I balked at his comment. After all, I’d prided myself for years on my carefree personality, the guy who just had fun without getting too involved in anything remotely serious.
It was still strange despite how I felt inside, to hear someone else say it out loud.
“I wouldn’t go that far, I—”
Cade’s shoulders loosened as he sat back in his chair, eyeing me like a teacher eyes the kid in class who screamed when they weren’t supposed to.
“Dawson. It’s me. You can be honest.”
“It’s complicated,” I say, hating how cliché I sounded.
“It always is,” Cade said as the waiter finally came by to take our order.
I opted for a beer and a basket of hot wings, while Cade opted for a spiked seltzer and some fried pickles. He briefly checked his phone, a smile gracing his lips, and I almost rolled my eyes.
“Prince Charming whispering sweet nothings in your ear again?”
Cade set his phone down, smirking. “Actually, he said he’s getting out of work early, and asked if he could join us?”
I wanted to be pissed. Really, I did, but seeing the way Cade lit up when he talked about the man made it hard to say no.
“Of course, the more the merrier,” I said with a half-smile. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Weston, or that I felt like I deserved this alone time with Cade and selfishly wanted to keep it that way. I wanted to be supportive, not just for my friend, but also because I felt some sort of intrinsic responsibility for setting them up in the first place, for telling Cade to go after what he wanted—Weston—just like he was sitting here listening to me drone on about a very attractive complication of my own.
Besides, Weston seemed like a decent guy. Not that that meant I was going to tell him all my secrets and have a slumber party with the guy any time soon, but I wasn’t about to say no to another drinking buddy and the man who clearly made my best friend happy.
Cade tapped out his response on his phone before looking back at me with his know-it-all stare.
“All I’m saying is, if you like him, you should be honest.”
“It’s not that easy...” I said, letting out a defeated sigh.
Cade pressed. “Why not? What’s so hard about—”
