Gideon shook his head. “No. I think I should tell him in person. I’ll drive into town and talk to him.”
“Can we go with you?” Mickey asked.
“I think I should go alone.”
Though disappointed, the boys accepted his decision.
Gideon walked them to the door. “I’ll let you know if anything of significance happens, okay?”
“Okay,” Mickey said.
“I should take Derek’s phone with me. I know there’s nothing on it for him to see, but I think he’ll want it anyway.”
Mickey nodded and handed over the device. “I hope they make up.” Tears lingered in his eyes. “I think they really need each other.”
“I think you could be right.” Gideon kissed his head, then Marcus’ also. “Don’t worry about it, though. The fact that Patrick called after four days of silence is a good sign. I take it as a good sign, anyway. I don’t think he would’ve called if he no longer wanted Derek in his life.”
“Yeah.” Marcus smiled, his sad countenance brightening a bit before waning once again. “But he said not to tell Derek that he called. Why would he say that?”
“My guess is he’s struggling with his beliefs and convictions. It can cause a consistent back-and-forth where he’ll get close to Derek, then feel guilty or convicted, and pull away. This can happen over and over until he’s finally forced to make a choice—or go crazy.”
“What do you think his final choice will be?” Mickey asked anxiously.
Gideon sighed. “I can’t make that call. I haven’t even met him. But even so, it’s hard to know the outcome. I believe he has a powerful attraction to Derek, but a person’s faith and beliefs are very difficult to set aside or change.”
Marcus looked uncertain. “Doyouthink God wants him to be alone his whole life? Never have a boyfriend or have sex?”
Gideon didn’t know if he was qualified to speak on God’s behalf. He could only answer with what he believed in his heart. “No, I don’t. But that’s just my opinion. It isn’t up to me to decide what’s right for Patrick—onlyPatrickcan make that decision.”
“He’ll choose Derek,” Marcus whispered, his chin quivering. “I know he will. Hehasto—Derekloveshim. Derek doesn’t know it yet… but he loves him.”
A lump forming in his throat, Gideon hugged the boy. “You’re an absolute treasure, Marcus.” He drew Mickey into his embrace. “Both of you.”
. . .
“I’ll probably go home tomorrow.” Derek sagged against the sofa with a bottle of beer.
“I thought you were going to stay until Friday.” Bailey sat beside him.
“No reason to anymore.”
Bailey chuckled. “Thanks. I’m flattered.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Derek laughed. “I love spending time with you. But I came in here for the distraction, to keep from calling Patrick. That’s not an issue anymore. He’s done with me and…” He shrugged, taking a drink of beer. “… and I need to accept it and move on.”
Bailey cast him a sidelong glance. “Just like that?”
“Just like what?” Derek sighed. “What other choice do I have? He made sure I couldn’t contact him—that pretty much says it all.” A numbness took hold of Derek as soon as he’d left the club. Deep down, he’d really believed that Patrick would call—or at the very least, be there to answer when Derek called him. He hadn’t realized justhowmuchhe’d believed it—until he discovered Patrick had changed his number. Now—he felt numb and empty. Maybe that was best; feeling nothing was better than feeling hurt and humiliation.
“I guess so,” Bailey murmured.
“It isn’t up to me.” Derek looked at him. “It was Patrick’s call, not mine. I had no say in the matter.” He laid his head back and closed his eyes. “Or maybe I did have a say and I just waited too fucking long to act.”
“Meaning?”
Derek raised his head. “Maybe if I’d called him that same night, or even the next day—before he changed his number—I could have apologized and maybe gotten another date with him. I mean, shit, maybe menotcalling made him think thatIdidn’t want anything more to do with him.” His face pinched. “Fuck.” Derek leaned forward and set his beer on the coffee table, then ran his fingers through his hair. “Now I’ll never know if I was the one who fucked it up—or if he just didn’t like me.”
Bailey offered no opinion.
