Page 62 of Fish Out of Water

“Another reason you have to stay here, then, huh?”

“Yep.”

After dinner, they moved to the couch with the platter of freshly warmed cinnamon rolls. Isabel and Robbie chatted freely while Jake sat back and listened. He learned some interesting things about Robbie’s family, from the trust fund they’d dangledin front of Robbie when he picked his major in college—business or marketing gave him a tidy little sum; English literature lost it—to the cheating scandal that nearly tore the first Robert Eaton’s family apart, to the time Robert Jr. tried to get a statue built in his honor. It was a lot to take in, and none of it made Jake see Robbie’s family in a kinder light.

Robbie, however, came out smelling like roses—a whole garden of them, like the ones the Eatons supposedly had somewhere on their expansive property that Isabel spoke of in a wistful tone.

“I’m very fortunate, really,” Robbie said. “Not everyone would have so many stories to tell.” He chuckled, but Jake could tell he only did it to keep the mood light.

Jake offered a sympathetic smile in return. “Shame it comes with that bad of a family.”

“It could be worse.”

Isabel got up with a sigh. “Well, I should be getting to bed soon. You two can stay out here and talk for a while longer. Just lock the door after Robbie leaves, okay, Jake?”

Jake’s stomach clenched.Don’t leave me alone, he thought.Please don’t leave me alone with him.“I’ll make sure of it. Goodnight, Aunt Isabel.”

“Goodnight. Thank you again for coming, Robbie. The cinnamon rolls were delicious.”

“I’ll make them again the next time we get together.”

There could not be a next time, not as long as Jake wanted to keep his rule unbroken, and Robbie finally understood that. The way he sat, tense and ready to jump up at the drop of a hat, told Jake all he needed to know.

Suddenly, the few inches between them on the couch were not enough. Isabel’s chair was empty, so Jake stood, ready to move across to it, when a hand closed around his wrist.

“Stay here.”

He looked back at Robbie, who wore a pleading expression. Jake had never seen him like this before. It couldn’t possibly be a good sign.

“Have you been sleeping well?” Jake asked, the question as loaded as it could get.

“No,” Robbie admitted. “Have you?”

“How could I?”

“Right.”

“I’m, uh, I’m thinking about getting back on MatchdUp,” Jake said. “I know there’s no one in town, but if I expanded the search radius, Grayland seems like a decent place to find hookups outside of Oxygen. I really don’t want to go back there after last time.”

“I suppose not.” Robbie gazed down at the half-eaten plate of cinnamon rolls. In this moment, he was entirely unreadable.

“Or I could… never mind.”

“What?”

“No, it was a stupid thought.”

Robbie finally looked up at Jake again, his gaze dropping from Jake’s face down to his chest, and then lower. One time had not been enough. It would never have been enough.

“I should’ve listened to you in the beginning,” Jake said. “About not complicating things.”

“It was complicated the moment you arrived in town,” Robbie said. “We’ve only been putting off the inevitable.”

“Maybe we could still?—”

Robbie shook his head. “I’ll go now, but we’re going to have to face this eventually. I can’t get you off my mind, Jake. You consume every single thought. It’s unbearable. I wasn’t supposed to like you.”

“How do you think I feel?” Jake snapped. He looked back toward the hallway, praying Isabel hadn’t heard his raised voice.