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Lucas scoffed and turned away, huffing as he paced in the kitchen.

“Why didn’t he tell me?” Lucas muttered as he prowled back and forth. Rafe’s head moved like he was watching a tennis match.

“I just got here, like, two days ago? Three? Fuck, I don’t even know. But he didn’t take my return great either, so he was probably waiting until he could wrap his head around it before he told you. I’m sorry. Shit, am I interrupting a date night or something?”

It killed Rafe to think Garrett had found someone else before they had a chance, but, really, what did he expect after being gone for twenty years? It’s not like Garrett would’ve waited for him. Who would wait around for a dead guy?

It didn’t matter. If Garrett and Lucas were together, he’d support it. If he couldn’t have anything else, he at least wanted Garrett’s friendship. Rafe had already made a bigger mess of things than he’d thought.

Maybe it was rushed, maybe it was spur of the moment, maybe Garrett regretted it and called it a mistake, but they had sex. Please, for the love of God, let Lucas be a friend. Rafe’s stomach quaked thinking he might have ruined things even worse.

Rafe couldn’t help blurting, “Fuck, please tell me you’re not dating.”

Lucas narrowed his eyes at Rafe.

“And what if we are?”

Rafe clenched his eyes shut, afraid to face the truth. Lucas was going to hate him. Garrett would hate him if he ruined his relationship with someone.

“Do you think you have some claim on him? Just because you were friends years ago?” Lucas asked, and shame slapped Rafe across the face. “News flash, honey. He was here building a life while you were who the fuck knows where. He doesn’t owe you anything.”

Lucas was right. Rafe hated that he was right.

Rafe’s head dropped against his chest, regret swamping him. He steeled himself before meeting Lucas’ gaze.

“I know he doesn’t,” Rafe said. “I wish I could change our past but I can’t. I know I have no right to him, but he used to be my best friend in the world, and I miss him. I’ve missed him every day. I want to be in his life again. Even if I only get friendship from him, it would be enough.”

Lucas’ scowl softened as he looked Rafe up and down. Rafe squirmed where he stood, still pressed against the counter by Lucas’ anger. If anything, he was glad Garrett had this guy in his corner to stand up for him.

“You want more?” Lucas asked, his gaze assessing.

Rafe shuffled his weight from foot to foot, deciding how he wanted to answer. If Lucas was involved with Garrett in some way… He couldn’t guess how he’d handle it. After years of lying, he decided to try some honesty.

“I do.” Rafe sighed and continued. “I’d love to have more with him. I’d love to have everything with him. I don’t know if he wants that. Probably not after twenty years of silence. I’ll take whatever he’s willing to give me, even if it’s scraps of friendship. I’d treasure those scraps with every fiber of my being. And if you two are a thing, I won’t get in the way. I don’t want Garrett to hurt anymore. Never again, if I have it my way.”

Lucas’ eyes continued to study Rafe’s body. What he searched for, Rafe wasn’t sure. He only hoped Lucas didn’t find him lacking.

It was another long minute before Lucas said anything.

“If you hurt a single hair on his beautiful head, I will rip off your balls, cut them into tiny little pieces and feed them to my fish.”

Rafe gulped. “Understood.”

Lucas nodded decisively and picked up one of the bottles of wine Rafe bought at the liquor store, inspecting them.

“At least you have good taste in wine,” he said as he put the bottle back on the counter and opened a cabinet to pull out two wine glasses before moving on to a drawer where he found a corkscrew. “So, what are we cooking tonight?”

Rafe still hadn’t moved from where he stood against the counter, unsure if Lucas was about to yell at him again.

“Uh, m-mussels and clams over linguini with a white wine sauce.”

He’d stared down mob bosses torturing him for information, managed being held at gunpoint by terrorists, and treated his own knife wound in the middle of the damn woods, but he’d never been more terrified than while facing the guy who could stand between him and Garrett.

Lucas perused the ingredients on the counter for a moment, then turned to Rafe.

“Garrett and I aren’t together,” Lucas said, and Rafe took a full breath for the first time since he helped Lucas off the floor. “Never have been, never will be. He’s not my type, and I’m not his. But we’ve been besties since I found him on that hallway floor all those years ago. We made plans for me to come over for dinner tonight, which must have slipped his mind with all the… excitement around here.”

His eyebrows pumped twice, and Rafe couldn’t help chuckling. Lucas must have been able to see right through his usually unflappable state. He started laughing at Rafe, his entire face lighting up.