AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Laughter bellowed from Jake's chest. "I'd give you every dollar I didn't spend on drinks this week to see you try to convince me. Squeezing into that skimpy little thing. I'm not sure you could even get one of the legs over your ankle."
"Whatever." Isaac turned away to hide the grin growing on his lips.
"Seriously, though," Jake said. "Why won't you tell me what happened? God knows I'd tell you."
Isaac slumped onto his bed.
"I know you like to look at hooking up with woman after woman as some great achievement—something to be proud of but… I hate it. I've hated it for years." He'd shared a lot with Jake but he'd kept this bit of himself hidden. Jake looked up to him. Maybe not for the best reason but he did and Isaac didn't want to crush him with the reality that that thing Jake thought would make him happy made Isaac miserable. "You have no idea how many times I've thought about letting this muscle turn to fat. Then, maybe, I'd have a chance of finding a woman who wanted me for more than something to brag to her friends about. I've wanted more for so long. This week… I thought I'd found it."
Jake sank to sitting on the footstool. "Shit." He paused for a moment before scrunching his brow and pointing at Isaac's pocket. "Wait. Was this the blonde? The one you were looking for? From the party?"
Isaac nodded.
"You found her?"
"Sort of. It's… complicated."
"Is it? Or do you just not want to talk about it because you broke your promise?"
"I didn't actually. Like I said, it's complicated." And no, he didn't want to talk about it but at that point, he'd already told Jake the worst of it. What harm would it have done to tell him the details? Hell, maybe he'd know what to do. Isaac sure as hell didn't.
???
"I think you're overreacting," Jake said after Isaac finished telling him about his week with Katie and now what he thought about why she left. "She's not your ex."
"She left. Then came back, got what she wanted and left again."
"Maybe there was an emergency. She didn't have time to wait for you to be awake enough to tell you about it. Maybe she'll call or stop by later."
"We never got to exchanging numbers. I still don't even know where she lives. She didn't even leave a note."
Jake bent resting his arms on his thighs. After burying his head in his hand and rubbing his forehead for a minute, he uncovered his eyes, then froze looking at Isaac's feet.
"What?" Isaac followed Jake's gaze. There was nothing there.
Then Jake tilted his head, came over, and stooped down reaching under the bed.
"No note, huh?" He held up a folded piece of paper, Isaac's name was written on one side.
Isaac took the note. His hands sweating as he opened it.
Isaac,
I wanted it to work. I swear I tried to make it work. And even though it did, for a few days, I realized it wouldn't come Monday. When you had to go back to class and had your own schedule to keep. Then I thought about the fall when you go for your doctor in physical therapy. You won't have the time to stay up all night with me when I have a deadline to meet. And I won't have time to give you the attention you deserve for doing it anyway.
It's not sustainable. And it's not fair to you for me to take advantage of your kindness pretending that it is. You deserve better.
I'm so sorry I couldn't be better.
Thank you for the best spring break ever.
Katie
Isaac's tongue, like sandpaper, scraped the roof of his mouth as he gulped back the sadness swelling in his throat.
"What does it say?" Jake's voice cut through the silence pounding in Isaac's ears.
Isaac handed Jake the note.
