That didn’t change the way he felt, though. It didn’t change the slight pinch of hurt in his chest.

“I’d love that. Thanks for asking.”

“Have you gotten to spend much time with her? She’s a wonderful girl and perfect for Bryce. We never thought he’d settle down.”

The pinch grew, spread out, intensified...turned into an ache. This was really fucking bad. He was getting too close, when he didn’t really know if he could handle things moving forward with Bryce.

“Mom. That’s enough. The poor guy doesn’t want to hear about Christi.”

“No, it’s fine.” Still, Nick looked at Jamie, quietly trying to thank him. “I better get back to work. I hope you guys have a great meal.”

They said their goodbyes and Nick headed back toward the kitchen. He didn’t get very far before he heard Jamie calling his name. Nick slowed down to let him catch up, but Jamie didn’t speak until they were in a private corner near the kitchen.

“I’m sorry about that. It was a shitty idea for us to come here. I wasn’t thinking. I just...hell, if I’m being honest, my first thought was that it would be fun to go to my little brother’s boyfriend’s restaurant so I could give him shit about it later. I didn’t even think about Mom bringing up Christi.”

Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend. Jamie had just called him Bryce’s boyfriend. Forget that he’d just thought the same thing himself. It was different when someone else said it.

“No, it’s okay.” Nick shook his head. “Not a big deal at all. I know she thinks they’re together. And Bryce and I... it’s not serious. I don’t even know what it is.” Now he was turning into a fucking liar, because in some ways, it was serious. A few days ago he’d told Bryce it was more than sex. They’d shared the same bed every night, sucking and jerking each other off. They were practically living together, even if it was only because of the convenience of living so close.

“Oh...okay... I wasn’t sure. I just wanted to apologize. If you see Bryce, can you have him give me a call?”

Nick nodded, confused by the sudden change in Jamie. He looked almost standoffish now. Almost frustrated. “Yeah, sure, of course.”

“Have a good night.” Jamie walked away and Nick tried to pretend there wasn’t a hole in his gut over the fact that Georgina was thrilled with her son being in a relationship with Christi, and how much it would pain Bryce to hurt her.

***

Bryce stayed up late waiting for Nick to get home from work. He spent the night in his garage messing around with his Shovelhead even though his thoughts weren’t in it.

He fucked up today. He should have told his mom about Christi. The longer it went on, the more unfair it was to everyone involved. He felt like he was letting Nick down, but then if he told his mom, he’d be breaking her heart. This couldn’t be easy on Christi, either.

His bike didn’t have the power to take away those thoughts, but it still kept him busy until Nick’s car pulled into the driveway close to midnight. Bryce stayed where he was, knowing Nick would come to him. He was surprised the man didn’t call him earlier to ask how it had gone.

“Hey,” Bryce said when Nick walked over. He looked tired tonight. He wore a baseball cap, which Bryce had never seen him wear before. He didn’t like the way it hid Nick’s eyes.

“Hey. I had company tonight at the restaurant.”

Bryce cursed. “Your family or mine?” Both would be awkward. He sure as shit hoped it wasn’t Jill. He wanted that woman as far away from Nick as he could keep her.

“Yours. Georgina enjoyed your visit today. She glows when she talks about you and Christi.”

“Fuck,” Bryce mumbled. He wiped his hands on a towel before tossing it onto the garage floor. “I fucked up. I don’t know why I lost my balls when I got there.”

Nick didn’t move closer, still standing at the edge of the garage. “Maybe,” he shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe all this should tell us something. Maybe this just isn’t the right thing for us. We’re straight men. We’ve always been straight men. Maybe we were just lonely, and we’ll get over it. Hell, neither of us even wants anyone to know anyway. What does that say?”

Bryce’s jaw hurt he clenched it so tightly. “You know what? Fuck you, Nick. Straight men don’t spend every night naked together, blowing and jerking each other off. We said we’d figure it out as we went. Why is there suddenly such a rush?”

“Rush? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s not what I’m saying. I’m not ready to announce this any more than you are. I’m just saying that maybe this should fucking tell us something. And Jesus, do you know how I felt tonight? My feelings aren’t your fault, I get that, but there was a part of me that was happy they were there. I wanted to cook them a good meal and, hell, to show off, I think. Show them who I am and what I have to offer. I wanted to do something nice for them, because of how I feel about you, and then I had to smile and pretend it didn’t fucking hurt to hear your mom talk about how perfect you and Christi are together.”