Robbie pushed out of Priest’s arms, swayed a little on his feet until he was steady, and then headed inside, saying over his shoulder, “Whew, glad I got that out. Now, is it hot in here? Or is it just me?”
* * *
AS PRIEST SHUT the door, he took a step closer to Julien’s side, and the both of them watched Robbie strut into the condo like he owned the place.
Gone was the quiet, hurt man Priest had dropped off at his nonna’s, and in his place was a cocky little version of himself, courtesy of several Jägerbombs.
“All right,” Priest said, as Robbie shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it over the arm of the couch. “How do you think we should play this?”
Julien chuckled softly and shook his head. “Honestly? I have no idea. But maybe it would be best if we—”
“Hello,” Robbie said, as he somehow managed to perfect a pirouette and circle around to face them. “What are you doing standing all the way over there? I told you we have things to discuss. So come, come.” He beckoned as he walked toward their bedroom.
The corner of Priest’s mouth twitched at the command, but he didn’t dare laugh, because what was happening here stemmed from something far too serious to be made light of. He was, however, finding it difficult. Robbie inebriated was something to behold.
When they walked into their bedroom, they found Robbie sitting on the bed stripping out of his shirt, and Priest said, “I think that we should—”
“I worked it out,” Robbie interrupted, nodding as he stared up into Priest’s face. His blue eyes were wide and direct, as though he were waiting for Priest to acknowledge what he was talking about. But when Priest remained silent, Robbie broke the connection and kicked out of his shoes.
Priest looked over at Julien, who shrugged, but when Robbie fell back on the bed and began to unbutton his pants, Julien finally spoke up.
“What? What did you work out, princesse?”
Robbie shimmied his pants down his hips and kicked them off his ankles. “Why I got my feelings so hurt yesterday. Duh. Keep up, boys.”
Priest studied Robbie closely, wondering if he should try and stop Robbie again before he said something he might regret, but Priest figured sometimes liquid courage was exactly what was needed to say what was on one’s mind. “And why did you get your feelings hurt?”
Robbie’s eyes moved lazily between the two of them, the alcohol finally slowing him down, relaxing him until they fluttered shut and he muttered, “Because I felt left out,” right before he passed out on their bed.
Chapter Nine
CONFESSION
A person can’t really love you,
unless they know who you are.
The real you.
PRIEST STARED AT the crumpled sheets of their king bed the following morning, and let his eyes travel over the two figures who lay tangled up in one another. It was just turning seven, and as all Saturdays should, the morning was greeting them with the sun slipping between the curtains and spilling over the men beneath those sheets.
Robbie was lying on his side facing Priest with one hand under his pillow, and the other resting over the top of Julien’s, which he’d pulled up to cover his heart. The sheet had slipped down to their waists, and Julien was curled up close and tight behind their princess, almost as though he was afraid he’d slip away—and Priest knew exactly how he felt.
Priest, on the other hand, had been sitting in the chair he’d wheeled over from his desk, so he could watch over the two of them for most of the night, wondering how he’d managed to miss something as important as I felt left out…
Those four fucking words had been playing on repeat ever since he’d heard them, and though Julien had tried to say they would work through this and get to the bottom of it, Priest hated the fact that he had somehow caused Robbie to feel that way.
He had been so zeroed in on the secret he had kept—the actual secret—that he’d somehow overlooked the root of Robbie’s upset. That was so unlike Priest. He was always the one who dug to the root of an issue, and the fact that he’d missed something so monumental made him feel even worse than he already did.
Priest scrubbed his hands over his weary face, and when he leaned back in his chair and focused on the bed again, he saw that Robbie’s eyes were now open and fixed on him.
The room was as quiet as a church and just as serene, and Priest didn’t dare move or speak for fear that Robbie would make an excuse to leave before they could talk. Before he could ask questions, and understand how he’d managed to hurt this beautiful man, when that had been the last thing he’d ever wanted.