“No,” Priest said, shaking his head. “Time gives people a chance to distort things. To make them doubt what they once believed. You and I know that better than anyone. I won’t have him doubting this. Doubting us, Julien. Not because of fucking Jimmy. I’m going to go and talk to Robert, and he’s going to listen, and then the three of us are going to sit down and discuss this.”
Something flashed in Julien’s expression, but instead of saying what was on his mind, he let go of Priest’s arm and said, “Okay.”
Priest narrowed his eyes in question, but Julien remained quiet. So Priest turned on his heel and headed toward their bedroom to track down their boyfriend and try to make things right again.
* * *
“ROBERT?”
THE SOUND of his name coming from the bedroom had a sense of relief flooding Robbie’s body, even as he braced himself for the man he knew was about to walk through that bathroom door.
Ever since he’d arrived back at the condo with Julien, Robbie had been on edge waiting for Priest’s return. It had been clear from the serious way Priest had told them to go home that he’d been concerned for their safety. But it wasn’t until they were locked behind their front door that Robbie had thought about Priest being out there, all alone.
The bomb that had exploded between the three of them at the brewhouse was one Robbie was still trying to recover from and understand. He felt disoriented, thrown off course. Unable to fathom a world in which the man he knew, and trusted, as Joel Priestley, would ever lie to him. Not when he’d told Robbie that this relationship of theirs would only work with total transparency.
Except, apparently, when it comes to Priest himself.
Robbie was the first to admit he wasn’t an expert in long-term relationships. Not due to lack of trying; he’d just never found anyone who really understood him. But now? Now, he’d found two someones, and he knew somewhere deep down inside that how he handled this moment was going to shape the course of their relationship.
It was going to take them one of two ways—down the road into full-on commitment, or to the final stop on this rollercoaster of a courtship—and what he felt? What he had with these two men? It was far too important for him to act irrationally and make a spur-of-the-moment decision, which was exactly why he had retreated to a quiet space.
Yes, this is exactly what I need right now. A timeout with me, myself, and—Robbie looked to his left and shook his head—my fifty or so colorful friends who just might know Priest better than I do.
Blue, pink, yellow, and green. The bright colors of the fish glided through the water beside Robbie’s head where he sat fully dressed, in an empty tub.
The rest of the master bathroom was made up of pristine white tiles that were so shiny one could see their own reflection, and he’d been alternating between watching the colorful show happening alongside him and staring at the miserable face watching him in the marble.
This bathroom represents me in so many ways right now. The bright, flamboyant man who was feeling about as joyless as the stark white tiles, and the only way that was going to change would be if he spoke to the man who’d made him feel that way in the first place.
As the door to the bathroom opened and Priest stepped inside, Robbie craned his head to look back at him and saw Priest’s stern expression and tense shoulders visibly relax.
“There you are,” Priest said, and Robbie heard the soles of his leather shoes against the tiles as he walked across the room and stopped beside the tub.
Robbie looked up at the face he’d once despised, then lusted for, and, just recently, fallen head over heels for, and said, “Here I am.”
The silence that followed the fading echo of his voice felt louder and more impactful than the words that had preceded them, and when it was clear Robbie wasn’t about to say anything else, Priest spoke instead.
“Robert, we need to—”
“Talk? I know,” Robbie said, and watched as Priest ran his eyes down the length of his legs.
“I thought the idea of a bath was to get undressed and relax?”
Robbie looked at his jean-covered legs, and then raised his eyes back to Priest.
“I didn’t come in here to relax.” When Priest went to respond, Robbie held his hand up. “I came in here to try and find out your secrets. But don’t worry—your aquatic friends are just as good at keeping them as Julien is.”
“Robert.”
At the sound of his name in that rich tone, Robbie blinked once, and an unexpected tear rolled down his cheek. He quickly reached up and swiped it away.