“Cut that shit out,” Wes growled. “Last thing I need is you two smug bastards gloating.”
“Well, to address your first issue, I hate to tell you this but any time you get involved with a woman, your life is going to change. Suck it up and deal with it like a big boy,” Jake said with no trace of sympathy in his voice.
“Yeah, but you and Luke didn’t have to change your lives. You married women who fit into the life you already had. We all still get together. We still share good times.”
Luke burst out laughing, and Jake choked on his beer.
“Jesus are you deluded,” Luke said around his wheezes. “Not change? Okay, I think I know where you’re headed with this. From what I’ve been able to learn from Gracie, this chick you’re involved with lives in Houston. You want the girl. You like the girl. But you don’t want to give up any part of your life here. You want to keep your friends close, carry on like always, only have the woman you want.”
Wes nodded. “Basically.”
Jake shook his head. “First of all, get the notion that our lives didn’t change when we got married right out of that tiny brain of yours. Marriage is all about change. It’s about compromise. It’s about wanting to make the woman you love happy. Hell, I gave up my damn colored, blinking Christmas lights because Ellie wanted the plain-ass, boring white ones. I’d do anything to make that woman smile. My first priority is her happiness. Don’t think I don’t love you guys, enjoy the time we spend together, but you and the others? Not my priority. Ellie is. Always will be. She comes first.”
Luke nodded in agreement. He met Wes’s gaze. “I understan
d where you’re coming from, buddy. I do. But you’re going about it all wrong. What’s the worst that happens? You move to Houston and only see us every other weekend? We’re not going anywhere. We’d visit your ass, you’d come visit ours.” He shrugged. “Besides that, Gracie would have a kitten if she didn’t see you on a regular basis. Believe me when I say, the girls are way more attached to our get-togethers than we are. They’d work around the obstacles. I’m willing to bet they’d have us getting together regardless of where you ended up.”
Wes grinned. “I love those women.”
“Not nearly as much as we do,” Jake said, cracking a smile. “And it’s only because we love them so much that we tolerate your outrageous flirting. I swear if you don’t keep your lips off my wife, I’m going to have to rearrange them for you.”
Luke snorted then dissolved into laughter. “I’m guessing a threesome with Ellie is out then.”
Jake shot him a glare that would have melted lead. “You’re a twisted motherfucker. There is no doubt about that. There ain’t another man who’ll ever touch Ellie.”
Wes held his hands up, knowing that if he didn’t stop Luke, he’d egg Jake on to infinity.
“So you think I’m being unreasonable,” he said, directing the conversation back to his issue.
“Look, I don’t know the whole situation. Just the bits and pieces I’ve gleaned from Gracie. I do know you sounded pissed on the phone a while ago.”
“That’s putting it lightly,” Jake said.
Wes sighed. “I think she’s playing a fucking game with me. I don’t know for sure. When I’m with her, she acts like I’m the only man in the world but as soon as we part, I don’t hear from her. It’s like I don’t exist. She made all the initial moves. I’ll give her that. But I wagged my ass down to Houston last weekend and spent the weekend making her feel like the only woman in the damn world. And I don’t hear a word from her all week except for Friday night when it’s too late to make any weekend plans.”
Jake pinched his lips together in a tight line and shook his head. “Dude, I hate to tell you this, but if you’re keeping score, you’re doomed to disappointment. Relationships don’t work on an equal opportunity basis. They’re solely what you make of them. Sometimes it’s you going the extra mile. Sometimes it’s her. The beauty is in not noticing when who is doing more than the other.”
“So you think I’m being an unreasonable dickhead.”
Luke snickered. “Uh yeah, basically.”
“Great. Just fucking great.” Wes closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Honest to God, I don’t know what to fucking do. I’ve only known her for two weeks. Way too fucking soon to feel this kind of angst.”
“Do you love her?” Luke asked.
Wes blinked in surprise at the directness of Luke’s question.
“Forget how long you’ve known her. It’s a simple question. Do you love her?”
Wes glared over at Luke. “That’s not a fucking simple question and you know it.”
“Actually it is,” Jake said casually. “You have to ask yourself why you’re sidestepping the question. If you don’t love her, your reaction should be automatic. A simple no. But you haven’t denied it. Which tells me you’re fighting it tooth and nail but you’re already a goner.”
“Fuck you,” Wes growled.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jake said with a snicker.
“I—yes, I love her. Or at least I think I do. I don’t really know. The idea strikes bloody terror in my heart. I don’t understand it, but there it is.”
“Yeah, well, join the club,” Luke said. “We’re guys. We’re not supposed to understand why we suddenly can’t live without a woman. Why the idea of being without her gives us cold sweats.”
“Fucking pussy. God. I’ve turned into you,” Wes said mournfully.
Jake chuckled. “The only pussy I see around here is you. I’m man enough to admit my downfall. I have one. A petite brunette with blue eyes and the sweetest smile this side of the Mississippi.”
“I was an ass,” Wes said morosely. “I seem to have developed the habit lately of hurting the women I most love.”
“Yeah, well, Gracie has already forgiven your ass. Now you just have to get Payton to.”
“I don’t suppose you’d loan me your wife for lunch tomorrow?” Wes asked hopefully. “If anyone can kick my ass back on track it’s her. I’m sure she can tell me exactly how much groveling it’s going to take me to get back into Payton’s good graces after tonight.”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you can have Gracie for lunch. But then, Wes? Get your own damn woman. I’m tired of sharing mine with you.”