A Little Complicated (8 page)

After I’d showered and had settled in to finish some work I’d not gotten to before I left my office, there was a knock on my door. I was distracted enough that I didn’t think to question who may be visiting me on a weeknight. Mistake.

I opened the door to a breathless Lila. My eyes grew wide. “Delilah?”

She scowled, still trying to catch her breath. “
Lila
. I haven’t gone by that since I was little.”

I put my hands up in surrender. “My bad. Lila. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I wanted to come say hi since you’ve been running from me all week.”

Damn teenagers were too smart for their own good these days. “I was not—“

“Whatever.” One of her grand, teenager eye rolls.

“Okay. Yes, I’ve been avoiding. I’m a dick.”

“Agreed.” She smiled wickedly at my quirked eyebrow. We sat looking at each other for a minute until she motioned her hands in front of her as if to say
come on, asshole
. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“Oh,” I said, jumping out of the door and motioning her in, against my better judgment, but the kid looked worn out. “Shouldn’t you be practicing or something?”

“I just walked my wheel-chair up the stairs
backwards
to visit your ass and you are trying to get rid of me?”

“Backward—What? Should you say ‘ass?’”

She leveled me with her gaze in a way only my mother had been capable of doing up until now. I shrank under that heated green gaze. “Well, who’s gonna tattle?”

“My lips are sealed,” I promised.
I flourished my hands to indicate her clunky, everyday wheel chair. “You really walked that thing up four flights of stairs?”

“Five if you count that our landing is an extra flight down.”

“Good lord, child. Do you want something to drink?”

“No. What I want is for you to come have movie night.”

It was my turn to give her that leveling gaze. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Oh, c’mon. My dad’s been whining about missing you for years and you guys finally see each other again only to hide? I thought
teenage
boys were dumb.”

“It’s a little complicated, Lila.”

“Whatever. You guys were friends right?”

I nodded.

“Well, he won’t mind if you watch after me. He said he’s going to be late so that’s why I just spent forty minutes working my way up the stairs. I didn’t tell Vera and he’ll be pissed if he comes home and there’s no one there with me.”

I sighed. Fuck. “Why’d you do that?”

Her gaze went to her lap. “I missed you, too, y’know. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Damn, she was good. “I’m sorry, Lila. I didn’t even know you remembered me.”

She chewed her bottom lip. Again, she’s very good. “Of course. I remembered you way before you remembered me. I just didn’t know how to get you to remember us without throwing you in my dad’s face.”

“Smooth,” I said drily.

“Well, it worked, huh?” She delivered it so matter-of-factly I blushed.

“I guess.” I sighed again. “Okay
, I’ll come for movie night, but only until your dad says he’s on his way home. He’ll get over me leaving five minutes before he gets home.”

She lifted her face back to me and brightened. “Deal.” I shook my head but followed her.

We took the elevator this time. When I asked why she didn’t take it up she said she knew I’d feel worse if she worked her ass off to come upstairs. “Well played.” That got a cocky grin. This one was trouble.

When we got to the apartment and she let me in, we hadn’t been there ten minutes setting up the movie before I heard a key in the door. I turned to watch Brady and his mother wander in.

“Oh, no!” Lila said, dramatically, her best innocent expression playing over her not-so-innocent little face.

“You’re the devil,” I hissed.

“What?” More innocent flutters of the eyes. “I totally forgot I was going to grandma’s tonight!”

I didn’t get a chance to respond to her or to Brady’s confused eyes darting between me and the kid before his mother was barreling over him. “Ryan Borja, as I live and breathe!” No sooner had she said the words than she had me crushed in a firm embrace. I’d only met the little pistol of a woman a few times but we’d taken a shine to one another immediately.

“Mrs. Novak,” I wheezed. “How are you?”

Brady chuckled and patted her back. “Mama, back off. You’re gonna crack a rib—his, not yours.”

She held me back and let her eyes travel over me from head to toe, a bit like my mother does. “You, young man, have been missing from my life far too long. You couldn’t call an old woman?”

“You’re many things but old you are not, ma’am,” I flirted. Brady snorted and his mother preened, swatting my arm playfully. Then she squeezed one and the
flirty gaze she gave me was anything but motherly.

“My, my Ryan. Didn’t you grow up nice.”

“Mama!” Brady choked, Lila and I laughing.

“What? Look at the
ass on this kid.” She turned me around and pulled my shirt up enough to show off my ass. I felt my face heat and groaned as I hid my eyes behind my hand.

“Mama
, leave the guy alone,” Brady said as he pulled his mother away. When I turned back to them his eyes had a distinct heat in them.

“I should go. Lila said she needed someone to watch her,” I shot a glare at the little hellion. “Obviously she was mistaken.”

“No, no. You boys should catch up! I’m taking Lila here for the night. Brady here has been
Ryan this
and
Ryan that
for years now. ‘Bout time y’all got to spend some time together.” I tried to protest but she just spoke over me. “Come on, Lila, honey. Let’s get outta these boys’ hair. I’m sure they’ve got plenty to talk about.” I stuttered but nothing made it out of my mouth as Lila and her grandmother bustled out of the door.

Before she shut the door behind her, the elder Delilah turned with a wink. “Do something I would do boys.” And they were gone.

My jaw dropped and Ryan’s ears turned bright pink. Fuck that was cute. I’d forgotten that was his only tell when he was pleased or embarrassed. No doubt it was embarrassment at that moment.

When he turned to me he couldn’t meet my eyes. Fuck that. “Okay
. Well, I’m out.” I pushed past him to leave.

“Ryan,” he said with so much feeling it caught me by surprise. I turned back to see him boring his sad eyes into mine. Damn him, he used such a pathetic puppy face that my feet tried to carry me to him.
No.

“Ryan, just
… Stay for a while?” Damn those puppy eyes and that sad tone. Between him and Lila I was in serious fucking trouble.

“I really should go. I have stuff to do.”

“Please.”
Fuck
.

“Why? Why should I, Brady?”

“Because!” He startled us both with his frustrated outburst. He deflated then went back to that hangdog posture. “Because, you were my best friend. Can’t we at least talk like we used to?”

“Du
de, I knew you for three months. One month longer than you dated my
sister.
” He looked as annoyed at me for bringing up that fact as I felt toward him having dated Ellie. I scowled and turned, opening the door to leave.

“In those three months I talked to you more than I’ve talked to anyone ever, okay.”

I couldn’t help being disbelieving. “No way, you talk to everyone.”

“I
talk
to everyone. I’ve only ever
shared
with you.”

“Oh.” Damn him.

“Please. Just, stay. Let’s be friends.”

I stared at him for a while, long enough for him to squirm. I knew it was coming so I may as well. He just wanted a friend. How could I deny him that?

I sighed. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. “Okay.”

“Yeah?” He brightened
, looking so much like Lila had earlier that in made my stomach cramp with a mix of sadness and joy.

“Yeah.” I shut the door. And I stayed.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Brady

I couldn’t believe he stayed. He really stayed. Holy balls!

Oh. Oh shit. I had no clue what to do next though. “Uh, want me to cook? I’m not very good at it. I could call for some carryout?”

He took sympathy on me and held a hand up to stop my fumbling words. “Do you actually have anything to cook in this house?”

I had to really think on it. “Well, Vera stocks the fridge so I’m sure there’s something.”

“Okay. I’ll cook something.” He pointed at me. “But you’re doing the dishes.”

“I can do that,” I said, probably a bit too eager but I couldn’t help it. This was Ryan. And Ryan was
here
. He was cooking for me.

“Well, come on. I’m not standing in there cooking by myself.” He left me to follow. I liked this side of Ryan. He’d been much
less assertive, dorkier in college. Never quiet, just never so forceful. To say it wasn’t giving me a boner would have been a lie.

I watched as he pulled out pots and pans I didn’t know I even owned. He pulled out potatoes and chicken and garlic. I frowned, trying to remember having seen any
of that brought in. Vera cooked sometimes because she hated Lila and me eating so much carry-out, and lord knows the woman could cook but we usually let it sit past its expiration date and ordered carry-out anyway. She didn’t understand that we felt we’d put in our time and we enjoyed our carry-out.

But Ryan cooking for me. That was special and it made me think b
ack to him making dinner for us years ago.

“Were you guys going to have movie night without me?” I asked.

He peeked over his shoulder at me. “Yeah. She said you’d be late so we were gonna watch
Terminator.
”

I couldn’t
stop the laugh that bubbled up. “Do you know how many times she’s watched that movie over the years?”

“I’ll be back,” Ryan intoned more like a young, toothless Lila than like the Governator. My heart fluttered.

Just friends
. I had to keep reminding myself. That layer of ice had only melted a little and he was convinced that I was dating Ellie.

Wait. Hadn’t I
been telling myself I was done with them both just a few nights ago?

Then I looked at his ass as he gracefully flicked something from the cutting board
—again, something I didn’t know I owned— into a frying pan. I got us both a beer and watched his masterful dance around the kitchen. After the first beer we both lightened up enough for us to discuss safe things like his work and mine. Lila’s accident came up again and it warmed me inside when he commended me again on how well she’d turned out. Fuck did he know how to weedle his way into my poor, achin’ heart.

As he plated
up the food— a garlic chicken dish made in a wok and sautéed potatoes with Cajun seasoning— I helped him clean up the mess from cooking before we took our dinner to the rarely used dining table.

“So,” he said as he took his seat, “what brought y’all back to Atlanta?”

“After Lila’s accident it just seemed best for her to be around Mama, to be home.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “I can dig it. So you didn’t manage to find a Mr. of Mrs. Novak in that time?” It was like he had to pick at the damn scab. He stabbed his fork onto the chicken like it had offended him.

“No, obviously. I was too busy takin’ care of Lila, like always, and trying to build my career. You know how it goes. And before you even bring up your sister I told you we’re just friends. I’ve made it clear as I can to her. If she ain’t getting it and you ain’t neither then I’m sorry. But I do want us to be friends so I think it’s best not to talk about that topic. Cool with you?”

His shoulders slumped and if I wasn’t mistaken it looked an awful lot like relief. “Cool with me.”

He glanced at me thoughtfully then opened to his mouth to ask something but stopped himself, then did it again.

“What do you wanna know?
” I wasn’t sure I wanted to ask, but he was making himself miserable holding whatever it was inside.

“You said you shared with me. Shared like you hadn’t with anyone else.”

“Yeah?” I felt wary to the bone of what he may ask next.

“Why didn’t you share that you were bi?”

I exhaled loudly. That wasn’t a hard one. “Well, I guess I was so used to being shot down, especially by guys I liked, for having a kid and you were just
you
and I didn’t want to not have you around so after you assumed I just kinda kept myself quiet to keep you around. I know it’s a shitty excuse but…”

“And you thought dating my sister was the wisest way to do that?”

“Ryan.”