Chapter 6
They’d decided to watch a mix of movies instead of going with one particular theme and right now they were watching Apollo 13.Seemed safe and non-sexy enough. Jay needed something that wouldn’t make him feel all gooey romantic.
Jay shifted subtly closer to Drake on the couch. Or he thought it was subtle. In his inebriated state he might well be mistaken. That gave him pause, so he frowned at his wineglass. While it was true he’d never met Ross, Drake’s friend, Jay hated him just the same.
He knew all about Ross. All about how once Ross had been Drake’s boyfriend and how Drake still wanted him. And how Ross always jerked Drake around. But Drake let him.
Jay took another sip of wine. Or was it a gulp? Great, now he was drinking while depressed. That could only lead to bad shit.
“So, tell me about this scarf you liked. You didn’t buy it?”
Drake’s voice made him jump a bit since he thought the man had been engrossed in the ordeal of the astronauts.
Drake smiled at him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s okay.” Jay swirled the wine in his glass. “It was a beautiful water color scarf with blues and greens and purples. I loved it. But no, I didn’t buy it.”
“Why not?”
“‘Cause it was eighty-five bucks.” Jay grimaced. “It’s at the store and my co-worker, Franny, showed it to me. She tried to talk me into getting it, but I can’t afford that.”
Just like that his mood went down further still and he finished the remainder of the wine in his glass. Drake reached over and took the glass from his hand.
“I think that’s probably enough, Jay. Your face is all red.”
He sighed. “Yeah, I tend to get red when I drink, too. Damn fair skin.”
“There’s nothing wrong with not being a big drinker, believe me.” Drake stood and carried both empty wineglasses out to the kitchen. “You need more to eat? We could still call for that pizza you mentioned earlier.”
He probably ought to eat more. It might stop him from throwing himself at Drake. What a disaster that would be. If he could keep from throwing himself at the delivery dude, so much the better.
“Jay?”
“Oh. Yeah, maybe a pizza would be a good idea.” Ah, but crap, he didn’t have any cash lying around and he’d already probably put more on his debit card than he had in the bank when he went to the store.
Drake had his cell phone out, ready to call.
“Um, maybe there’s something we can fix here,” he blurted out.
His friend frowned and Jay couldn’t blame him. He’d just shouted out those words like he was yelling fire or something. No more drinking, Jay reminded himself.
“You don’t want a pizza? Don’t you claim pizza is one of the food groups?”
Oh, sure fine time to bring up what a dork he was. Jay rolled his eyes.
He shrugged. Or he thought he did. Wasn’t sure. “I’m not as hungry as I thought.”
“What’s really going on?”
Jay slouched. “Fine. I don’t have a lot of funds right now so I can’t pay for a pizza. Happy?”
“Yes.” Drake turned his back and spoke into the phone to order a pizza. When he finished, he turned back. “I never said you had to pay. I’m perfectly capable of buying the pizza. Just tell me when you can’t pay. It’s no big deal. You want money for the stuff you bought at the store?”
And just like that Drake was taking his wallet out.
“No. No, I’m good.” He wasn’t probably, his account would go into overdraft, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to tell Drake that. He had to have some pride. Didn’t he?
Drake walked over to where he sat on the couch and shoved two twenty dollar bills into his hand. “Here.”
“That’s too much.”
“All right.” Drake took back one twenty and replaced it with a ten dollar bill. “Take it. And don’t argue.”
Jay opened his mouth to do just that, in spite of Drake’s I’m a cop, you have to do what I sayvoice, but noticing the very stubborn glint in Drake’s eyes changed his mind. He clutched the money. “Thanks.”
Drake smiled. “No worries.” And then he ruffled Jay’s hair like he was a damn dog. He turned back toward the kitchen. “I’ll make you some tea.”
Rolling his eyes, Jay pushed off the couch and managed to stand. Somewhat unsteady on his feet, Jay stuffed the money in his pocket, and went into the kitchen himself. “I can do it, you know.”
“Why is it so hard for you to let me help you?”
Jay scowled. “What? It’s not.”
Drake snorted. “Then why the hell do you fight me over every damn thing? Is it because you think of me in an adversarial way?”
“Huh?”
Drake had Jay’s teakettle in his hand and he turned on the water in the kitchen sink to fill it. “You know, like I’m your domineering older brother or something.”
Oh, hell.