Even though Trenton’s eyes were still closed, he could feel the morning sun on his face. Sleeping in past sunrise was rare enough in Trenton’s life, but getting the chance to wake up with Scottie in his arms was so good that it felt like Trenton might actually still be dreaming.
He opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Scottie’s face just inches away.
Nope. He definitely wasn’t dreaming.
Trenton moved his head forward just enough to brush his lips against Scottie’s cheek, unable to resist the urge to make kissing Scottie the first thing he did that day.
Damn, he wished he could wake up every day just like this.
It would literally be Trenton’s dream come true.
Soon enough—too soon—Scottie would wake up and have to leave again. But for the moment, Trenton could pretend that time didn’t matter. He could pretend that neither of them had anywhere else to be besides right here in each other’s arms.
It was a nice fantasy, and one Trenton was going to hold onto for as long as he could before the real world intruded on them.
“Good morning,” Scottie murmured, his eyelids fluttering open as that characteristic smile played across his lips.
Even first thing in the morning, Scottie was smiling.
Then again, it wasn’t that surprising, since Trenton felt like he had a lot to smile about this morning, too.
“Good morning, sexy,” Trenton replied. “Did you sleep well?”
“Really well, thanks,” Scottie said, nodding as he stretched. “Did you?”
Trenton took the opportunity to stretch out as well, but first couldn’t resist skimming a hand down over Scottie’s naked body while the sunlight streaked across it, illuminating it like the work of art that it was.
“I did,” Trenton answered. “But now that I’m awake again, I’d say this is even better.”
Scottie shot him a playful grin. Yeah, this was a lot better.
“Do you have any plans for the day?” Scottie asked. “I could make us some breakfast or something if you want… Um, if you have stuff for breakfast, that is?”
Trenton laughed. “Did you forget that you weren’t at home for a second? But yeah, I do have stuff for breakfast if you’d like some—and I won’t even ask you to cook.” He cocked an eyebrow, then waggled it suggestively. “Though I won’t argue if you want to help, as long as you promise not to put any clothes on.”
Scottie’s face instantly flushed that delicious shade of pink, and he shook his head. “I did forget that we weren’t at my house just for a second,” he confessed. “But I’ll keep my clothes off if you do…”
“What if some grease pops on me?” Trenton winced. “That could be painful. And, ah… dangerous.”
Scottie laughed. “Okay, so maybe we wait a bit on breakfast… or at least cover up with a few strategic pieces of clothing.”
“Are you sure we can’t just stay in bed all day instead/” Trenton asked.
That possibility sounded infinitely better than any meal, even though it also wasn’t really a possibility. Trenton had to go in to work at some point, and he guessed that Scottie probably did, too.
Still, it was nice to at least pretend like it could happen.
“We could,” Scottie said, leaning in for a quick kiss before continuing. “But I’ve gotta get to the shop at some point to take care of some paperwork, and then I need to talk to Newton about—”
He shut his mouth with an audible snap that made Trenton’s brow furrow. “About… what? Everything okay?”
“Yeah, sorry,” Scottie said. “I just meant I had to talk to him about, um, the photoshoot that we’re going to be doing.”
Trenton felt his stomach clench.
The photoshoot. The one that he wasn’t going to be a part of.
Again.
The one that would bring in customers to everyone’s businesses except for Trenton’s.
Again.
“Oh, that will be good,” Trenton said, trying to sound nonchalant. He didn’t want to make things awkward for Scottie—or any more awkward than they already were. “Did you guys set a date for that already? I haven’t heard you mention it in a while.”
Oops.
He hadn’t meant to ask any questions at all. He had simply wanted to change the subject and move on.
But the words had tumbled out as soon as Trenton had opened his mouth.
“That’s what I have to talk to Newton about,” Scottie answered. “All I know is that they want to get it done quickly, before the meeting…”
His voice trailed off as he spoke, and each word only made the ache in the bottom of Trenton’s stomach worse. It was irrational to be upset about this and he knew it.
It definitely wasn’t Scottie’s fault—didn’t have anything to do with Scottie, in fact.
If anything, Scottie had been the one to try and help, to try and get Trenton involved. It was Trenton’s own stupid pride that had gotten in the way, plain and simple.
Judging by the look of apprehension mixed with sympathy, Scottie could guess at what Trenton was feeling. He didn’t need any pity, though. For better or worse, Trenton had made his own decisions all along.
If things had gone well, he would have been able to take all the credit for his own success.
As it was, he had to take all the blame for his current situation.
“I can talk to Jack and Calvin if you want,” Scottie said, his voice quiet as he gave Trenton a pained look. “It might not be too late to see if—”
“No,” Trenton said, the word coming out much more harshly than he had intended. Scottie winced, making Trenton instantly regret saying anything at all. Still, he couldn’t seem to stop himself. “I don’t want anything from them. I don’t need their help or your pity.”
Scottie pushed himself to sit upright in the bed, a look of surprise and hurt mixed with a hint of anger flashing across his face.
“It wouldn’t be out of pity,” Scottie began, each word coming out slowly, deliberately. “And this isn’t about owing anything to anyone, Trenton. It’s…” He shook his head and tossed the blankets aside, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Never mind. I should go.”
Trenton took a deep breath, slowly inhaling then exhaling as he watched Scottie walk across the room to the pile of discarded clothing from the night before.
“I’m sorry,” Trenton said, finally. “Don’t go. Not yet. Not like this. I didn’t mean to take out my frustrations on you. That’s honestly the last thing I meant to do.”
“I wish I could understand why the frustration exists in the first place,” Scottie said, still getting dressed in spite of Trenton’s apology. “You were wrong about me. Haven’t you ever wondered if maybe you’re wrong about Jack and Calvin, too? Or Gage? Or Newton? They’re all good people. And they’re all my friends, so if you plan on being around me, it’s pretty much inevitable that you’ll keep running into them.”
Trenton wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He wasn’t sure where to even begin.
For several long seconds, he didn’t say anything at all. He simply watched as Scottie finished getting dressed. Only after the silence had stretched out between them for far too long, after Scottie had pulled on his pants and shirt, did Trenton find some words.
Unfortunately, they probably weren’t the right words.
“What if I’m not wrong about them, though? I don’t think they’re bad people, Scottie. But I’ll be honest with you—I don’t know if I’ll ever be on the same page as your friends. I think we all have some fundamental disagreements on the direction this town is heading, and I’m not looking to change anyone’s mind. Not anymore. That time has passed.”
“I feel the same way they do,” Scottie said. “But it doesn’t even have to be about that, as far as I’m concerned. I’m not saying you have to mindlessly agree with what my friends and I say or do. But maybe a little understanding would go a long way. Unless this is all just for fun, and then it doesn’t really matter, does it?”
Trenton blinked.
Where had that come from?
He wasn’t even exactly sure what Scottie was talking about. Were they still arguing about business? Or had this become personal?
“When was the last time they tried to understand my point of view?” Trenton asked, definitely not making things better for himself. He couldn’t help it, though. Why was he expected to go the extra mile with these people when they didn’t extend the same courtesy to him? Why was Scottie so hell bent on defending them? “Do you even understand?”
Scottie’s eyes narrowed for a moment and he huffed out a short breath. Yeah, this had definitely become about more than business.
Much more.
“I thought I understood you, Trenton,” he said. “I thought I had the patience and the maturity to set aside our past, to set aside the fact that you don’t get along with any of my friends, to set aside the fact that you can’t even bring yourself to say that we’ve been dating…” He stopped himself and shook his head, dashing at his cheeks as he turned away for a moment. “But I guess I’m not that patient or that mature. I guess I don’t understand you at all.”
Trenton didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know what to think. He might have technically started this conversation—this argument, whatever—but it had definitely taken a left turn somewhere along the way, and he hadn’t been prepared for it.
Part of him wanted to rush over and comfort Scottie, to tell him that this was just some sort of misunderstanding and that it was all going to be okay once they had a chance to figure everything out.
But then part of him wondered if Scottie was right.
Maybe Scottie didn’t really understand him. Trenton couldn’t really blame him if that was the case, since there was still a lot that Trenton didn’t honestly understand about himself.
Was this a preview of how the next few months would unfold? Every time something came up with Scottie’s friends, were he and Scottie going to have to fight it out? Was he really going to expect Scottie to choose sides every time?
That wasn’t fair to anyone.
So Trenton didn’t move. He didn’t rush to comfort Scottie. He didn’t disagree with anything Scottie had said.
After a few moments, Scottie simply said, “I have to go.”
And then he was gone, leaving Trenton there in bed, alone and misunderstood.
Just the way he always had been. The way he probably always would be.