by Jerry Cole
“Suddenly it’s important?” She cocked an eyebrow.
“Don’t play with me.” He sighed. “I’m not in the mood to deal with it right now.”
She pouted. “I’m sorry, Vance.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” He sighed and finally got the passcode put into the phone.
He checked the phone. The message was from Kenton.
Vanessa fell silent as the man flicked open the text message. There it was. Two words. That was all it was. Two little words. But those words made him feel like the world was spinning.
I’m sorry.
“What did he say?” Vanessa was done waiting. She wanted to know what was going on. She tried to peek at his screen. “What’s going on?”
“He just says that he’s sorry.”
“Text him back.”
Vance shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“What?”
“I said that I don’t know what to say.” Vance sighed. “What do you even say in a moment like this.”
“I don’t know. But you say something, damn it. I mean, do you like this guy?”
“I feel like I don’t know anything about him.” Vance frowned. “He’s so evasive. It’s infuriating.”
“Well, then. Don’t respond.”
“You just flipped like a switch.” He shook his head.
“That’s because the decision is yours.” She shrugged. “You don’t have to do anything about this. You don’t even have to ever think about him again. He’s Brandon’s best friend, so I can make excuses for you if you want me to.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t mind helping you out. And Brandon won’t mind either.”
“Are you talking for your husband now?”
“Hey, my husband knows how evasive his friend is. He’s mentioned it before. Says he knows why, and that it’s nothing bad, but Kenton doesn’t like other’s knowing about his private life.”
Vance frowned. “Do you really think it’s nothing bad?”
“Yeah, I do.” Vanessa nodded. “Brandon wouldn’t trust someone like he trusts Kenton if he was a bad guy or had a past that could come back to hurt him or the people that he loves.”
Vance sighed. “Yeah, I guess. You’re probably right.”
“I know I’m right. Do you want me to get a hold of Brandon now?”
“No, there’s no need.”
Her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the screen. Then she started to laugh.
“What’s so funny now?”
“I don’t think I need to get a hold of Brandon. He’s on his way over here now.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t say.” She shrugged. “But he says it’s important and he wants to talk to you.”
“Me? Why didn’t he text me?”
“He says you haven’t been answering your texts.”
Vance took a moment to check his phone. He had only really paid attention to the message from Kenton, but it did look like Brandon had been texting him all day. He sighed and shot off a response, letting Brandon know that he was at the restaurant and had left his phone in the office. The last thing he needed was more people fussing over him. Frankly, Vance just wanted to wallow in misery and feel sorry for himself, then throw himself into a mindless job that he could do without thinking. That’s why he had come into work after all. Trying to stay busy.
Vanessa looked down at her phone and tapped out a few responses. Vance took the opportunity to slip out of the office and grab a bottle of wine from behind the bar to bring back to the office. It was a perk that he didn’t use often, but from the way this day was looking, it was a perk he felt that he might need.
Chapter Eleven
Kenton checked a watch that wasn’t there. He had forgotten that he hadn’t worn a watch in a couple of years now, ever since he had stopped working. It just hadn’t been necessary since then.
He sighed. “Are you sure about this?”
Brandon nodded and carefully steered toward the restaurant. “I’m sure. You need to tell him. He doesn’t understand. Vanessa says he’s been in a funk all day. He came into work and started doing dishes and cleaning on his day off.”
“Is that normal for him?”
“No. He’s usually talkative and nice to people, but right now he’s kind of avoiding everyone.”
Kenton frowned. “I didn’t mean to bother him like that.”
“I know.” Brandon nodded. “But you need to talk to him.”
“I know, I know.” Kenton pushed his hair out of his face. “I just don’t know if this is a good idea.”
“You already said you like this guy, right?” Brandon pulled into the parking spot and turned to face his best friend.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Then you should go for it. You absolutely should go for it. And to do this you have to trust him. He can’t hurt you. If he asks you for money, say no and leave him alone.”
“I don’t think that I can do this.” Kenton shook his head.
Brandon sighed heavily. “I can’t make up your mind for you. You’re going to do this or not. But you have to make the choice.”
“I am making a choice. I can’t do this yet.”
“Ok. So, we’ll go.” Brandon started to back out of the parking lot.
“Wait. Don’t go.” Kenton changed his mind just before Brandon pulled fully out of the parking lot. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Thank you. I think you two are so cute together. You deserve to be happy and Vance deserves to be happy too.” Brandon pulled back into the parking spot, stopping the vehicle and putting the car in park.
“Is that your argument?” Kenton sighed.
“Yeah, it is just that simple.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Kenton shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re expecting me to do.”
“I want you to do what you want to do. I don’t want you to be afraid. I see how much you’re beating yourself up about this guy.” Brandon glanced towards the door of the restaurant. “You’re never going to know if you don’t figure out how to trust someone.”
“I trust you, isn’t that enough?”
“If you think it is, then it is, but as long as you’re happy doing that.”
Kenton sighed. “Why do you have to be so damned reasonable?”
“I don’t know,” Brandon smirked at him.
Kenton rolled his eyes and stepped out of the vehicle. “Alright. I’m going in. I’m going to talk to him about this. And it’s going to be fine.”
“I know it will be.” Brandon had a comforting smile on his face as he climbed out of the car himself.
Kenton moved up to the front door of the restaurant.
“We can just go in through the side door.” Brandon motioned. “It goes straight into the office.”
Kenton frowned. “Are you sure?”
“My wife owns half of the place.” Brandon smiled.
“Right. How do I keep forgetting that?”
“I don’t know.” Brandon was still smiling, laughing lightly as he spoke.
That was enough to get Kenton to smile a little bit. He couldn’t help it, it just made him smile. “Let’s just get inside.”
Brandon paused at the door and turned around. He had a serious look on his face.
Kenton blinked at his best friend. “What?”
“Listen to me for a second.”
“I’m listening.”
“Vance has had a hard time in the past few years. He hasn’t dated since his fiancé died. You’re the only one that’s been close to him at all.” Brandon was speaking quietly as he explained this problem. “You could break him for life. So, if you don’t mind me sticking my nose into the situation. I just have to say it.”
“Say what?”
“That the worst thing you can do is keep him waiting. You need to either tell him or walk away and let him get over it before he gets hurt worse.”
Kento
n sighed and nodded. “I know. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I won’t hurt him more.”
“Good.” Brandon opened the door and let them into the office.
Kenton paused in the doorway before he had fully walked in. There he was. Vance. The man that he had left that morning, unable to make a decision about him.
Vance didn’t look at him. The man was sitting by the desk and looking down at his feet.
It was a sad sight to see. The man just sitting there looking like he had been broken down by life. Kenton sighed and walked over to him. “Can we talk?”
“Sure.” Vance still didn’t look up.
“Right, so. I owe you an explanation.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” Vance shook his head. “If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
“I know I don’t have to, but the truth is that you deserve to know something. I don’t want to cause you more pain because I can’t get off my issues.”
“What are those issues?”
“I don’t know how to explain.” Kenton glanced over his shoulder to see Vanessa and Brandon slowly slipping out of the door and into the kitchen proper.
“Then don’t worry about it. It’s fine.” Vance looked like he was barely keeping it together. But he was forcing himself to accept things that he couldn’t change.
The sight of that broke Kenton’s heart. It was a terrible place for anyone to be, much less someone that he felt so strongly about. He touched his forehead, thinking about what exactly he was going to say. There didn’t feel like there was a good thing to say. Nothing felt quite right. He sighed and pushed his hair back.
Vance glanced up at him. The face didn’t get any more comfortable for Kenton to be able to handle.
“I’m sorry.” Kenton choked out the words.
“You don’t have to be sorry for anything.” Vance shook his head.
“Your face doesn’t say the same thing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that it’s obvious that you’re upset. You deserve better than what I did. You’ve gone through so much, and my problems are so much smaller than yours.” Kenton pulled up another seat and sat down facing the man.
Vance sighed heavily, looking away from Kenton. “I don’t want to push you. You should take your time and do what’s right for you. There has to be a reason you’re so elusive.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to make you feel obligated to me.”
“I don’t feel obligated to anyone but myself. But I can’t start this off on the wrong foot.” Kenton didn’t know how he was going to say the words. “I know you’re going to think that this is a silly problem, but it’s been a real source of stress in my life.”
Vance frowned. “What is it?”
“I won the lottery a couple of years back.”
Vance blinked. “W-why is that such a bad thing?”
Kenton sighed. “It’s not, on the surface, but because of that I had to change my name and move out here.”
“Why?”
“Because I won the money and then suddenly everyone wanted a piece of me. I couldn’t trust anyone. And there were scammers. So many scammers. Trying to separate me from my money. But that wasn’t the worst part of it.”
“What was the worst part.” Vance wasn’t commenting yet. He was just asking more and more questions about the situation, trying to gather up more and more information.
That was making Kenton feel a little nervous. But he continued. “There were a lot of people that were trying to rob me, family members that came out of the woodwork to try to borrow money. And if I didn’t give away most of it to people who didn’t feel like I deserved it I was considered a monster. It was a terrible situation.”
Vance nodded slowly, the realization coming over him right then. It was all starting to make sense now.
Kenton continued. “The constant harassment, robberies, and threats got so bad that I had to uproot my entire life and move away, changing my name.”
“Really?”
“Imagine three to four times a day being asked for money. And usually once a month I was threatened or robbed. It was terrible. I had to just cut off all ties.”
“Is that how you met Brandon?”
“Yeah. He helped me out when I came into town. After he stopped working on my finances, we became friends.” Kenton smiled. “I don’t know how I would have adapted without that man.”
“Are you worried about people finding you?”
Kenton shrugged. “I figure at some point someone will find me. I have money and that makes me a target.”
Vance nodded slowly. But he still looked tired. “I guess, yeah. That makes sense. I don’t think I ever thought of that before.”
“I didn’t think about it before it happened to me.” The man sighed heavily. “It’s not exactly something that someone dreams about when they play the lottery.”
“I honestly don’t think I’ve ever played the lottery.” Vance shook his head. “Nobody ever wins.”
“The odds are stacked against you.” Kenton nodded. “And those people that do win aren’t prepared for what happens to them.” He explained with a sigh.
Vance picked his head up and looked at Kenton carefully. His voice was soft when he spoke. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I’m sorry for almost hating you for this.”
“What do you mean?” Kenton was taken aback.
“I don’t know what to say about it. I’m sorry. I was just so bitter about it. I had been so honest with you. You even knew about my big issues before you even came up to me. But somehow, I couldn’t have the same? It was upsetting.”
Kenton looked down at his hands. He was upset by what Vance had said but he knew that Vance had good reason to say it. The chef must have been hurt by what Kenton had done. And that took the millionaire aback. He would have expected the man to be happier having found out what the problem was. It wasn’t like he was in bed with the mob or something like that.
But Vance didn’t look any happier. He still looked like his life had gone all wrong and Kenton was worried that it was all his fault. He wondered if he had broken the chef. Maybe there was no way that he could fix the fact that he had run away instead of giving a couple of innocent answers that morning.
And that was exactly what he had done. And it was what he regretted. “I wish I could fix it. Go back in time. It was a terrible start for something that could have been great.”
“Yeah, it kinda was.” Vance was still speaking in hushed tones. He wasn’t showing much on his face now. Kenton couldn’t read the man at all.
“I’m sorry. It’s all that I can say. I was scared. I’ve been screwed by just about everyone I trusted because I got a windfall.” He sighed. “I should have trusted you. I should have trusted Brandon when the man told me that you were a good man that wouldn’t do that kind of thing to me. But I was afraid. I can’t even understand why I was so terrified. I’ve been alone for a long while.”
“How long?”
“Since before I won the lottery. I had never found anyone that I felt much about before. It’s kind of strange to me. I’m not a guy that ever found anyone that I couldn’t let go of before.”
Vance frowned. “So, what does that mean?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I know I’m messing up. And I know that I messed up.”
“You didn’t mess up.” Vance’s voice was still subdued. It was flat, emotionless. Almost like Vance had shut down. Kenton wondered if it was the way that Vance handled emotional upsets. He knew that some people did that sort of thing and it was the only explanation that he could think of. Nothing else made any sense. “I mean, you kind of did, but I took it way too hard.”
“You don’t need to do that. Don’t take the blame for that.” Kenton shook his head.
“I shouldn’t have taken it so seriously. I just reacted all wrong to it. I
should have been more understanding.”
Kenton scooted his chair closer to Vance. He took the chef’s hands in his. “You don’t have to apologize for feeling that way. I’m the one that screwed up.”
“Ugh.” Vanessa’s voice came from the doorway. “Can you two just stop apologizing to each other and kiss already?”
Both men jumped and turned her direction.
“Vanessa!” Vance shouted at her.
“What?”
“What are you doing?”
“Stopping this before it goes on any further. You two are super cute together.” She stuck her tongue out at her brother.
“Don’t start with me.” Vance smiled as he shook his head.
Kenton rolled his eyes. The tenseness of the moment had faded completely out of the seriousness it had held before and had moved back into the ease of conversation that Vanessa seemed to drag out in her brother.
It was easy to see what Brandon had seen in her. And it was easy to see what was so amazing about Vance too. There was still more to talk about, but after this moment it had become easier to speak to each other.
The conversation flowed easily from that point, letting them start to laugh and enjoy. And they even had a nice dinner in the dining room of the restaurant.
It was like a date, but Kenton was eating from the menu that Vance had created and helped develop with the rest of his staff. It was a nice dinner and the conversation flowed throughout the evening between them.
Chapter Twelve
Vance was happy. He couldn’t hide it. He couldn’t fight it. He didn’t want to either. There was something about Kenton that spoke to his soul. He loved every moment with the man. They had been together every spare moment that they could squeeze out.
They had honestly been together nonstop since they had discussed the misunderstanding that they had gone through after their first night together. It hadn’t been easy. Vance still had to work even if Kenton didn’t. But Kenton had been coming to the restaurant whenever he could, spending time there while Vance was working. They hadn’t slept together. It had simply felt like a bad idea. But it had been almost two weeks of bliss since then. There was something to be said about their situation. The way that they had found each other and the happiness that they brought.