Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“No, Van is,” Zane said with a frown. “I’m not sure what’s going through his head.”
“Of course you do,” Nate replied, sending his partner a knowing look.
Zane’s eyes rolled but it looked more self-deprecating than anything. “Of course I do.” His expression cleared, and he sent his focus Hale’s way. “I would bet you don’t advocate for yourself, Hale. It’s easy to let your partner call all the shots because deep down there’s a part of you that doesn’t trust yourself to do it.”
That was a fair assumption. “Van’s kind of been the leader.”
“Yeah, that only works for so long,” Zane began. “Almost every friendship or partnership or any relationship starts like that. One person tends to take the lead, but the problem is people grow and change and if the relationship can’t do the same, it tends to die.”
It hurt his heart but Zane was right. “You think even if I give in, our friendship is toast because I want to make some decisions?”
“No,” Nate said with a shake of his head. “Absolutely not. I think you and Van are in a place every partnership gets to sooner or later. You’ve shaken him up a bit. He needs some time. He’ll probably think about this for a while and come to the conclusion he doesn’t want to wear a condom either and he’ll have this big revelation, and I hope it happens in private and not in the middle of a town hall session.”
“I actually think we should all wear condoms.” Hale was a bit confused.
Nate’s head shook and there was a soft look in his eyes. “That’s an inside joke. What you should understand is that Zane and I have been where you and Van are. One of us was ready to go all in and the other was kind of an asshole who needed his ass kicked.”
Zane grinned. “Him. He was the asshole, but we worked it out. Go on your date, man. Let Van go on his and you can both see what happens without your other half. Maybe it works out. Maybe it’s what you need. Or maybe it’s terrible and you both figure out once and for all you’re better together than apart.”
“And what if I find out we’re better together and he figures out I drag him down?” He said the quiet part out loud.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Zane put a hand on his shoulder. “If Nate understands Van, then I get you, man. I’ve been right where you are. It took seeing Callie again to make me understand I deserved to be a full partner in this relationship. And it wasn’t Nate who made me feel that way. It was me. I went through some shit in my childhood that made me hesitate, made me more confident in Nate’s abilities to guide us through whatever we came up against. It might surprise you but no one was happier for me stepping up and making some decisions than Nate.”
“It was good to finally have some balance between us, but it was also a challenge because I had made those decisions for years,” Nate admitted. “We had to find a new way to work together, but if we hadn’t I believe Zane and Callie would be married and I would be miserable somewhere in a big city with a job I thought I wanted.”
It was pretty close to where he and Van were right now. “How did you solve it?”
“I got my head out of my ass and Zane and Callie gave me the space to figure it out,” Nate explained. “Look, he’s not going anywhere soon. He’s got another whole semester to figure this out. Date this woman and see where it leads, and he’ll do the same. Be his friend. Listen to him and make him listen to you. If he doesn’t, then you’ll know. And hey, there’s always some sad-sack single dude who comes into town and says no way am I sharing a woman with someone else and a couple of years later they end up in bed with Ty Davis.”
That made Hale snort. Because Michael Novack had probably said those words and now he shared a bed with a man he’d claimed to dislike. Of course there was a woman between them.
He hated the thought of going into this without Van, but Nate was right. He had a decision to make, and he wasn’t willing to float through life any longer. He could build something here, something he couldn’t in Dallas.
It might be time to choose himself.
It was definitely time to choose her.
“Thanks,” he said, moving toward the dining room again. “I’ll think about everything you’ve said. Elisa should be here soon. Tell Van I’ll see him at home.”
He walked away because it was almost time for his date.