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"We have a er MIA We’ve been having probleet better That obviously isn’t the case I need to go there for a few oing to close Creekside while I’one I--"

"Fuck that" Gavin shoved off the wall "You have no reason to close the bar Why are you really doing it? Letto make my decisions for me? Fuck you for that, Mason I’m an adult I can handle my own shit Even if I did want to take the job, that wouldn’t stopat the bar now Don’t be like everyone else in my life Don’t think you knoho I am or what I want better than I do" Damn Mason for that He’d never treated Gavin that way before Gavin’s faht he’d knoas best for Gavin And er, he had, but not anymore

Mason shoved to his feet "But would you? Would you take that job if I’one when it started and I needed you? Christ, I love that about you You give one hundred percent of yourself to people you care about, but I’ to be the one to hold you back Plus," Mason went back down to the bed

"We both have soon, Gav I’m torn between my family loyalty, business, and fucked in the head over my parents You’re the sa I want you I feel you, right fucking here" He touched his chest "But our relationship so far is based on feeling screwed up because of other people It’s based on you being there forthe one to push you when you need it That’s shit we need to be doing on our own I don’t want to be what teaching at that school was to you I don’t give a shit if you take that job or not, as long as whatever you do is what you want Right now you’re living your life dependent on what I need or what your family needs You just replaced me with your old job Don’t you see that? You’re still not living for yourself,on in my head I don’t want that for us"

Every one of Mason’s words slam every one of his internal organs

Mason was right As ht

"I love you, ya know?" And he did He knew that Despite all the other shit, he knew that He felt Mason in a way he’d never felt anyone else

"I know I love you, too I’ve fucked up too h, and I don’t want to do that with you If we don’t get our own shit figured out on our own, it’s always going to weigh us down It’ll just fuck us up later I can’t be your excuse for not knohat you want for your life, or for not going for it I can’t let you be my distraction, either Maybe I really do want the restaurants Maybe that’s why I’d originally planned on going back Maybe not Maybe Mos out withyou deserve right now, no ave Mason everything he deserved as well? He didn’t know

His feet felt like they were made of lead as Gavin walked over to his lover He stopped in front of his His arms went around the man, and Mason’s did the same to him He slid his hands down the back of Gavin’s underwear, rested his head against Gavin’s chest

The tension in the roo away, it didn’t feel like running It felt like fighting--for themselves and each other

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Mason worked every day straight for the next three weeks The accounting was a disaster, as was the restaurant itself He still wasn’t sure he’d found all the discrepancies, and he had their accountant scouring the books now, too

They’d lost two e to hire new people on top of everything else

In a lot of ways, it was a rush--the feeling of building this place up again It was alht Creekside His dad wasn’t able to be here, and Isaac kept busy with Denver and Boulder

The responsibility of Durango fell completely on his shoulders, and as stressful as that was, Mason realized so as well

He wasn’t sure what to do with that All he kneas he felt like he was acco his father’s favorite restaurant back to its for his father at the same time