Wes shook his head but smiled too. Still resting it on the back of the couch, he rolled his head to the side so he was looking at Braden. Fuck, he wanted his mouth. Wanted it so much his whole body ached.

“You’re crazy.”

“Yep..”

“You cuss too much around kids, too.”

“Hey! I’m getting better at that!”

Again, Wes’s hand squeezed his leg. “You’re pushy, and act like a kid most of the time.”

“All true.”

Wes sighed, then leaned against Braden. His heart went fucking crazy in a way it never had before. Going off instinct, he reached over and turned off the lamp, thinking sometimes things were easier when you didn’t have to look at a person.

Wes pulled at the blanket, his feet joining Braden’s on the coffee table. “You’re the guy who’s good as hell with my niece. The guy who would help out a friend because it’s the right thing to do. And I’ll admit you’re right. You’re the guy who’s good at both fucking me and making me laugh.”

The only sound filling the room was Wes’s breath because Braden held his, not really sure why but doing it anyway.

“I haven’t let myself give a shit about anyone besides my family for a long time, Braden but you’re here...pushing your way in.”

Braden felt him shake his head.

He knew exactly what Wes was saying. He cared. He could try and disguise it as Braden pushing his way in, but the end result was the same. He cared.

“Thank you. You take care of her like she’s your own. That means a lot to me.”

“She’s a cool kid. I love spending time with her.” And he did. He’d never really put any thought into having kids, but if he did, he’d love a little girl like Jessie.

Wes pulled at the blanket, covering them both up. Maybe the moment was perfect as it was. Maybe Braden should keep his mouth shut and let them be. Wes would go to his room soon, and they could keep shit the way it was, but that wasn’t Braden. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. He’d always lived his life like that. It’s why he moved a lot and explored, willing to try anything out. There was always something to gain by taking chances.

“Who are you, Wesley? You know who I am. Don’t you think it’s time you shared yourself with me, too?”

***

Wes had no idea what he was doing—what they were doing. It felt as though there was an elastic band between the two of them. The harder Wes tried to pull away from Braden, the tougher the resistance made it. He should just loosen up and let them be pulled together, because it was so much fucking easier than fighting that resistance. Though he guessed it really wasn’t easier, but the urge to try stretched the band thinner and thinner.

It was more than just how he helped with Jessie. It was the coffee, and bowling and seeing them tonight. Seeing how much his niece loved and trusted Braden, and how much he thought Braden might love her, too.

It was also in the laughter, because Braden made him feel light in a way he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt. The way he looked at Wes and the way he stuck around made him want to believe Braden really wanted to be with him. Like he wouldn’t leave...

“Aren’t you only supposed to be interested in fucking me?” he teased, not really feeling it.

“I think it started out that way.”

Leave it to Braden to be completely honest.

Braden settled into the couch more and Wes relaxed against him. He toed out of his shoes, one of them staying on the table and another hitting the floor.

“So you used to paint but you don’t anymore. You’ve never been with a woman. You came out to your sister. Oh, I know. Tell me why you didn’t go to med school. You said you wanted to be a doctor.”

The urge was there to clam up, but he was tired of that. Tonight, he wanted to take a page out of Braden’s book and just talk. “It was too much. When Mom died, she didn’t have life insurance or anything, so things were tight growing up. Chelle worked like crazy to support us. Lydia and I got jobs as soon as we could, but things were never really easy. When it came time to go to school...how could I do something that would take so many years and so much money? I had responsibilities to take care of. I wanted to be able to help her the way she’d helped us growing up, and spending eight years in school wasn’t the way to do that.”

“You and that big heart of yours. Pretty soon it’s going to get tired of not doing anything for yourself.”

“We’re going to have to agree to disagree on that one.”