"Love, Trust, and Secrets"

Chapter 4-1

Chapter 4

Jarod watched in amazement as Ty’s expression morphed from happiness, to confusion, to anger, and back to confusion, in a matter of seconds. Ty’s chocolate brown eyes opened wide, much like a deer caught in headlights. Jarod wished he could get Ty’s rollercoaster of emotions back to happy.

Ty had taken up space in Jarod’s head since the moment they’d met. Coming to the restaurant to see Ty had been Jarod’s only option. And not wanting to interrupt his work made coming at closing time seem like the best choice, plus there’d be a good chance Ty would be clear to leave. Jarod had also thought if he came at the end of a long day, Ty would be too tired to fight. And Jarod had no doubt, when he showed up unexpectedly, it would be cause for a fight, or at least a heated discussion, yet it’d be worth it, if it ultimately meant spending time with Ty.

But now it seemed, instead of arguing, Jarod had rendered Ty speechless.

Ty’s glare held Jarod in place.

After what seemed like five minutes, Ty spoke. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Really? Jarod had hoped Ty would say “yes,” yet the answer still stunned him. “You’ll let me drive you home?”

“No. I’ll go out with you.” As the words escaped Ty’s mouth, he broke eye contact, and his eyebrows furrowed. He appeared as surprised as Jarod by his words. “But not tonight. Another time.”

“Great. How about tomorrow?” Jarod couldn’t keep the excitement from his voice. He could definitely do tomorrow.

“That soon?”

“Yes.” He didn’t want to give Ty too much time to think about it. He might change his mind.

“Okay.” Ty rubbed his neck and cast his gaze downward. “Tomorrow works.”

Jarod’s heartbeat sped up. “What time would be good?”

“I have to work, then take care of a few things. So how about we meet here at eight?”

“Eight sounds great.” Jarod couldn’t wait. “Can I give you a ride home?”

“No.”

The quickness of the answer and Ty’s stern tone caught Jarod off guard.

“Sorry. It’s just, my cab should be here any minute, and I don’t want to piss him off by sending him away.”

“Got it. Is it okay if I wait with you until it comes?”

“I guess,” Ty said. His gaze looked past Jarod.

Jarod sensed Ty’s reluctance. “You sure?”

“I wanted to talk to my boss about something, but I can do that tomorrow.”

“No. It’s all right. I’ll take off. Let you talk to him tonight.”

“You don’t mind?” Ty arched his eyebrows.

“Nope.” He’d miss Ty though. “I’ll see you tomorrow at eight.” Jarod wanted to hug Ty goodbye, but knew it wasn’t the time. He kept his arms locked at his sides as Ty headed back into the restaurant.

Jarod had parked his truck far enough away it wouldn’t stick out, but close enough to see the front door of the restaurant. Once inside, he decided to wait for a few minutes. Just want to make sure you get in the cab safely. Before he had a chance to put the keys in the ignition and turn on the radio, Ty came outside. You must be a fast talker.

Both men waited another fifteen minutes before the taxi came, Ty on the sidewalk by the restaurant, and Jarod in his truck.

Jarod headed home, thinking about their date the next day and how far away the next day seemed.

When he arrived home, he checked to make sure he had clean clothes for the date. Then, too excited to sleep, he sat and watched a movie.

* * * *

The next morning, Jarod woke up earlier than usual. Partly because he had a lot to do and wanted to make sure he’d be ready by eight P.M. But mostly because of the reason he had to be ready at eight P.M.—his date with Ty.

Jarod thought back to when he’d first arrived at the restaurant, the spark that’d ignited when his and Ty’s hands had touched. Even now, thinking about Ty, a warmth raced through Jarod’s body. Ty hit all of Jarod’s buttons. And not merely in a s****l way, though Ty definitely hit those. Jarod wanted to get to know Ty’s personality, his hopes, his dreams. What made him laugh. But besides all Jarod wanted to know, he also wanted to protect Ty, from what, he wasn’t sure, but it was a sensation he blamed on their first meeting. Something about this guy was different, and Jarod had every intention of finding out what. He just hoped Ty was on board with that plan.

Jarod stepped past the mirror, got a look at his goofy grin, and didn’t even care. But when he caught himself humming the tune to the latest love song on the radio, he decided he needed to get a grip.

Before Jarod knew it, he was finished with his paperwork at the hospital and heading home to get ready for his date.

* * * *

At a quarter after five, Tyler had less than three hours to go to the library, run home and wash up, then make it back to the restaurant to meet Jarod. Meet Jarod. What the hell was I thinking?

Now wasn’t a good time to become involved with someone. With all the s**t he was going through? With everything he needed to hide? Again, what the hell was I thinking? Or maybe he should ask with what had he been thinking. Maybe it was his little head. Since his hot dream about Jarod, he couldn’t erase the man from his mind. Maybe that was it. All he needed was a one-off, and he’d be good to go.

“Hey, Tyler, weren’t you off at five? What are you still doing here?” Roy’s words snapped Tyler out of his thoughts.

“Yeah. Thanks, I’m leaving.”