In a Heartbeat (MxM)

Chapter 36

"You didn't invite your friends?" I asked randomly thinking about his interaction with them earlier.

"Friends?"

"Aspen, Cedar, Brady, and Grant."

Simon frowned, tilting his head in confusion. "It was only going to be us. And Michael, but he's busy."

"Oh." And I just made things awkward. "Nevermind."

I took their dishes, letting them continue to talk as they carried their conversation to the couch and to escape the awkward silence that filled the air. Of course, my stupid mouth made everything awkward again. I scrubbed at the cutting boards and pots with more force than necessary, letting the sounds of the scrubber and running water drown out whatever it is they were blabbering about. I set the pot down a bit louder than intended, looking for other dishes when I spotted a reusable container on the side with some of the leftover stew in it. Michael's portion.

Tempted to toss it, I bit my lip, knowing it would only make things worse. Besides, I wasn't about to waste a delicious meal. But, I guess it was better that Michael wasn't here. He would've just taunted me the whole time, continuing his charade from earlier.

As I put the dishes away, hopefully in the right place, I'd glance over at the two of them on the couch, talking as if Simon had never left.

"Consider yourself lucky you haven't been around Craig and Toby, those two are so annoyingly cute. It's like Cedar and Bryce on steroids. They try to pretend they're not a thing but it's so obvious I'm pretty sure my mom could tell from one look at them," Xavier was ranting. "But, they're totally nice. Well, maybe not so much Toby. Don't make short jokes, or you'll never survive that."

Simon smiled. "I remember Toby. He was always defensive."

"Oh!" Xavier exclaimed. "You remember April and Abigail? They finally adopted."

"Aw, I'm happy for them. It was about time they adopted."

Watching them was like seeing Simon connect with his friends earlier, which only reminded me of what Michael was saying; he doesn't need you. And watching him with Xavier made me wonder why I was even here. Sarah had told me he deserved happiness, but how could I do that? Maybe it would've been better if I hadn't shown up. He was plenty happy around Xavier, I just made things worse, and awkward.

I wiped the counters down, placing the leftovers in the fridge before making my way to the front door, trying to be as quiet as possible. I had just touched the door handle when Simon shifted in his seat to look at me.

"Where are you going?" Xavier asked first. Shit.

Simon patted the couch. "Come join us."

"Um," I stalled, trying to come up with an excuse. "I'm a bit tired, I'm going to head home."

Lies, Xavier called me out. It's only seven-thirty.

Simon frowned before patting the seat again. "Not even for a little bit? He was just about to spill your embarrassing moments. Only fair you get to do the same."

As tempting as embarrassing Xavier was, I didn't think either of them would really enjoy me interrupting their social time. I gripped the door handle tighter before gritting out, "I really should get some rest. I got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

I turned the handle, just as Simon cut in, as he stood up, "I can walk with you back."

"No," I said a bit too sharply. "It's fine, stay with Xavier."

What's with you? Xavier chimed in, glaring at me from his spot on the couch.

I pretended not to notice the way Simon sat back down in his seat dejectedly as I opened the door. Nothing, I lied.