then back at Ryan and we both cracked up laughing, me pressing my face against his chest and letting loose.
It felt good to let go and laugh.
Ryan held up two white bags of what smelled like Chinese food.
“At least this time I come bearing gifts and updates!” He grinned and set the lot on top of the kitchen counter.
“Food first. Updates after. Especially if they’re going to be icky. You can tell Jonah all the freaky stuff while I’m showering if that’s cool with you.”
Ryan’s lips twitched and he nodded. “Noted, gorgeous.” He winked.
Jonah groaned but didn’t say anything. It seemed as though Ryan loved to get Jonah’s goat as much as he could. With things being so uncertain, this must have brought a bit of consistency to his life during this situation that felt totally out of control.
Ryan pulled box after box out of the bags and laid three plates down next to them. He let me dig in first. I piled my plate high with the feast and waited to start until both men had their plates loaded and we were all sitting down at the small table.
“I don’t have long, just enough time for dinner and to grab a change of clothes. How’s everything going here?”
Jonah updated him on my need to work. Ryan glared at his plate, his jaw hardening. Seemed he didn’t like the idea of me going back to work either but frankly, I didn’t have a choice. I had to live even if it meant risking my safety for a period of eight hours a night a few nights a week.
Using this as happy time, I told Ryan about the idea that Jonah’s dad had about me checking out their workplace.
“Wow. Yeah, that would be cool but what about uh, you know…the other partner who works there?” Ryan asked trying to be sly about not saying Luca’s name.
“He was here today. Luca. Came to see if I was okay,” Jonah offered.
“Are you fucking kidding me? I’ll kick his ass for you.” Ryan scowled and poked at the chicken bites on his plate so hard the tines made a loud clanking sound.
“It’s fine. He said his piece.”
“Yeah, and what did you say?” Ryan asked. Clearly, they talked about the serious shit in their lives. Something I genuinely appreciated, because I had that with my sisters by choice too.
“Told him I needed more time.”
Ryan nodded. “Took some serious balls to come here though. Especially as it pertains to Helen. The fuckwad.” Ryan angrily scooped up some rice, half of it falling off his fork with his jerky movements.
“Yeah.” Jonah sighed and leaned back in his chair running his hand behind his neck.
“You okay?”
“It’s hard, you know? I’m still so angry at him but not because I lost Helen. Mostly because it was him that was the catalyst. My own brother betrayed me. Drink or no drink, how does someone get over that?”
Ryan shrugged as I ran my hand up and down Jonah’s back wanting to show my support as he worked through this with his best friend.
“I guess it’s a matter of do you believe it was the booze that did it or do you think there was more to it than that?”
“He never had a thing for Helen before. She’s not even his ideal woman. Tall and lean, athletic build. I mean, Simone is more his type.”
Ryan grinned at me. “Simone is every heterosexual man’s type,” he teased and smirked at me.
Jonah punched him in the shoulder hard enough for him to wince and rub at it through his laughter.
“You set yourself up for that one, bro.”
“Whatever,” Jonah grumbled, and bit into an egg roll.
“Thinking back on it, I saw Luca around Helen a lot. He never so much as looked at her twice.”
“He claims she seduced him. They were drunk, she came on to him. He’s gotten help for his alcoholism, yada… It doesn’t really matter because it’s over. My marriage ended and she’s now dead.” He tossed his fork on his plate and pushed it away from him barely half-eaten.
Ryan reached out and grabbed Jonah’s wrist. “It does matter. Luca is your brother. I’ve known you a long time and I know how tight you two were before it all went down. And he was sauced all the time, man. You even told me how worried you were the last time you and Helen went out with him and Tiffany. He got so shitfaced that he made a huge scene in a