“Not before coffee,” Marc answered. “Did you decide what to do about Thorne?”

“I spent the weekend,” was Riley’s noncommittal answer.

Marc muttered something.

“What was that?”

“I’m worried about you.”

Why was Marc so infuriating? “But you said—”

“To consider how much you wanted it.”

Riley stirred the eggs he was scrambling. “I did. I’ve never wanted anyone more.”

“Have you told him that?”

“What should I say? Hey, tonight’s free of charge. Let’s pretend it’s a date.”

“Riley, be serious.”

“Nothing I can think to say sounds right. I’m not ready for that yet.”

Marc made a noise of displeasure. “When will you be?”

“I don’t know. I need to be sure he won’t laugh at me.”

“Do you think he will after this weekend?” Marc asked.

Riley slid the eggs onto a plate and started buttering his toast. “What if this is just a crush? What if it passes? I don’t want to make a fool of myself.”

“I’ve seen you crushing plenty of times, but I’ve never heard you talk about anyone like you talk about Thorne.”

Marc was right, and Riley knew it, but he wished it were that simple, that the feelings would go away and he could get on with his life. “He asked me for another weekend.”

“What did you say?”

Riley took his plate and coffee mug to the tiny table by the window and gazed out at the morning sky. “I said I’d do one night, not two. I can’t do another whole weekend. I could barely make myself leave last night.”

“You need to tell him. And then it either ends or it changes.”

Marc was right. For all his flighty ways, he was absolutely right. But Riley wasn’t ready to risk ending things with Thorne. “I’ll go back this weekend and then maybe—”

“Riley.”

“I know. I asked for your help, and now I’m not listening.”

Marc laughed. “Sounds like we switched places.”

“Yeah, it does.” Riley took a sip of coffee. “How are things out there?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

Riley smiled. He’d known Marc would pick up on that. “Damn right I am.”

“Things are weird.”

Riley finished a bite of eggs. “Weird how?”

“Hamilton keeps wanting us to hook up with other guys, which is fine, but I’d like to have some time for just us. He’s always going to LA, and when he’s home he wants to go out. I must be getting old, but sometimes I just want to stay in, watch movies, hang out, like we used to do.”

Like Riley wanted to do with Thorne. “That sounds like a bad scene. Don’t you think you should—”

“No, I’m not going to run back to Atlanta, not yet anyway.” Of course he wouldn’t. Marc would wait until that asshole had completely broken his heart.