Only You by Jerry Cole (the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT) 📕

He paid for Bradley’s hotel. He paid for every activity, every drink, every scrap of food the two men ate. And whenever Bradley tried to pay or offer some money, Sherman waved him down and sometimes even laughed.

Up until now, Bradley had been willing to write all this off as sweet behavior, maybe even romantic? Sherman was infinitely wealthier than Bradley, and he did get a lot of deals on their day trips, and he was just being kind and generous in a way that Bradley should have appreciated...

But now it was clear. Sherman thought he was better than Bradley. That’s what this was about and his offer to treat Bradley like someone that he owned was the latest example of this. It simply would not do.

“You’ve got me?” Bradley pushed his tongue into his bottom lip as he tried to control himself. “You’ve got – just so you know, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.”

“Huh?” Sherman blinked.

“I don’t need you to – I could have paid for my flight over here, you know? And lunch today – and this surfing lesson. I could have paid for all of it.”

“All right... I’m sure you could —”

“And just because I’m not working right now, doesn’t mean I won’t be. I will be an actor soon. And when I am —” Bradley suddenly stood up. He was feeling hot and flushed and could feel his tongue running away with him. “I’m going for a walk.”

And so, he did. Without another word, he spun on his heel and powered off and into the sunset. It was such a silly thing to get all worked up over, but Bradley couldn’t help it. Sherman had been lording over him all week and only just now did he realize it. He wanted a relationship with Sherman, he really did, but that wouldn’t be possible if Sherman thought he was better than he was... which right now, he did.

The great irony of the whole thing too was not once was their actual relationship status even mentioned. That was all Bradley had wanted, and now, because of his little tantrum, it might be over before it even begun.

Chapter Twelve

They met up an hour later, but that’s just because it was time to head back to the hotel. Sherman hadn’t gone chasing after Bradley, because he had also known that doing so would do him no good. Actors were temperamental creatures, and that went double for Bradley. Sherman knew the best thing to do was let him calm down and then talk.

It was a good thing too, as this also gave Sherman a little time to reflect on what had just happened and how, surprisingly, it might have even been his fault.

At first, he refused to consider this for even a second. As he watched Bradley throw a tantrum and storm off down the beach, he remained where he was, speechless over what had just happened. Truly, he couldn’t believe it. Everything had been going so well. Like, ridiculously well. The entire week had been perfect beyond belief without even the hint of an argument or disagreement. Truly, it was the most perfect, drama free week of Sherman’s life.

It was because of how great this week had been that Sherman felt the courage, or better yet the overwhelming desire to propose that Bradley move to Sydney with him. A week ago, that would have been unspeakable, the very definition of moving too soon. But now, after all they had been through, it just felt right. And so, Sherman asked the big question.

It was around then that things went downhill... and fast.

Sherman figured that it was Bradley who was overreacting, which was why when he stormed off, Sherman was willing to let him. He was certain that once Bradley came back, he’d apologize and then they’d have a serious conversation about moving to Sydney. Despite what had just happened, Bradley still wanted this. Of course he did!

But once he was alone, he began to reflect over what he had said and oddly enough, he came to realize that maybe he had been just a little bit in the wrong. He had been a little presumptuous, and maybe even a tad condescending. Sure, Bradley didn’t have a lot going on in Melbourne right now, but bringing it up the way he had wasn’t the right thing to do. Not by a mile.

So, what was the right thing to do? After an hour of deep thought and having about one thousand conversations play out in his head, Sherman realized the only thing he could do was apologize. If he didn’t, he might risk losing Bradley forever and that he could not abide.

They met where their bikes were parked, in the parking lot overlooking the beach. Sherman got there first, deciding to head there and see how long it took for Bradley to turn back up. They had a dinner reservation for later that night and he really, really hoped that Bradley didn’t forget. Lucky, he came a few minutes later, looking like a puppy that had peed on the carpet and was now desperate for forgiveness.

He was only halfway across the lot when he spoke. “Sherman —”

“Don’t.” Sherman held his hand out to stop him. Then, without a word he crossed the rest of the way and pulled Bradley into a hug. Bradley saw him coming and his body relaxed as Sherman wrapped his arms around him. “I’m sorry.”

“I am.”

“No, I am,” Sherman said with a little more conviction. “I’m an asshole and I was acting like one.”

“I’m a brat, and I was acting like one.” His body vibrated a little from withheld laughter.

Sherman released Bradley, but still held him close. “I know you have a life in Melbourne, and I know that it was wrong of me to just assume you would