The Men Next Door

Ch 10 - Brooks

There was no way on Earth that Campbell had really processed her past.

If her reaction after our night together was anything to judge by, she was a runner. Someone who couldn't sit with their feelings long enough to work through the pain and come out on the other side. And that lined up with her reasons for moving to the city, too.

Was I going to become another thing she got bored of? Another thing to close the door on when the rush of newness wore off?

And did it matter, or was this all just a bit of fun to her?

Don't get me wrong, I knew I didn't have any claim on her. I wasn't that full of myself, to think that she'd fall for me just because I brought her a bit of pleasure. But I was tired of short-lived city flings, and I knew I wanted something more meaningful in my future, whether it was with her or someone else.

Maybe you should've thought of that before you offered to make her come, Brooks.

I rolled my eyes at my own inner dialogue, even if it did have a point. I had a bad habit of thinking with my dick at the expense of my heart. And who could blame me, really? My heart was the one who was dead set on hurting me — on falling way too hard and smacking into the loveless pavement before I ever had a chance to catch myself.

And Campbell was probably just going to be another scraped up knee.

We'd texted a bit here and there since I last saw her, but it wasn't enough to reassure me. Especially after I heard her and Luca giggling about God knows what in the hallway Saturday night.

It was none of my business, whatever they did in their alone time. I knew that. That's what Luca and I had agreed on. And as curious as I was, I knew I shouldn't ask either of them questions that I didn't want to know the answer to.

But I had to talk to someone.

If I didn't, I'd keep thinking myself in circles until the sun came up, trying to find some way to control a situation that had already slipped out of my hands. So instead of driving myself into a sleep-deprived sort of madness, I headed downstairs to see the most level-headed man I knew.

~~~

"What's wrong, son?" Jenkins asked as I approached. We weren't related in any way, but he'd told me I was like the son he never had after our very first heart-to-heart, and the affectionate nickname had stuck around ever since.

I gestured him over to the seats near the fireplace in the lobby — I needed to sit down for this one — then spilled everything to the old man.

"So what am I supposed to do? I barely know her, but I can't stop thinking about her. I'm scared she's going to hurt me, but I'd rather get hurt than let Luca have her. And on top of it all, I can't lose Luca over a woman we've known for what? Less than two weeks?"

"Time isn't always the best measure of reality," Jenkins said, looking at me solemnly. "She means something to you, son. You wouldn't be putting this much thought into it if she didn't. And I know you're always stuck in that head of yours, thinking through every detail, every scenario, every potential twist... but you'll always find an imperfection if you look hard enough. Sometimes you just need to let your heart take the lead."

"And what if my heart misguides me?"

"Then it will break, Brooks. But it will heal, too. Everything heals in time."

I was quiet, chewing on the inside of my lip as I mulled over his advice. He jumped back in before I came to any sort of conclusion.

"When I was a bit younger than you, I was in love with a woman named Nancy. The issue was she never knew it."