“Thank you all for your participation,” Katie said, smiling and standing up. “I look forward to seeing you all next week.”

Everyone got up, stretching, starting to get their stuff.

Preston practically jumped up. He couldn’t wait to get out of there.

“Ah, Preston?” Brad said. “Would you mind staying a moment?”

His tone was light, but Preston knew what this was about. He wasn’t stupid. He’d been pushing Brad’s buttons all session, and now the guy was going to tell him to not bother coming back.

It wasn’t ideal, but Preston would make it work. He’d just tell Luke that Brad had a problem with him, and if Luke was insistent, Preston would go to some other anger management class in Chicago or something. No big deal.

He had to admit he was impressed that Brad hadn’t lost his temper at any point. He’d clearly wanted to, once or twice, but he’d always tamped it down and opted to stay calm instead.

Preston … kind of admired that. But just a little.

Brad waited until everyone else had left, leaning back against the desk with his arms loosely folded. There was this constant sense of looseness about Brad. He looked the opposite of the way that Preston felt: coiled tight like a spring all the time.

Katie gave Brad an encouraging nod, then smiled at Preston on her way out. “I’ll be just outside if you boys need me.”

Preston let the door close behind them after the she left. “So?”

Brad shrugged. “I might ask you the same thing. Go ahead, say it.”

“Say what?”

“You obviously have a lot of contempt for me.” Brad sounded like he was resigned to it, had already moved through the five stages of grief and had accepted it. “So, let’s just get it out, say what you have to say, let’s clear the air.”

Preston stared at him. “I—what?”

“What?”

“I thought you were going to tell me off.”

Brad sighed. “I can’t make you take this seriously. I can’t make you do anything, in fact, that you don’t want to do. But I thought that clearing the air might help.”

“No, it really wouldn’t,” Preston replied, feeling his temper getting short already, like sparks under his skin.

He reached for the door handle to leave, but Brad cleared his throat again. “You know, you don’t have to take this seriously. But if you don’t, you aren’t going to get back into the bar.”

Preston turned back to him. Brad didn’t sound like he was taunting him or anything. He just stated it, like it was a fact.

“What’s that mean?” Preston asked. He felt like this was a trap of some kind.

“It means that Katie could just let you skate on by. I could pass you, give you a certificate, all of that. But Luke will be able to tell if you actually improved and did the work or not.

“I maybe not have met him in person, but I’ve heard a lot about him from Hank. He sounds like a pretty astute guy. He’s certainly the one who keeps the rest of you in line. If he can manage all of you, he’s going to be able to read you all well. And he’s known you since you were kids, right?

“It’s not going to take a genius to see that you really haven’t improved, because sooner or later, you’re going to get into a fight again. You’re going to let your anger show. And that’ll tell Luke all that he needs to know: that you didn’t do what he asked.”

Brad unfolded his arms, bracing his hands back on the edge of the desk. The posture, Preston knew, wasn’t meant to be flirtatious. But the way it put his body on display, opened his chest and arched his back just a bit, made Preston’s stomach tighten anyway.

“Look,” Brad said, “I’m honestly not judging you here. But if nothing else, even if you hate this—don’t you want to try to have a better relationship with your friends? You love them, right? And this is taking a toll on them, and on you.

“Your relationship isn’t as good as it could be, and I think that you know it. If you don’t take this class seriously, then it says to Luke that you’re not respecting him and taking your relationship with him seriously. And I don’t think that you want that.”

Preston could feel his stomach sinking like someone had hauled a rock into it. He hated to admit it, but Brad was right. It wasn’t respectful towards Luke to not do his best to fix this issue.

“If I had to guess,” Brad said gently, “It’s not really me that you’re angry at.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because anger is never the cause. It’s the effect. We use anger as a shield, or a weapon, to help us deal with another emotion.”

Preston swallowed hard. Maybe … maybe he could be honest with Brad about the bar. About how he was feeling.

He could sense genuine kindness in Brad’s voice—like he truly wanted to help Preston and be his ally. Which, Preston supposed, was his job, but still. It felt real. Like he wasn’t saying it just because he had to but because he meant it.

“I’m scared,” he admitted. “Scared of not being able to get back into the bar. Into Joe’s. All of my friends go there, and I don’t want to lose them.

“And Luke says of course I can still join them for football and poker and stuff. That it’s not like we’re ending our friendship, he just can’t have me in the bar.

“But they all go to the bar every night. That’s where they spend their time. I’m going to miss out on all of that. I’m going to have to hear all the news last. I won’t be there for the best moments. And…” Preston shrugged to try and cover up the moment when his throat started to close. “They’re all I’ve got.”

Brad nodded. “I get that. It’s hard when you have no friends. It’s really isolating.”

He sounded like he knew what he was talking about. “Says the hermit?” Preston asked. Trying to offer up an olive branch.

Brad gave him a small smile. “Yup. Hank’s my only friend, really.”

“You should come to the bar,” Preston said. “I mean it. Yeah, me and my friends are all gay, but there are other people there who aren’t. Your family wouldn’t need to realize.”

Brad’s face softened. “Thanks.” He sounded a little surprised, but in a pleased sort of way. Then his face grew grave again, and he sighed.

“Okay. Look. I can’t just give you a certificate. First of all, because Luke will see right through that. Second of all, because this isn’t just what I do to pay the bills, it’s what I really care about—helping people this way. So I can’t just let you skate through this; I can’t have that on my conscience.”

Preston was tempted to say something about how selfish that could sound, but he managed to bite his tongue. Brad was clearly trying to help him.

“You’re uncomfortable in groups,” Preston announced. “I can see that. So, how about—you have to come to the group sessions, but we can do some private sessions, too. You listen politely to everyone in the group, and you do the exercises with everyone, but you don’t have to share or talk. You only have to do that with me. But you have to actually do it with me, and you have to put in an effort and not bullshit me, all right?”

Preston nodded. He’d take that deal. It was probably a huge effort on Brad’s part, and he could appreciate what the guy was trying to do for him.

“Okay,” Preston told him. “That sounds like a deal to me.”

Brad walked over, holding out his hand. “But you have to be serious about this.”

Preston shook his hand. “I will be.”

He’d try, at any rate. He didn’t have a whole lot of faith in any of this actually working. But so long as Luke saw that he was really trying, that was what mattered to him. He’d meant it when he said he’d do whatever it took to get back into the place he considered home, where all of his friends were, and if this was what it was, then okay.

Brad was being straight with him, too, which helped him respect the guy a little more. All right, then. Preston would do his best.

Brad smiled, and Preston realized that he was still holding the guy’s hand. He released it, trying to keep his blush down. He hadn’t blushed in years. Something about Brad just … made this soft side want to come out.

It made his prickly side want to come out, too, but that wasn’t so unusual. Most people brought out his prickly side.

“Let’s meet tomorrow, same time, same place,” Brad said. “I don’t have anything going on, and it’ll make up for today. Plus, I think you want to get back into Joe’s as quickly as possible, right?”

Preston nodded. That sounded fine to him. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“Tomorrow.” Brad’s smile softened. “We’ll figure this out, Preston. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

Preston headed out, trying to keep Brad’s soft smile out of his head. Trying to remind himself that no matter what Brad said about figuring it out, he had to keep his expectations low. There was no sense in getting his hopes up.

He’d struggled with anger nearly his entire life. Why would he be able to get rid of it now?

Still, at least Brad was genuinely trying to help him. It warmed his chest. Helped him feel a bit better, to know that someone he’d acted like crap towards was still willing to hold out an olive branch and be nice to him.

Maybe he’d get something nice out of this whole thing after all.