Chapter 2

The apartment was quiet. Unusually quiet. Sonny poked his head through the door to check on a sleeping Arianna. He found her in her crib, out like a light. But she was alone. Neither Gabi nor Will was around.

Of course Sonny hadn't expected Gabi to be around. He smirked and shook his head. He had been accustomed to coming home to Will with his daughter in his arms and asking where the girl's mother was, only to be informed that Gabi was out. Sonny knew that Gabi was tackling a lot, catching up on all of her schoolwork she missed. She was also spending most of her time at the hospital with her brother. Although Sonny knew that those things were admirable, it baffled him that Gabi could bare to spend so much time away from her newborn. Sonny had heard about women having terrible separation anxiety. It upset Sonny a little that Gabi wasn't acting like her daughter was her number one priority.

Most of this animosity originated from the fact that Will seemed to be doing the exact opposite. He would feel so guilty for leaving Arianna to go run to the store or go visit his mom in jail. He kept apologizing for asking Sonny to watch her. That, Sonny could understand. Will needed a brake. And more than that, he deserved a brake.

Sonny then wondered where Will was. He had expected to see his boyfriend beside Ari's crib. Will loved to watch his daughter sleep. And Sonny loved watching Will watch her. The look in his eyes as he gazed upon his little girl was incomparable. Sonny walked over to the room he and Will shared and it was there that he saw his gorgeous boyfriend passed out on the bed. Fully clothed and above the covers, Will had obviously been exhausted and had not even made it to the pillows before he fell asleep. Sonny smiled.

As Sonny gazed lovingly at his sleeping boyfriend, he thought of what had made him so exhausted. There were a lot of things weighing on his mind. Will was worried about taking care of his daughter. He was worried about his mother sitting in a jail cell. He was worried about his brother and sisters who are dealing with their mother being in jail. Sonny wanted to make sure Will wasn't worried about anything else. Especially his relationship.

Sonny stepped out of the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started texting.

Brent, need to talk 2 u. Meet at CG in 15?

Send! After he pushed that button, Sonny was instantly nervous. He really did not want to talk to Brent. They were good friends. They were now working together. The last thing Sonny wanted was to make things awkward. But then he thought: for Will this is already awkward. He sighed and turned towards the door, behind which Will was peacefully sleeping.

"Don't worry, Will. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make things right." He whispered so as not to wake Ari or Will. Yes. Sonny thought. This was the right thing to do. If Will was uncomfortable, then he didn't have a choice. Sonny knew he would do anything for Will. God, this was Brian all over again!

Sonny started pacing the apartment waiting for Brent's reply. Sonny laughed to himself. He couldn't believe he had in the course of his relationship with Will had to fend off two guys who were flitrty and into him. If anything, he would've thought Will would have to do that. He's so damn hot!

His phone beeped. He quickly opened the text. Brent had in fact replied.

Sure. But I gotta b somewhere soon. Meet u out front! ;)

Sonny looked at the winky face. "Oh, no…Chad was right." Brent was outgoing. Brent was a risk-taker. Brent was very playful. However, he did have a tendency to overstep boundaries. This winky face was definitely a sign. No one sends a winky face unless they are trying to be flirty. Whether intentional or not, Brent had overstepped when it came to Sonny. He realized this now. Sonny did not know if Brent even knew what he was doing. Nevertheless, he made Will uncomfortable. And that was enough for Sonny to step in and so something. He checked the time. He should get going. However, he did not really want to leave Ari with Will fast asleep in the next room. Where was Gabi? Damn, does this girl spend any time with her kid? Sonny made a mental note to have a talk with her too.

About 15 minutes later…

"Sonny, hey!" Brent walked over to where Sonny was standing against the brick wall outside the coffee house.

"Hey." Sonny said as he jerked his head up.

Brent repositioned the messenger bag that was slung over his shoulder. "So, what's up?" he asked. "Is there a problem with the stuff we ordered for the new designs?"

"Um, no. Actually, this is more personal rather than business."

"Uh-okay."

"Look, Brent…Lately I've been…well, actually Chad noticed…and I, um."

"Sonny, are you ok? Brent put a hand on Sonny's shoulder.

Sonny said nothing but shrugged his shoulder so Brent's hand would slide off.

"You said it's personal…are you talking about that trip to Bryce we talked about?"

"Brent."

"I mean, if you really want to go…you should tell your boyfriend. You should do whatever you wanna do, Sonny."

"Well, it's not that simple."

"It is, though. Man, you don't have to stay at home just because Will doesn't want you to go. If you talk to him and explain that you need to-"

"No, Brent! Enough, ok!" Sonny threw up his hands and Brent instantly stopped talking. "Look, I am not going to Bryce because I don't want to. Not because Will doesn't want me to. In fact, Will wanted me to go. But the fact is, I don't want to go without Will. And I don't appreciate talking about my boyfriend like that." Sonny spoke very forcefully.

"Sorry…" Brent innocently. Although Sonny doubted he was that 'innocently sorry.'

"I'm sorry," Sonny said. "But I had to talk to you. You see, we have been hanging out a lot lately, and we've gotten really close."

"Just like we used to." Brent nodded.

" But maybe…a little too close."

"What?"

"Look, Brent. The fact is, sometimes you…overstep your boundaries. And it makes my boyfriend uncomfortable."

"What, Will's been complaining about me."

"No. He hasn't. He wouldn't do that. That's why this is so screwed up!"

"Hey, Sonny. I don't know what you think I've been doing. I don't know if you think I'm subtly hitting on you or something. But I-"

"No, Brent. It's just that a lot of the time you hint at stuff…like I could do better, or I shouldn't be tied down. Or something like that."

Brent smirked in disbelief. "Well, I'm sorry if I'm overstepping!" he said sarcastically.

"Brent!" Sonny exasperated. He shook his head. "You're a good friend. And you're a damn good designer. Ok? And I don't think you're a bad guy. With that said, I think it's best if we keep our distance?"

"What does that mean? We're not friends anymore? Are you firing me? After all the work we've done."

"No. I said that you're an amazing designer. And I want you for this project. I would just like it if you would respect my relationship a little bit more and cool off with the inappropriate passes."

"Ha! You've got to be kidding me?"

"I am completely serious when it comes to Will!" Sonny was starting to raise his voice again. "Alright? Whether you are conscious of it or not, you are causing complications in my relationship. So, whichever it is, I don't really care. Ok? I just need you to consciously refrain from pushing yourself into my personal life."

"Wow…ok. Fine." Brent started walking backwards, backing away from Sonny. "See you around, I guess. Maybe." He turned and headed in the opposite direction.

Sonny sighed. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. That did not go well. Oh, well. Sonny thought. All that mattered was Will. He was the priority here. So, Sonny whipped out his phone and set a text message.

Comin home soon. Can't wait to see you! P.S. sorry if I woke you with this txt ;)

TO BE CONTINUED…