Page 28 of A Matter of Fact

“You look miserable,” Sebastian said once they were on their way.

“I am,” he agreed with a tired smirk. “Or didn’t you know?”

“I meant more than normal.”

“I went on a date last week,” he said, stopping short of offering up more information. Rhyswantedto talk about Beckett. He wanted to speak his name into something tangible and real and lasting.

“That doesn’t seem like you,” Sebastian said. “What’s her name?”

“His.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and narrowed them at Rhys. “So a fling.”

“Isn’t everyone?”

“I get the feeling everyone should be, but this one isn’t.”

Rhys pressed his back into the corner of the car so he could stretch out his legs. “You’re mistaken in that. Not everyoneshouldbe. That’s just what they are.”

“But not this one?”

“It can’t be any more than it is, but I’d like to enjoy it while it’s here,” he said. It was the truth. At least, the truth as it existed in that moment. Things could change in the blink of an eye.

“Don’t lead him on, Rhys. Be honest with him.”

Rhys rubbed the bridge of his nose and stared out the window. Sure, be honest with him. Rhys could imagine how well that would go.

Beckett, I’m interested in seeing where this goes, even though I know it’s going nowhere. I’d at least like to see what the road to nowhere is like and, by the way, I might die if I don’t get to feel your cock inside of me at least one time. Oh, what’s that? Why do I know it’s going to end badly? Because my father is a homophobe and my entire life is tangled up in his rules and expectations. You see…I have nothing without him.

“We’re just getting to know each other,” he said.

“Rhys, there’s no point in any of that if you’re not being honest. Because if you’re lying about your intentions, then this guy isn’t getting to knowyou.”

“I amveryhonest about my intentions,” he said, thinking back to his shower, back to the kiss.

“But not about yourself.”

“It seems unnecessary at this point.”

“Rhys.” Sebastian groaned and mirrored Rhys’s posture. “Even with Jace and Callahan, they knew what the other was about when they started the whole thing. It just got out of hand.”

Something about that sentence poked at the back of his brain and he rubbed his tongue over the sharp point of his upper canine tooth. “What exactly does that mean?”

“When I introduced them?” Sebastian waved his hand dismissively. “Just for the weekend. Just so that…”

His brother snapped his mouth closed so fast, Rhys would have sworn his jaw dislocated.

“Just so that what,” he promoted, already knowing the answer.

“Nothing.”

“Sebastian.” Rhys spread his fingers and glared down at his cuticles. He didn’t need to push the topic because he knew the truth. He’d always known. “It was pretend, right?”

“Rhys.”

“Answer me,” he snapped, balling his hand into a fist, gouging his short and blunt nails into his palm.

“At first,” Sebastian answered.