Page 106 of Necessary Space

Hendrix continued to be a better man than I’d ever be worthy of, and the way he loved his younger brother wasn’t anything more than an item on the list of things that made him better than me. He wanted the best for Wesley, and watching him have to begrudgingly accept Wes putting college on hold had almost pushed him to the brink. Knowing that Wes was going to be under the same roof as Grayson…

It was a lot.

But Hendrix tried.

He tried so hard.

“I think this can go without saying, but if you try to fuck my boyfriend’s little brother…”

He cut me off before I could finish the thought. “Wesley isn’t my type. And I don’t even think he’s gay.”

“Really?” I’d been sure from the first time I’d met Wes that he wasn’t hetero, but maybe he was somewhere in the middle. Wes was still young, and what mattered was Grayson keeping it in his pants.

“I mean, he’s never even looked atmethat way.”

I barked out a laugh. “Could it be possible that you aren’thistype?”

“I’m everyone’s type.”

“Not Hendrix,” I offered, “and not mine.”

“Not anymore.” Grayson gave me a dramatic shrug, then fished his keys out of his pocket. He set to unwinding his copy of our—now my—house key from the ring, but I stopped him, covering his hand to stop his fingers.

“You’re moving out. This isn’t a breakup.”

“I don’t think Hendrix would want me showing up unannounced.” He tried to wiggle the key off the ring again.

“Then just call first.” I fought him until he gave up his pursuit and shoved his keys back into his pocket.

“Fine.”

“Fine,” I repeated.

“Good.”

“Good.”

Grayson rolled his eyes. “This feels weird and I don’t think it needs to be weird, so I’m going to go.”

“Don’t fuck his brother,” I warned.

He held up three fingers. Scout’s honor. But I knew Grayson better than that.

“Don’t let him fuck you.” I leveled an accusatory finger at him, which earned me a smirk.

“I would never,” Gray promised, waving me off and turning to go. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Good luck with the apartment,” I said, not sure what else to say. It wasn’t goodbye, but it felt like a book closing or something. Things were shifting, moving. Life was changing in new ways.

“You’re making this weird.”

“You’re weird,” I countered.

“The face you make when you come is weird.” Grayson rolled his eyes and walked out, closing the door behind him and leaving it unlocked.

That felt right. It felt less like a hard stop and more like a slow change. I could work with that. I listened until his car started up, and when the noise of his engine had disappeared, I went to find Hendrix in the yard.

“It’s safe,” I said, pulling open the slider.