Page 56 of Perfect Storm (Toronto Thunder #1)

It felt like the most perfect morning Aidan could remember.

Waking up in his bed, no alarm, nowhere they had to be except tonight at the Vault victory party, wrapped up in a pair of arms belonging to someone who loved him, who he loved back.

He’d never gotten this before, not ever, and now Aidan didn’t know if he’d ever be able to live without it again.

“Don’t go anywhere, okay?” Aidan mumbled into the pillow, half hoping Levi would hear, and half hoping he wouldn’t.

“Like, right now, or forever?” Levi asked sleepily.

Aidan tried not to freak out that he’d heard. “Both?”

Levi nuzzled his shoulder. “Not going anywhere,” he promised sleepily.

And something inside Aidan finally let go—an edginess he’d never thought he’d dismiss completely.

An anxiety he felt like he’d carried around forever.

Maybe since his parents’ divorce. He wasn’t naive enough to think it was gone for good.

He’d need it, sometimes, and he knew he’d find it then.

But for right now? He relaxed into Levi’s touch and let it soothe him.

Even the thought that, tonight, he knew he needed to talk to Mo—to let him down easy—didn’t spike his nerves.

Sure, he wasn’t looking forward to it, mostly because he didn’t know exactly what he was going to say, and he never liked going into a situation feeling clueless.

But Aidan decided he and Mo had been friends for long enough, he should be able to feel him out.

Like he could read his mind, Levi murmured, “Are you stressing about it?”

“About?” But of course, Levi could only be talking about Mo. He’d told Levi last night, before they’d fallen asleep, that it was his intention to pull him aside tonight, to tell him that he’d fallen in love with Levi.

Levi hadn’t looked particularly fazed by it, but he had asked, “Do you think it’s gonna ’cause any problems in the locker room?”

Aidan didn’t think so. But then he didn’t really think Mo loved him. Not the way he loved Levi anyway. Maybe not even the way Aidan had loved Mo.

“It’s gonna be awkward, maybe,” Aidan had admitted. “But Mo’s a pro, and we were friends before any of this. I think we can find our way back to that again.”

He was still hoping that this morning, and he had a feeling he’d be thinking about it all day, in the back of his mind.

“Not really stressing,” Aidan said, because he wasn’t. Not like Levi meant.

“Good.”

Aidan turned over, tipping his forehead against Levi’s.

How had he not realized how deeply in love with him he was?

Even weeks ago, seeing the pillow creases on his cheeks had filled him with a buoyant thrill, and now?

Aidan thought he might float right to the ceiling.

The only thing keeping him down was Levi’s arm, heavy and warm against his bare side.

“I think you gotta just be honest,” Levi said quietly. “That’s what I would’ve wanted you to be with me, if it hadn’t gone my way.”

“Levi, it was always going to go your way,” Aidan said gently, because it was true.

“But—”

“No,” Aidan interrupted. “It was always going to be you. Maybe Mo helped me see that I liked guys, that what I really wanted was something I wasn’t getting with every other hookup I’d had, but the moment you wanted to know why I was so bummed?

The moment you flirted with me? It was inevitable.

You were inevitable. I slid right into you, no questions, no hesitation, no wondering how it would’ve been if things were different.

Because they weren’t ever going to be. Mo’s my friend. But you’re the guy I’m crazy about.”

Levi’s smile was slow and wondrous. “And people say you’re pragmatic.”

“Never when it comes to you,” Aidan admitted.

But Aidan wished, a little bit, that he was more pragmatic when it came to love when he pulled Mo aside in Vault, hours later.

He repeated his own words back to him in his head. Mo’s a pro. We were friends before any of this. I think we can find our way back to that again.

“You look like you’re about to puke,” Mo said frankly as Aidan leaned against the side of the bar.

He had deliberately not brought them into the library.

It wasn’t going to take a long time to have this conversation, and they weren’t going to need privacy for it, not the way Mo had hoped they’d need it the first time.

That was not a lie. Aidan felt a little nauseous. He took a big swallow of the whiskey the bartender had poured him a few minutes ago.

“You didn’t ask if there was someone else, before,” Aidan said, because that was easier than admitting how much he didn’t like this. Not being honest. Not being in love with Levi. But letting Mo down, the way he’d been let down.

It wouldn’t ever feel good. Even if Aidan was semi-convinced Mo wasn’t in love with him. Not really the way he wanted to be in love.

“No,” Mo admitted. “Is there?”

“Yes,” Aidan said.

Mo looked surprised but also resigned. “I guess I knew you weren’t going to be into it, when you looked so shocked, but not happy about it.”

“You shocked me, for sure,” Aidan said.

Mo’s dark eyes slid away from his. “I wouldn’t even hate you, if you were doing this because I did it to you.”

“Morris,” Aidan chided. “Come on. You know me. I don’t do that shit.”

“I didn’t know you were into guys, either,” Mo argued, but his voice was still flat, matter-of-fact. “I didn’t know until you told me you loved me. And now I find out it’s not just me, but there’s someone else, even. You gonna tell me who it is? I can tell you want to.”

One of the benefits—and drawbacks—of being friends for so long. Aidan had told himself before this conversation started that would make it easier, but he hadn’t realized it would make it harder, too.

“Yeah, I do, but not if you’re going to be stupid about it,” Aidan said bluntly.

He started a laugh out of Mo. “I guess if I don’t feel like I want to kill him, like I’m actually happy you’re happy, does that mean I didn’t love you after all?”

“I was pretty sure you didn’t.” It didn’t really feel better being proven right.

“But this other guy does?” Mo asked.

Aidan nodded. “A lot. Like I love him.”

“I just thought . . .” Mo shrugged. “Fate pulled me back here, and I’d missed you so fucking much, and the thought of being with you, you know, like that, didn’t really disgust me. I could’ve wanted it.”

“That just means you’re not straight, you idiot,” Aidan teased carefully, “and that we’re friends.”

Mo looked like he was considering that. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” He paused for a second. “You can tell Banks to stand down. I’m not gonna freak out on you or burst into tears or tear you into tiny little pieces.”

“How did you know—” Aidan stopped abruptly, and then laughed. “I guess it probably wasn’t very hard to figure out.”

“Not really,” Mo said. “I meant it though. I’m happy for you, really happy.”

“Me too.” Aidan tried to not be as smug as he felt, being this happy, but it was hard. He wasn’t sure he’d quite pulled it off. Especially not when Mo made a face.

“No big surprise you’re gonna be insufferable. He gonna be the same way?”

“I don’t know. I’m kind of a catch?” Aidan joked.

He’d been told that so many times, by so many people, but he’d never really believed it was true. Not until now. In the back of his mind, Riley telling him, I told you so.

“Oh geez, you are,” Mo said, and he was chuckling now. He took a long drink of the red wine in his glass. “God, I’m almost regretting saying anything to you now.”

“Almost,” Aidan repeated wryly.

“Well, it’s good to know, you know? I bet you felt that way too.”

“Yeah,” Aidan agreed. “It was. It was what really allowed me to move on and fall in love again. So thanks?”

Mo rolled his eyes. “You are the worst. Why do I love you again?”

“Those darts I keep throwing you,” Aidan said.

Mo burst into laughter, and yanked him into an unexpected hug, and Aidan knew, without a doubt in his mind, that it would be okay.

They’d be okay.

And for the first time, he allowed himself to be really, really happy not just about Levi, not just about their 2-0 record so far, but that for the first time in three years, he had his good friend back.

Levi kept telling himself that Aidan had this handled, but even though he knew it with like ninety-nine point nine percent certainty, it still felt good to hear Mo, and then Aidan, laugh, and even better to watch as Mo tugged his boyfriend into a very bro-y hug.

Nothing like Levi wanted to hug him.

Though if he was being honest, hugging him was the least of what he wanted to do to him.

Over Aidan’s head, Mo’s eyes met Levi’s, and he gave a small nod.

It was up to interpretation, but Levi was pretty sure he was saying, hey, I get it. It’s okay. We’re okay.

That was a relief.

Levi didn’t want to end up with someone in the locker room who hated him—someone who made it impossible for him and Aidan to exist in a normal couple kind of way.

Aidan was never going to be a big PDA person. Maybe here, at non-official events, but Levi already knew what he’d be like once he went to work.

But he didn’t want to keep his distance, because neither of them wanted to rub their loved-up-ness into Mo’s face.

Levi tried not to look over as Mo and Aidan hugged again—this one lingered a hair longer, but it was very much a goodbye sort of hug.

He was right, because a second later, Aidan walked over.

“It go okay?”

Aidan shot him a knowing look. “You know how it went. You were looking at us the whole time.”

Levi wasn’t going to apologize for being worried. For caring. Or for wanting to make sure he wasn’t about to get his ass kicked in the middle of this fancy bar.

“Was watching both of our backs,” Levi said.

Aidan’s face softened from amusement to that look that Levi was beginning to realize was the I love you so fucking much. Never thought he’d see something like that on Aidan’s face, but the more he saw it, the more he knew it belonged there.