Page 29

Aiden

S itting on the couch as everyone talked around me was so damn uncomfortable. All I wanted to do was sneak off with Joe, but we were all supposed to be hanging out. It’d be a dead giveaway that things had shifted, but we’d always been a little closer…

“What’s eating you?”

I jumped when Brandon sat next to me.

“Nothing. I’m just not feeling it today, I guess.”

He nodded, but then a wide grin broke across his face when his boyfriend Andrew came and plopped down next to him.

“You two causing trouble over here?” he asked, wrapping his arm around Brandon’s shoulders.

“Nah, just checking in on Aiden. He seemed so quiet today. He’s been opening up so much at these parties and we’re suddenly back to square one.”

Shit. Was I being obvious? Back when Nathan used to drag me along, I’d always felt out of place. Joe had taken me under his wing and made it his mission to drag me out of my shell and, man, if only they all knew just how out of my shell I’d become .

“I’m fine, I promise?”

Brandon raised an eyebrow as he stared me down. The two best friends turned boyfriends had always been nice. They’d been pro me pursuing Joe since the beginning. I think all my brother’s friends had been... minus my brother.

And that spoke volumes.

I knew Joe wasn’t a bad guy. He’d proven time and time again just how sweet and caring he could be. The problem came with making Nathan realize I was in good hands and that he could trust his friends.

“You know you can always talk to us, right?” Andrew asked, leaning a little closer. “How are things with...” He looked at Joe, who was standing in the corner nursing a beer.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, probably giving more away than intended. “Fine. They’re fine. Things are fine.”

Brandon laughed. “That’s a lot of fine .”

God, I was fucking it all up. I’d only talked to Chase about anything happening and the more people who knew, the more likely it would get back to my brother. These two had been more than understanding. All of them had been. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have a few more people in my corner.

With a heavy sigh, I leaned in closer. “Will you promise not to say anything?”

Brandon and Andrew’s eyes both widened, but they nodded and leaned in closer to me as well .

“There’s... something there. Has been something going on. We kind of...” God, why was it still so fucking awkward to talk about it? Maybe it was because I still had a huge secret to keep alongside it. I could talk about fooling around with one of my brother’s friends. I couldn’t divulge his secret.

“Oh shit. Really?” Andrew looked over to the corner again where Joe was now watching the three of us closely. “I take it Nathan doesn’t know.”

I nodded quickly. “And it needs to stay that way. That’s why I asked if you could keep a secret.”

Brandon sat between us, grinning. “Well, I think this is great. Way to go, Aiden. Take what you want. Not going to lie; I was worried about how things would go after that kiss on New Year’s, but I’m glad you took a chance.”

The next time I looked up at Joe, those intense blue eyes were trained on me so intently. Heat crept up my neck and I wanted to sneak away to him again. “I’m glad I took a chance as well. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Brandon laughed as I stood from my seat and made my way across the room. Joe watched closely as I made my way over to him, and he didn’t fight me when I took his beer bottle from his hand and tipped it back to take a swig.

“What are you guys talking about? ”

I smiled and refused to give Joe his drink back, keeping the bottle to myself. He eyeballed it for a moment, but settled back against the wall with his arms over his chest.

“Nothing. They wanted to know what was going on with us.”

Joe snorted a small laugh. “Yeah? What’d you tell them?”

I shrugged, taking another sip of the beer. “The truth. I don’t think they’re the ones we have to worry about. They’ve been sort of rooting for it since the beginning.”

Joe’s eyebrows pinched. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, everyone is observant. I think everyone noticed we kept watching each other.”

When Joe’s arms dropped to his sides, a strange sense of uncertainty washed over me as he pushed off the wall and walked to the kitchen. He pulled another beer from the fridge. Before he came back, he grabbed a second one and popped the caps off of both before bringing them over.

“If they’re noticing...”

I held up my hand to stop his train of thought and then downed the rest of the first bottle of beer. “I think Nathan has a clue. He’s not stupid. I kissed you on New Year’s in front of everyone. It’s not a secret. The problem is that he thinks it stopped there.”

I set the empty bottle on the floor next to my feet and took the new one from Joe. We stood there in silence for a few moments, sipping at our drinks and observing what all was happening around the room .

Maybe it was bullshit for my brother to give me so much hell, when half the time he and Chase couldn’t keep their hands to themselves, even in public. Nathan sat in a recliner chair with his boyfriend in his lap, legs wrapped around his waist as they made out like no one else was present. Ever since they’d gotten back together, it was like they were making up for lost time. Then again, four years was a long-ass time to be apart from each other.

Daniel and Shawn were in the kitchen making different drinks and lining them up on the counter. It was still strange to see the shift between them. Gone were the days of them arguing over every last thing. Some of that had to have been for show. Like they’d argued just to see how much they could get under each other’s skin.

Even Brandon and Andrew seemed to have forgotten anyone else was there. Was this what things would be like going forward? Would it be so strange if Joe and I coupled off? Everyone else had. It was only a matter of time.

“Do you ever wish you didn’t have to hide it from him?”

The question echoed around in my head. Did I? Always. Everyone was allowed to love out loud, and I had to keep what I felt for Joe private like a dirty little secret. But that was the question. Was I in love with Joe? I had strong feelings for him. Very strong feelings for him. So much so that the idea of being without him now left me feeling strangled and panicked .

“That’s a stupid question.” Since no one seemed to be paying attention anyway, I tempted fate. Our hands hung between our bodies, and like two magnets, they pulled together. It felt so damn right to have my hand in his. Like Joe would keep me safe and always protect me. He wouldn’t leave me.

“ Y ou’re being quiet.”

I lifted my head off the back window. Chase was driving while my brother slept in the passenger seat. They’d insisted on taking me home when it was the last thing I’d wanted.

“It’s fine. Just thinking about some things.”

I caught the smile that Chase threw my way in the rearview mirror.

“I’m sure he’ll stay asleep if you want me to take you somewhere else instead,” Chase whispered, a playful smirk spreading across his face.

I chuckled at the suggestion and sank further into my seat. “I appreciate it, but I think it’s best if I go home tonight.”

Chase nodded and kept driving while my head swirled with so many thoughts. There I was, nineteen years old, and still being treated like a damn kid a lot of the time. I was far from it. The last several weeks, hell, the last month or so, I’d been more of an adult than I’d ever been. I’d taken my first vacation alone, lost my virginity, was still doing great in school, and somehow maintaining a secret relationship.

Was that bad?

Maybe it made me irresponsible. Because who hid things like relationships?

Brandon and Andrew had. Even if they’d done a really shitty job at it. Everyone saw what was going on between them from a mile away.

When the car pulled up outside my parents’ house, I climbed out and watched as it drove away. Something funny lodged in my chest because literally everyone, except Joe and me, had gone home with someone tonight. I wanted that. I wanted it so fucking bad. To not crawl into bed alone at night and to feel someone wrapped around me. I’d been spoiled so much lately, but the nights when Joe and I were forced to be apart? Those nights were hell.

Okay, so maybe that was a little more than liking him a lot.