Page 3 of Taste of Surrender

My brother may have only been two years older than me, but ever since he’d caught a couple of kids giving me a hard time after I came out, he sometimes acted more like he was my dad.

“Knowing my luck, you’ll find a problem with every guy I try to date,” I muttered.

“You’re probably right. But at least I can make sure no one messes with my baby brother.”

The restof the school day passed without any more issues. After my last period, I went to the library to work on an English essay before finally heading home.

Walking down the street toward my house, I heard my brother’s band practicing in our garage. Sometimes, I would listen to them play, but since I’d stayed late at school, I wanted to get inside and help my mom make dinner. Cooking was something I enjoyed, and over the years, I found myself spending more and more time in the kitchen.

With a quick wave to the guys as I passed, I made my way into the house. After dropping off my backpack in my room, I went to the kitchen, where Mom was chopping tomatoes.

“What are we having for dinner?” I asked as I washed my hands.

“It’s Tuesday, so tacos, of course.”

I chuckled. “Sounds good to me.”

While she finished with the tomatoes, I grabbed a couple of avocados. I always made my guac on Taco Tuesday.

“Before I forget, I saw your EpiPen on your dresser while putting some clean clothes in your room. You need to remember to keep that with you.”

“Sorry about that,” I replied. The summer before, I’d been stung by a bee for the first time and ended up with a severe reaction and was rushed to the ER. Ever since then, my parentshad been nervous about it happening again. “I’ll make sure I have one in my backpack, and I’ll leave the other one here.”

“Good. Now, how was school today?”

“It was fine except when Jesse decided to playsuper brother,” I chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

I didn’t want to get into all the specifics, but maybe she’d tell Jesse to chill a little bit. “It wasn’t a big deal. Me and this other guy had a misunderstanding, and Jesse thought he needed to swoop in to protect me.”

“He just has your best interest at heart.”

“I know, Mom.”

I understood, but sometimes I wished Jesse realized I needed to work things out on my own. Maybe with him graduating in a couple of weeks, he’d start to let go a little bit.

A moment later the door leading to the garage opened, and Malachi entered the kitchen. My gaze lingered on his abs as he lifted his T-shirt to wipe the sweat off his forehead. Even though he and my brother were musicians, they often worked out together, and he was sporting a six-pack I fantasized running my hands over.

Shaking my head to rid my mind of things I had no business thinking of with my mom standing next to me—and because he was my brother’s best friend?—

I quickly averted my eyes but not before Malachi gave me a knowing smirk.

Fuck my life.

“Are you done practicing?” Mom asked him.

“Not yet. We’re just taking a quick break and I came in for some water, if that’s okay.”

“Of course. Help yourself.”

“Thanks, Mrs. B.” He flashed her a smile before opening the fridge and pulling out a couple of bottles.

“Want to stay for dinner?” Mom offered, always willing to feed our friends. “We’re having tacos.”

He looked at me. “Are you making your guac?”

My cheeks flushed as they often did anytime Malachi talked to me. “Yep.”