Page 32 of The Other Brother

Cody spins around so fast he’s tempting whiplash. He sees Nico lounging on the couch, and his eyes widen. “You hooked up with a guy?”

Okay, so it appears my sisters have never shared that particular Ryan fact with their other brother.

“Yep.”

He blanches. “You’re… bi?”

“I’m bi, pan, whatever. I don’t like labels. I don’t like ruling anything out either. Takes too much effort.” I flick him a grin.

Cody continues to look like he’s about to throw up.

And suddenly a hole opens up in my stomach. Shit. I know his mum goes to church, but he’s never struck me as a bigot. Mel and Kate would have beaten that out of him, surely.

“You cool with that?” I ask cautiously.

He gulps. “Yeah, I’m cool.”

He gives me a tight smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. Crap. Maybe outing myself to him wasn’t the best idea. Will this make things weird between us? Will Cody figure out I’m attracted to him? In typical Ryan fashion, I really didn’t think this whole thing through.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

It’stwo in the morning. Nearly everyone has crashed for the night. Sleeping bodies are strewn on the couches and floors throughout the living space.

I sit on the steps of the back deck. It’s freezing out here, but I’m too amped to sleep. Jumbled images of the evening play through my mind. I keep circulating back to Cody’s face when I told him I’d hooked up with Nico.

The noise of the sliding door opening shatters my quiet thoughts.

I turn. I don’t realize hope is rising in me until it’s dashed when I recognize the person.

“You’ll freeze your tits off out here,” Harvey says as he comes to sit next to me.

“It’s a bit fresh,” I agree.

We sit there in silence for a few moments. Which is practically unheard of from Harvey.

“So, you and your stepbrother, eh?”

Shit. So that’s what he’s been brewing up. I deliberately keep my face neutral.

“He’s not my stepbrother. He’s my half-sisters' other brother. He’s nothing to me.”

Harvey snorts. “Doesn’t look like he’s nothing to you.”

My shoulder’s tense. “What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t know, just the way you two act around each other.” Harvey shrugs.

“I told you we’ve been hanging out this summer,” I say carefully.

“So, you’re just hanging out together?” There’s a challenge in his voice.

“Yeah, we’re just hanging out.”

“Cool, 'cause you know the saying, don’t screw the crew?”

A ball lodges in my throat. I’m fairly sure I know the direction this conversation is going. “I’m familiar with it, yeah.”

“Good. Because I think it definitely applies in this case.”