Page 128 of The Substitute

“That’s treason!” Teddy yells from the couch where he is laying with his feet over the back and his head hanging toward the floor from the seat.

Rhys ignores Teddy and asks, “Would you be okay with them fucking each other?”

Oh, fuck. My face heats at all the different ways I can interpret that. “Like, while fucking me?”

“To be fair, it kinda should be separately too, but…” Rhys shrugs. “I mean, however.”

My face heats even more, spreading down my neck. “That would be really hot,” I mumble more to myself than to Rhys. “But they basically hate each other so it won’t work.”

“I will never share! I’m like a pirate.” Teddy yells, sitting up and then wavering when all the blood rushes from his head.

“What does that have to do with being a pirate?” I ask, knowing better.

Rhys groans. “It’s better to ignore him in situations like this.”

Teddy points at Rhys with a stern expression. “Stop getting mad I’m bonding with my brother!”

Rhys laughs. “That’s not why I’m mad.”

“But one isn’t out.” I turn back to the conversation. “What if he never wants to be out? What am I supposed to do, shove myself back in the closet? I can’t do that!”

“No, you can’t, but you’ll have to decide if you can live with him not being out,” Rhys agrees. “If they are only interested in being with you, they don’t want to share, and if they hate each other, this isn’t going to end well.”

I open my arms wide with a ‘no shit’ look on my face. “Thank you, Einstein! Anymore brilliance you want to shine upon me?”

“Are you having a stroke? Do you smell toast?” Teddy looks at me.

“What?” I ask Teddy.

“This is Rhys. Not whoever Einstein is. You’ve been friends with him half your life. You should remember his name at this point!” Teddy is looking at me like I’ve lost it.

Rhys pats Teddy’s hand again. “It’s fine.”

Teddy shrugs and looks at me very seriously. “If one of them is an Olympian, then that’s the one you keep.”

Rhys is thinking about that one. “I think I take offense to that?”

“Go ahead. You’re still the enemy, and I am loyal to a fault! Even Coach says so.”

“Or are you the enemy?” I ask Teddy.

Teddy’s eyes get wide, and he gets up to pace the kitchen, muttering to himself.

“Thanks a lot. Now he’s going to have an existential crisis all day,” Rhys mutters.

“I can’t pick between them. I want them both. I have feelings for both of them. No matter what happens, I’m fucked.” I don’t want to cry anymore, but I can feel it coming.

“Have you talked to them about it? Maybe they won’t make you choose?” Rhys says kindly.

“They both are super possessive I don’t think that will work. I think it will just blow up and what if I lose them both?” I can’t stop worrying about it.

“If they both have feelings for you, if they both want to be exclusively yours, they aren’t going to both leave,” Rhys says, and I want to believe him, but it’s hard.

“Yeah,” Teddy agrees and walks toward me to put an arm around my shoulders. “You’re awesome, broster.”

Tears threaten to fill my eyes as I look at my big, dumb brother. He really is just a kid at heart, and he means well. I’ve been such a dick to him.

I lay my head on his shoulder and accept his half-hug with a sigh. This is what I needed—my brother to tell me I’m awesome.