Page 164 of The Substitute

Before he can even get settled, Tobi is going to town.

“Did you not feed him breakfast?” Savage asks, eyeing Tobi inhaling food.

“I tried—he refused.”

“You need to find more creative consequences.” Savage side-eyes me and slides his hand under the blanket to rest on my thigh.

I instantly tense and glance around, but no one can see us, so I force myself to relax. What the fuck is he doing with all this flirting?

Tobi jerks his head to glare at Savage. “Hey!”

“I said what I said.”

“I’m open to suggestions.” I have better access to Savage with Tobi sitting up, and I suddenly want to push his buttons back. My hand flexes on his shoulder, bringing his attention to me. His eyes drop to my mouth before meeting my gaze.

I fight with myself over wanting to push it further. Should I kiss him? I bet that would stop the game. Would Tobi like to watch? Would Savage get annoyed if I pushed it that far? It would be interesting to know what it’s like. Would he want to control it, or would he let me? Which way would I prefer it to go? Both?

But none of that really matters. While it would be fun in the moment to have a real threesome, he’s still my step-brother, and we don’t exactly have a good history. Neither of us like each other like that, and focusing on Tobi has meant we’ve ignored every other potential feeling. I’m starting to wonder, though, if we’re getting to a point where we won’t be able to pretend they don’t exist anymore. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of shit between us to work out.

Deciding I want to be in the middle, I pick up Tobi and move him so he’s sitting in my lap, and I scoot over toward Savage.

Tobi makes a startled sound at the unexpected movement but settles quickly when he sees what I’ve done. I’m forcing myself not to think too hard about it or freak out about it. It’s fine. People need physical touch. It makes some brain chemicals that make you happy or whatever.

Savage grabs a cracker and shoves it into his mouth. “What movie are we watching?”

“The Labyrinth.”

Now I’m suspicious. “Have you seen it before?” I ask Tobi.

“Of course. David Bowie with a codpiece in tight pants? Come on.” He scoffs, and Savage and I laugh. “Fifteen-year-old me had a real obsession with that movie.”

“Once again, you are killing me, smalls.”

“Still don’t know what that means.” Tobi grabs some grapes.

“What?” Savage looks at Tobi. “You’ve never seen Sandlot?”

“Thank you!” I sit back, validated.

“We clearly need to expand your movie knowledge.” Savage shakes his head. “What about Little Rascals?”

“I’m not saying no to that.” Tobi settles back again when the screen flicks to life and the previews start. I’m so damn content right now that it’s kind of mind blowing.

“Is this actually working? Are we all surprised, or is it just me?” I ask softly, unsure if I want to tempt fate by bringing it up.

“No, no, we are all surprised.” Savage shoves a grape in his mouth.

“Shocked,” Tobi adds.

“Pleasantly?” I ask, verifying that I’m not misreading this.

“I would say so. You?” Savage looks at me.

“Yeah, and it’s unexpected.”

Tobi chuckles. “It is…but I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”

FORTY-NINE