Chapter 9
Stone
If Hanlon is determined to go to lunch with Logan, then I’m tagging along.
I can just picture the two of them having a huge laugh at my expense over the whole gay dating app thing, and although Logan hasn’t blatantly told anyone yet, he insinuates it enough to make me worried.
Having Hanlon all to himself for an hour is a recipe for disaster. One I’m not willing to let happen.
An honest look at my recent porn site searches would confirm that I’m not as straight as I thought, but even still, they didn’t do much for me.
I haven’t really come to terms with any of it, or acted on any of it outside that one date.
This town is too small—as evidenced by Logan being my first match, and I work so much that I don’t have a lot of opportunity to create a dating life.
I guess that second one is of my own design, though, and it’s not really a problem.
What is a problem, however, is Hanlon’s stupid best friend, Chase, groping him.
“Why don’t you ask him to stop?” I blurt once we pull back in at the office.
“What?” Hanlon says, obviously confused as he pulls his helmet off.
“Chase. I’m assuming he’s still your best friend. Why don’t you tell him to stop grabbing your dick?”
Jesus, let it go, Stone, I chastise myself.
Hanlon swallows before answering.
“I don’t know. It’s not a big deal. He’s just fucking around.”
“Hmm,” I hum noncommittally.
“What the fuck does ‘hmm’ mean?” Hanlon snaps.
“You use the word fuck a lot,” I point out, avoiding his question.
“Well, here’s another one for you; you’re fucking annoying.”
I roll my lips inward to keep myself from laughing. I’d forgotten how easy it is to rile Hanlon up, especially where his friends are concerned. He’s fiercely loyal.
He used to be fiercely loyal to me.
Before this conversation can devolve any further, Logan comes outside where we’re standing.
“Oh, good, you’re back! Come on Han. I’m starving,” the pilot says, causing me to grit my teeth.
“His name is Hanlon, Logan. And I’m coming to lunch with you. He can ride with me.”
Logan shoots me a glare.
“I don’t remember inviting you,” he says.
“That’s because you didn’t,” I fire back, already walking toward my Tahoe. “Let’s go. I’m freezing my balls off.”
It takes them a second, but Logan and Hanlon both end up in my SUV.
“Since you’re crashing our date, you’re paying,” Logan quips, fastening his seatbelt.
“Jesus, Logan. It’s not a date. He’s our intern.”
Logan twists to look at Hanlon in the back seat.
“Are you offended by my use of the term often used to describe two people engaging in a social event like a meal?”
Hanlon snorts a chuckle, and I’m suddenly irrationally angry about the fact that Logan was able to pull the sound from him.
“No,” Hanlon confirms.
Turning back to me, Logan props an elbow on my console and leans over so his mouth is right next to my ear.
“Looks like you’re the only one it bothers.” He drops his voice even lower, and I pray to God that Hanlon can’t hear the next words that come out of his mouth. “Why is that? You want him for yourself?”
I throw my elbow out and catch Logan in the solar plexus, making him sputter and cough.
“Do not ever suggest that again,” I growl before making eye contact with Hanlon in the rearview mirror. “What do you want to eat?”
“Uh, Logan had mentioned barbecue. That’s fine with me.”
If I don’t break my teeth during this outing, it’ll be a fucking miracle.
Pulling into the restaurant a few minutes later, we’re led to a booth by the hostess. Hanlon slides in first, and Logan makes a move to slide in next to him until I nudge him out of the way and slip into the booth before he does.
He whips his head toward me with a what-the-fuck expression. Thankfully, Hanlon is studying the menu and doesn’t notice.
“Jasmine will be your server. She’ll be right over,” the hostess says before heading back up front.
Sure enough, Jasmine appears out of thin air a second later, carrying three waters and places them on the table.
“Hello, boys,” Jasmine greets us. Ricochet Ridge is the name of the ski resort as well as the small town it’s in. The year-round population runs about twenty thousand. Jasmine knows the locals.
“Afternoon, gorgeous,” Logan flirts.
“Hey, Jasmine,” I say with a tight smile.
Hanlon flashes her a genuine smile and a warm “Hello.”
“Well, aren’t you just as cute as they come?” she says to Hanlon, who blushes at the attention. “You new here?”
“I’m doing an internship at the ski resort,” he explains.
“Well, don’t let these two knuckleheads get you into trouble. It’s what they’re best at.”
“I’ll try,” Hanlon replies.
Jasmine asks if we want anything else to drink and then leaves to give us time to decide on our orders.
While I’m looking over the menu, Hanlon shrugs out of his jacket and hands it to Logan.
“Can you put this over there next to you?” he asks. “It’s like a hundred degrees in here.”
He goes to remove his hoodie next, but it’s a tight fit in the booth, and he struggles to get it over his head without knocking me in the face. It’s halfway off when his arms get stuck.
“Uh, Stone? A little help?”
I’m trying really fucking hard not to notice the way his T-shirt has gotten caught in the hoodie and is exposing his…abs? Since when does Hanlon have abs? And why the fuck do I care about them so goddamn much?
Blowing out an exasperated sigh, I grip the material and yank.
It all comes off.
He scrambles to get his T-shirt back over his head, but he doesn’t make it before I catch a glimpse of the pecs he’s been hiding as well.
Holy shit. My stepbrother is fucking jacked.
“Please excuse me while I go find the manager and ask him to turn the heat up further,” Logan jokes.
“Ohmygod, no! It’s already an oven in here,” Hanlon cries, missing the terrible joke.
“He just wants you to take your shirt off again,” I explain, shooting daggers at Logan.
To my utter horror, Hanlon laughs. “You’ll have to buy me a drink first.”
“Jasmine!” Logan yells, shooting his hand in the air like he’s in middle school. “Two shots!”
Hanlon laughs harder, pissing me off.
“For fuck’s sake, Logan. He’s our student,” I remind him again.
“He’s your student. He kinda looks like my next—”
“Do not finish that fucking sentence if you plan to leave here with your face intact,” I warn.
It’s Logan who laughs this time. “You know, Han, something about you really sets our captain on edge. I’m glad you’re here. He needs things shaken up a bit.”
Jasmine returns, and we place our orders, although I seem to have lost my appetite.
“So, Hanlon,” Logan starts, making me brace for some wildly inappropriate question, but he shocks me when he asks a question I’ve been curious about as well. “What got you interested in studying avalanches?”
Hanlon’s cheeks darken immediately, which is both adorable and confusing since the question is personal but not nearly as inappropriate as his other comments.
“I, um, learned how to ski when I was eight, and I loved the feeling of gliding down the mountain. It was effortless, and I was a very, um,” he pauses, and I know he’s trying to find words that won’t give away his diagnosis.
“Well, movement was…I was a clumsy kid,” he finally finishes.
“Anyway, I loved the snow and the mountains, and I’ve always been interested in science, and when Stone moved…
” he trails off, looking at me with wide eyes, knowing he just connected me to his childhood.
I help him out because what should be a simple question clearly isn’t, but I’ll be sure to ask him about it later.
“Hanlon’s intake sheet said he wanted a career that could combine his love of the outdoors and his desire to help others. Add in the fact that he’s clearly a science geek, and weather and natural disasters seemed like a good place to land.”
Hanlon breathes a sigh of relief, which loosens the knot in my own chest. Protecting Hanlon is what I do. Even when I don’t want to.
“That’s cool,” Logan says. “And for the record, the whole science geek thing really works for you. I’ve always had a soft spot for Clark Kent.” With a chuckle, he adds, “I mean, who doesn’t?”
I hate that he’s right. Hanlon’s new look and improved physique are…problematic.
“How are you liking your time at Ricochet so far?” Logan asks, keeping the conversation going while I’m busy trying hard not to think about the abs, the pecs, the glasses, and the dark, wavy hair sitting next to me.
“So far, so good,” Hanlon replies in that deep voice of his. “It’s been an adjustment living with two strangers who keep very different hours from me, but otherwise it’s been fine.”
“Are they giving you any trouble?” I ask immediately.
“Not really. They just work different hours and are loud when they come in at three in the morning. They’re also far more social than I am, and they often have friends over who leave a mess everywhere.”
Offer your guest room, you asshole, I tell myself.
But I can’t.
At least not until my dick remembers that the guy sitting next to me is my fucking brother, because right now, it’s far too interested in Hanlon’s glasses and scenes from the gym, making me feel sick to my stomach.
This is Hanlon. My little stepbrother.
Not so little anymore.
I drive the heels of my hands into my eyes as Jasmine delivers our food.
Logan, feeling more comfortable the more he discovers about Hanlon, pops a hushpuppy into his mouth and asks, “So, you have a girlfriend back home?”
Hanlon chokes on his soda, and I start slapping his back before absentmindedly rubbing circles in the same spot. I don’t realize I’m doing it until he shrugs away from my hand, and Logan pins me with a stare.
I quickly drop my hand and clear my throat.
“I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.” Looking at Logan, I add, “Please keep your thoughts to yourself while I’m gone.”
And then I’m pushing through the door to the bathroom, trying to pull myself together before I toss all my secret thoughts out there like petals in the wind.