Chapter 3 #3
“You shouldn’t have cuddled with me in front of them.”
I huff, part annoyance and part humor. “I wasn’t cuddling. You were cuddling with me.”
He groans again and throws his arm over his face. I stare at his arms a little too long.
“What else did I do while they were here?”
“You really want to know?”
He opens one eye, and my heart skips into a quick, uneven rhythm.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Well, you said a few things.”
His brows meet. “Just tell me, Whit.”
I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t. “You said I smelled good and didn’t know why. You kept sniffing me.” I clear my throat, remembering specific words slipping from his lips. “You also said my skin was soft and ran your hands up and down my face.”
“Oh shit.”
“It’s not over.”
“Oh fuck.”
“You also rambled some and said you were gay from the fever. Not sure what that means, but your cousins latched on to that one word and now think we’re together.”
“Oh, damn it all to hell,” he grunts, and I hold my breath, my finger sneaking out and touching his skin softly. It’s warm and tight.
I pull back as quickly as I can, but it’s too late. He’s noticed.
He stops breathing, and I know I need to interject something to distract him from it.
“It’s okay. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. You were really out of it.”
“You don’t know my family. There’s a reason I needed a place to live this year.”
“I spent a lot of time with them. I know enough.”
I look at him, and he offers me a small smile.
“You didn’t sign up for this, for my family and me,” he says. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I say, and then can’t help but reach out and brush some of the hair from his forehead. “You still hungry?”
“I’m good,” he says and then twists to face the wall, sulking.
“You’re lucky you have a family who loves you,” I murmur quietly.
“Yeah, I know, man. They’re just a little much. It’ll die down soon enough.”
I sit there for a moment more, wanting to reach out and stroke his back as a method of comfort, but I don’t. I just fist my hand against my thigh before standing up and leaving the room entirely.
Much to my surprise—or perhaps even resignation—Sem and Luke appear without warning an hour later. They amble into my apartment and shove some food into the fridge before asking where Caleb is.
“Sleeping.”
“Tired boy,” Luke says with a waggle of his brows and then flops onto the couch. “Yo, dude. Let’s play a game while we wait. Whatcha think? That cool, Whit?”
I don’t think I can say no even if I wanted to.
“Yes, of course.”
Sem takes a seat next to his brother, who hands him a remote.
“Weird to see you out from underneath Caleb,” Luke says with a grin. “It’s like you’re a separate person again.”
My cheeks flush, and I nod, grabbing my Kindle and sinking into my chair. It’s either that or go sit in my bed and watch Caleb sleep. Somehow, this seems safer.
I debate on what to say to Luke, but before I can, Sem and Luke are chatting, searching through the games to play before settling on something violent. Of course they do.
So I turn my gaze to my book and try to read. It’s been hellish the past few weeks with Caleb always around sans shirt and pants, and honestly, Sem and Luke—while not naked—are very distracting. My ears keep picking up their unhinged conversation.
“Dude, you know the potato gun I have? We could make a double-barreled one,” Luke says.
“Hell yeah. Or what if we did one barrel but instead of potatoes, we made it big enough for those melons…not watermelon, but the ones that are green inside.”
“Cantaloupe,” Luke says. “Fucking love me some melons.”
I clear my throat, and their eyes slide to mine.
“The green one is honeydew, actually.”
Sem lets out a small grunt, and Luke laughs loudly. “Right, well, fuck me. Hell…or…” He slaps his leg. “We could shoot out corn.”
I don’t know why they need to shoot anything—vegetables or otherwise—but I say nothing. Just try to read my book by Carl Sagan.
It’s difficult, though, and it’s made even worse by Caleb appearing some time later, wearing only boxers and a shirt.
“Ah, you’re up,” Sem says, standing up and slapping Caleb on the back.
“Your boyfriend here almost didn’t let us in. Said you’d be sleeping a while,” Luke adds, not taking his eyes off the screen. “But you know how persuasive we can be.”
“Plus, we had food to deliver,” Sem chimes in.
“Ah,” Caleb says, looking far too rumpled. He should never look rumpled. Ever. It’s dangerous.
“Don’t stand there fidgeting, dude. You’re making this damn awkward. You know we’re accepting motherfuckers. You’re gay. No big deal. Sit on your boyfriend’s lap, for god’s sake,” Luke says, cussing when his character on the screen is shot and dies. “Well, hell. I suck at this game.”
I swallow roughly, peering over at Caleb, whose hand, which was scratching his stomach, falls and lands near his side. He looks confused and a little unsure.
I know how that feels. I’ve been living like that for what feels like ages.
“Go on,” Sem says, and Caleb’s lips open and close. Finally, his eyebrows meet, and he glowers at me.
“You’re seriously going along with this?”
I manage to arch an eyebrow at him, even though inside, I’m just as lost as he is. Caleb is not gay, and he’s not my boyfriend.
But how are we going to convince them otherwise? They seem pretty set on the idea.
“You think this is funny? I’m going to smother you with your pillow later. I’m stronger than you,” Caleb says, and the adorable way he pouts makes my lips twitch slightly. I shouldn’t laugh at his distress, but…I’m tired.
I’m so very, very tired.
Caleb’s gaze leaves mine for a second, and he points to his cousins. “Also, assholes, he’s not my boyfriend. I’m not gay. You delivered the food. Now go away.”
“That rhymed. Good one,” Luke says before whooping loudly.
“He’s ashamed,” Sem says softly, and my chest constricts.
“Nothing to be ashamed of, cuz,” Luke says, folding his arms and leaning back. He smiles crookedly at Caleb, who just frowns intensely. He hates the idea.
Does he even suspect I’m gay? Does he know I like to bend men over and enter them slowly? That I like to watch them writhe beneath me?
We’ve never discussed it.
Had no reason to.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Caleb mutters, and then he’s suddenly striding toward me. His legs eat up the space between us until he’s right there, lowering himself onto my lap, his ass on my thighs.
I can’t breathe and have to remind myself how to fill my lungs when he leans back and huffs in triumph.
Though from what I glean, Sem and Luke don’t seem fazed by any of it. In fact, they seem to have expected it.
But those thoughts leave my mind when he shifts against me, and my hand reaches up and cups his hip to still him. He can’t sit there.
He really can’t sit there.
“What? Not comfortable?” he says, starting to wriggle. This is going to be very awkward if he doesn’t stop that. “That’s what you get.”
I huff and try to adjust him, but Caleb is having none of it.
“I weigh more than you, dude. You just need to let me know when to get up.”
He may think that I don’t have any muscle because of our size difference, but the desperation and anxiety bubbling up inside of me have me lifting him and shifting him away from my hardening cock.
He gasps, and I let out a long, relieved breath.
He glances back at me, eyes wide.
“For reals?”
I force a smirk on my face and then lift my Kindle up, pretending to read once more.
I’m not reading. It’s not even on.
I’m experiencing it all.
I should move him. I should thrust him right off me, but I don’t. I can’t. I miss having him on me. And I know I shouldn’t.
“They’re cute, right?” Sem asks Luke, who just nods.
Caleb wiggles on top of me a little and barks out, “This is not a matinee performance. There’s no popcorn here. You both need to leave.”
“So rude,” Luke says. “How Whit puts up with you is a mystery.”
“A huge mystery,” Sem agrees, rubbing his chin, and then adds, “How do you put up with him, Whit?”
I wet my lips and go for nonchalant.
“He grows on you,” I say, and Caleb elbows me a bit aggressively.
Luke watches us intently and then tilts his head. “You haven’t been home since you moved out. You avoiding us?”
Is that so? Why would Caleb avoid his family, ones who clearly adore him? I know why I avoid mine, but they deserve my absence.
“Jesus, I’ll see you all next weekend. We can catch up then,” Caleb says.
Luke and Sem stare at each other, wordlessly conversing before nodding.
“Fine. Bring Whit. Aunt Del’s request.”
“It’s like I’m in the mafia,” Caleb mutters, causing a true smile to form on my lips. “The only way out is death.”
Sem and Luke stand up in tandem, obviously done with whatever they came to see.
“So dramatic, this one,” Sem says, ruffling Caleb’s hair while Luke lightly punches his shoulder.
“No need to get up for us. You two look comfy,” Luke adds before moving to the door, and then they disappear behind it without a goodbye.
“Oh, Jesus fuck. How is this my life?” Caleb groans, turning slightly and glancing at me. All of that was a whirlwind, and Caleb on my lap is the fucking cherry on top. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“What?” he asks when he spots my twitching lips. “It’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny,” I say before pretending to read again.
“Put that down and tell me something,” he says, grabbing my Kindle and setting it on the arm of the chair. I feel slightly naked without it as a shield.
“What would you like to know?” I manage to ask. My fingers trace patterns in the cushion beneath us, a nervous habit from ages ago.
“How are you okay with this?” he blurts.
I debate that for a moment. Am I okay with it? Should I be honest or indifferent? I settle on, “It’s harmless.”
He meets my eyes, and the intensity there has me glancing away.
“Harmless? I am never going to live this down. My family is insane. No matter what I tell them, they will stubbornly believe we’re together.”
“It’s sweet.”