Chapter Sixteen
Noah
“So you and my brother,” Alex said as soon as he walked through the door later that afternoon.
I was sitting on the sofa watching some ridiculous action movie I’d found on Netflix.
The plot was pretty thin, but it was fun and required little concentration to enjoy.
It also didn’t hurt that the hero, played by the stunning Henry Lu, was fucking gorgeous.
It was helping take my mind off the fact that I wanted to see Spencer again.
Having lunch with him had been amazing, but our time had been limited, and before we’d known it, he’d had to get back to work.
Even though he could have taken more time since he was one of the owners, Spencer said he didn’t want special treatment, but he’d promised to message me this evening when he got back from the gym.
“Yes?” I said, the word coming out as more of a question because I had no idea where Alex was going with this.
He walked around the sofa and flopped down on the other end, letting out a little sigh as he did.
He didn’t usually work Mondays, but I knew they had a couple of staff members off for half-term, so Alex had offered to cover because that was what he did.
Novel Tea was his baby, and he’d sunk so much time, love, and money into the place over the years.
It wasn’t just a coffee shop to him; it was something he and Spencer had built together, and Alex would fight bare-knuckled in the street to defend it.
“Do I want to know how?” he asked, a sly smile curling the corner of his lips.
“Honestly, I’m not even sure,” I said as I paused the film.
Henry Lu was covered in sweat and dirt and just happened to be in a very tight-fitting black t-shirt as he leant out the side of a helicopter, wielding his gun at whatever goons were chasing him.
It was one of those scenes that definitely wasn’t plausible in reality but was fun in films. “One minute he was teaching me to make cakes, the next he was asking me on a date.”
Alex frowned. “Feels like you’re missing quite a bit in the middle. How’d you go from making cupcakes to that?”
I thought for second, wondering if it would be weird to tell Alex about the incredible amount of sexual tension and the sparks I’d felt just from brushing Spencer’s hand.
“I don’t know… We just seemed to click. I think it started when he took me back to his after Lane and Oliver’s housewarming. He was so sweet about it all. And then I asked him for help because I knew he could bake, and I wanted to spend more time with him.”
“Makes sense,” Alex said. “You’ve been crushing on him for years.”
“H-How’d you know?”
“It was obvious.” Alex shrugged. “I just wasn’t going to say anything in case you thought I was being weird about it. You didn’t want to talk about it, so I didn’t push.”
“Okay,” I said, trying to wrap my head around everything. “But I wasn’t planning on doing anything. I hope you don’t think I seduced your brother or something.”
Alex let out a snort of derision. “No offence, but I don’t think anyone could seduce Spencer unless he was actively trying to get with them.
And even then, the chances are slim. The man is dense.
You could’ve danced naked in front of him, and he wouldn’t have realised what you wanted unless he wanted the same thing.
I just didn’t know Spencer was into guys too.
I mean, it kinda makes sense, considering how literally everyone else in our friend group is queer, but I wish he’d told me. ”
“I think…” I started, wondering how much I could say without actively revealing Spencer’s secrets.
It was hard because it was clear Alex was frustrated with his brother for not telling him and that his frustration came from a place of love, but at the same time, it wasn’t my information to share.
“He’s only just figuring things out for himself.
Give him some time. He’ll talk to you when he’s ready.
Or, you know, when you annoy him into telling you. ”
Alex drew his knees up to his chest. “I just wanted him to tell me. I’m his brother. We’ve always told each other shit. Even when he annoys the fuck out of me, I still love him. I just want him to be happy. I want you both to be happy.”
“I know, and he does too.” I nudged him with my foot and smiled at him.
Alex returned my smile, but he still looked slightly glum.
Like finding out Spencer hadn’t told him had thrown him, but he didn’t want to admit it.
Alex always looked tough, but there was a glass wall around his heart, and a lot of it was stuck together with duct tape.
“And thanks. I don’t even know where this is going, but I hope…
I want it to go well. I like him a lot, and not just in a distant, pining crush way. ”
Alex nodded. “Good. I’ve heard liking someone helps if you want to date them.
Just do me a favour. Don’t tell me all the details about whatever you get up to together.
I know we’ve always talked about that shit in the past, but I really don’t need to know what my brother likes in bed.
That’s a boundary I’m not willing to cross. ”
I laughed. “I wasn’t planning on sharing anyway.”
“Thank fuck for that,” he said before gesturing at the TV. “What’s this?”
“Red Shadow Rising. It’s that action film with Henry Lu as the government agent who has to save the world from some shadowy agency that wants to bring down world powers.
Something like that anyway.” I glanced at the screen again, where Henry Lu was still leaning out the side of the helicopter, his dark hair artfully blowing in the wind.
“Nothing special plot-wise, then,” Alex said.
“No, but it’s fun.” I picked up the remote. “Want to keep watching?”
“Sure, why not.”
I pressed Play, and the action sequence resumed.
“Do you think we’ll see much of him when he comes to film that period drama next year?
” Henry Lu had been cast in a new regency period drama that was being filmed up at the Castle of all places, and the whole town had been aflutter with gossip since.
It was supposed to premier in the summer, and I’d assumed they’d want to start shooting as soon as possible, but there were rumours about a problem with some of the cast and filming schedules.
We’d all finally received a letter from the town council that filming would start early next year and that closer to that time we’d get details about applying to be an extra.
It hadn’t really appealed to me, but I’d made a mental note about the start date because it would probably cause havoc in town, and my students would be desperately nosy about the whole thing.
“Don’t know,” Alex said. “Don’t care really. I bet he’ll be like every other pretty Hollywood asshole and just stay in his trailer. Or if he does come out, it’ll be to lord over us. I just want them to get the filming done as soon as possible so everything can go back to normal.”
We watched for a few more minutes as Henry continued to pick off the bad guys, who were now chasing him in armoured trucks with rocket launchers because of course they were.
Meanwhile, the daring and beautiful heroine, who had been artfully daubed with some dirt so she still looked pretty enough for all the studio executives who didn’t want to see women with a hair out of place while saving the world, continued to fly the helicopter towards the nearby coastline, somehow managing to avoid getting them blown up while also handing out snarky one-liners in the process.
“Do you still want to have our movie marathon this week?” Alex asked.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I?”
“I thought you wanted to watch them with Spencer.” He turned his head to grin at me, and I knew he was only teasing.
“No, I’m going to watch them once with you and once with him.”
“Yeah, sure… watch them. Just make sure you go to his. I really don’t need to hear the two of you banging or risk seeing him naked on my sofa.”
I chuckled and shook my head, but it did make me realise how much I wanted to spend the evening with Spencer.
And how much I didn’t want it to involve us just watching a movie.
Later that evening, after Alex and I had made dinner and I’d done a little bit of the marking I had to do over the week, I retreated to my room. I stripped off down to my boxers and flopped down onto my bed, pulling out my phone and scrolling mindlessly through Twitter.
Even after my conversation with Alex and my lunch date with Spencer, I was still struggling to wrap my head around the fact that this was real.
I’d been crushing on Spencer for so long that a small part of me was wondering whether I was trapped in some extended dream and was going to wake up at any moment with a hideous sense of disappointment.
After our conversation at the Castle, I’d lain awake thinking everything through. Spencer had been so earnest about everything that I had to believe he had genuine feelings for me. The way he looked at me stirred up all sorts of emotions in my chest, from affection to longing to lust.
There’d been a quiet, nagging voice in my ear whispering that maybe this was just Spencer experimenting and this whole thing would end up being nothing more than a fling that would leave me heartbroken.
But if that was the case, surely we’d have moved faster than we had? And there’d have been less talk of our feelings and more quick and dirty fucking.
All I could do was hope I was right and that Spencer’s feelings for me were real. If it didn’t work out because we were incompatible, I’d be able to live with that. If it was just because he was using me, I’d be devastated.
Spencer didn’t seem the type, though. I didn’t think he’d even consider anything like that.
And if he did, I knew I’d at least have Alex in my corner. Which wouldn’t do much, but it would give me a shoulder to cry on.
A notification flashed on the top of the screen, and Spencer’s name appeared.
Spencer