Chapter 12
RILEY WAS THINKING HARD about something.
Josh could tell by looking at him, the way the tension was sitting in his shoulders. Maybe he was worried Abby wouldn’t like her going away gift, but that was silly because of course she would love it.
They’d been enjoying the party for a couple hours, Riley and Josh circling the room and trying to mingle with everyone, when Josh noticed Tobias standing by himself in front of the computer that ran the sound system.
He excused himself from the conversation between a few of their friends, spotting Cole talking to one of Emilio’s grandmothers on his way to Tobias.
Camila was a former mafia donna with no filter.
It was dangerous for her to be talking to Cole without any supervision.
Who knew what kind of chaos it could lead to?
Too bad Josh wasn’t good at supervising.
When he got to Tobias, he realized Riley was still at his side.
They were like a wolf pack, constantly moving as one.
“Hey, Tobias, you trying to escape all the socializing?” he asked.
Josh had never understood the term brooding until he met Tobias. He’d have made a really good Bruce Wayne, if he was an actor.
“Yup, thanks so much for noticing and coming over to end that brief respite,” he said, although he didn’t actually look thankful.
“You’re welcome,” Josh said, wondering if he was missing something as Riley sighed. “Have you thought about the Inferno alumni game? Do you think you’ll play?”
Tobias’ shoulders slumped and he finally tore his gaze away from his computer screen.
“I haven’t decided yet. Shane Kendrick has been texting me about it too. When does your sister need to know?”
Kendrick was the current goalie for the Inferno. It still surprised Josh that Tobias kept in touch with anyone from the team. He personified anti-social.
Riley cleared his throat. “The sooner the better. I think she’s hoping to score points in the PR department for bringing in a good replacement.”
Tobias' gaze traveled over the party and settled on something over Josh’s shoulder. Josh turned and saw Chase chatting with Avery and Hailey on the other side of the room.
“I’ll let her know by tomorrow, okay? I have to figure out a couple things.”
“Sure, man,” Riley said. “And we’re going to clean everything after this, don’t worry.”
“Oh, I know you are. That was Cole’s biggest promise,” Tobias said while crossing his arms, making the muscles in them bulge. Josh wondered how often his shirts ripped open when he flexed.
“For someone who makes as many messes as Cole does, he’s surprisingly courteous about cleaning up after himself,” Riley added.
A voice shouted from across the room, interrupting them.
Abby’s sister, Alyssa, was standing on a chair as she said, “Everyone, gather ’round to watch Abby and Emilio open their presents!”
The three of them made their way over to where Abby was sitting in front of a table filled with small gifts, Emilio seated next to her. No one could get them anything too large since they were going to have to travel with everything.
“Noooo, in front of everyone?” Abby complained.
“I thought in America someone was supposed to jump out of a cake,” Emilio said.
“I never understood that,” Hailey said. “It’s either a waste of cake if they’re using real cake, or there’s a giant fake cake sitting there?”
“I think people liked what popped out of it,” Riley said.
“What popped out of the cake? Candy?” Colin asked, causing everyone to share panicked looks until Cole redirected them.
“So much candy, Colin! Beautiful candy with really big… balloons,” he said.
“Mommy, can I have a cake that candy pops out of for my next birthday?” Colin asked Alyssa, who was now holding her son on her lap.
“Sure, baby. Okay, open some gifts, please,” she begged, and Bri giggled beside her.
Abby and Emilio opened their gifts, mostly travel and influencer accessories and gift cards. They both loved the logo Josh and Riley had designed for them.
Abby was bright red as she peered into the next gift bag on her lap.
“Oh my God, Cole,” she said, flustered. “My whole family is here, I’m not opening this.”
Emilio grabbed the bag and peered inside, a smug smirk taking over his expression.
“Seriously? A twenty-five pack of condoms?” he asked.
“Sul serio? Are you serious? I got him the exact same thing!” Emilio’s grandmother shouted over everyone’s giggles.
“Did we just become best friends?” Cole asked, making Camila laugh. He turned to Riley and Josh and muttered, “If I asked her if she wants to go do karate in the garage, do you think she’d get the reference?”
The likelihood that Camila had seen the movie Stepbrothers was pretty unlikely. Riley put an arm on his shoulder and looked at him with as much intensity as he could command. “No, Cole. I don’t think she will.”
“I’m going to do it anyway,” he said and turned to Camila. “Do you want to go do karate in the garage?”
“No, but I could teach you Paranza Corta. It’s Sicilian knife fighting.”
“I’m in,” Elena said, and Cole visibly swooned. At Camila or Elena, he wasn’t sure.
Probably both.
When Abby and Emilio were finished opening gifts, Abby’s mother demanded a group photo with everyone. Cole was prepared for the request and gathered everyone between the big wooden boxes they used for box jumps.
He set his phone on a table, propped against a half-filled beer bottle, and turned to the group.
“I have a remote clicker for the camera so I can take the photo when we’re all set,” he shouted and ran over to join the group.
Josh had his arm around Riley on one side and Avery on the other as they awaited Cole’s instructions.
“Okay, on three, everyone say, ‘We’ll miss you Emilio and Abby.’ One, two, three!”
“We’ll miss you Emilio and Abby!” they all shouted, holding out the Y in Abby’s name until a loud bang made everyone jump.
A confetti cannon on each side of the group exploded, and large colorful pieces of confetti rained over everyone, causing cheers and laughs to echo throughout the gym.
Abby and Emilio rushed to Cole and swarmed him in a hug while Elena gazed at them fondly. To Cole, it wasn’t a true celebration without that pop of color—emphasis on the word pop.
When he was finished hugging the departing pair, he grabbed his phone off the table.
“Oh, let me see the photo. I hope it came out okay,” Abby said.
“Please. I had it on record and we’ve got video of the whole thing.
The clicker in my hand was for the cannons,” Cole said with a big smile, passing his phone over to Abby and then turning to Tobias.
The man was standing there looking disgruntled and holding out a broom and dustpan for Cole, who went right to work cleaning everything.
Colin was even helping by picking up all the green pieces of confetti, adamant about only collecting that color.
“Must you always get confetti everywhere?” Avery asked, though his face said he was amused.
“Please, be glad I had enough restraint to not do it at the airport when we picked up the girls from their Italy trip.”
Yup, that would have been a disaster.
Riley and Josh lent a hand with the rest of the mess as guests began to say their goodbyes to the couple of honor.
Riley sidled up next to Josh as he was collecting empty cups and bottles from a table. Riley held up two cups.
“I scooped some of that cookies and cream pudding you loved into this cup, and I stole the rest of the charcuterie board fixings in this cup so we can take them home,” he said.
“Damn, you are the most perfect person ever, Ri,” Josh said as he gazed at his best friend, a beaming smile on his face.
Riley was absolutely perfect in every way, but Josh had only ever thought about him platonically. Now, he was thinking about what Elena said when they were together on the ski lift. Could the perfect match have been next to him his whole life?
If he was, wouldn’t one of them have figured it out by now? Well, Josh rarely figured out anything. Wouldn’t Riley have figured it out?
Riley set the cups on top of some workout equipment and put his phone on top of them so people wouldn’t think they were trash, then continued with his cleanup duties.
Josh watched as he tied off a trash bag and heaved it onto his back, his flexing muscles visible through his shirt as he walked it outside to throw in a dumpster.
Josh couldn’t deny that the orgasm they shared was the best he’d ever had. He wasn’t kidding about that. Would it feel as good a second time? His brain wasn’t sure, but his dick was saying yes as it plumped, pressing against his zipper.
He wasn’t sure how to navigate these new feelings, but he felt like he wasn’t good enough to be a real partner to Riley. He deserved someone as perfect as him, not someone with such a black mark on his past. Not someone who couldn’t even handle his own nightmares.
The thing was, no one in the world knew Riley better than he did, so how could he not know his friend might not be straight?
All Josh was sure of was that he and Riley had to have a conversation.
Was it possible to do more touching if it couldn’t lead to more?
Did Riley even want more? He’d had a bit of a dry spell lately, so maybe he was desperate.
Maybe he wasn’t even attracted to Josh. Fuck. This was way too complicated.
He noticed Tobias duck into his office and decided he needed a completely unbiased opinion from someone who wouldn’t treat him with kid gloves, so he followed him.
Tobias was turning off his computer when Josh knocked on the open door.
“Hey, do you think I could be gay or maybe bi?” he asked, and Tobias froze.
“Why are you asking me?” he said, no longer moving but giving Josh all of his attention.
“Because I know you’ll tell me the truth and you won’t beat up any bushes.”
“You mean, beat around the bush,” he said. Josh crinkled his forehead in confusion, but Tobias continued. “But are you asking me… Josh, do you think you’re straight?”
“I—yes? What do you mean? Do you think I’m not?”
“Holy shit,” Tobias whispered. “I thought you and Riley have been dating this whole time, like a poorly kept secret. You’re saying you really aren’t dating?”
Josh couldn’t do anything but blink.
“Wow, I am the worst person for this,” Tobias said. “Josh, you look at Riley like he hung the damn moon. The way you look at him, I thought you were head over heels in love with him, and I thought he felt the same about you.”
“No, no, we’re friends. We’re best friends.”
“Let me ask you something. Could you ever love someone more than him?”
“What? Why would I do that? That’s, like, impossible.”
“So you don’t think you have a future wife out there you could love more than him?”
Oh. Oh. Why did the thought of loving anyone more than Riley make him sick?
“But we don’t have sex,” ignoring their time in the Poconos. “How can it be love if we’re not attracted to each other?”
Or are we?
“Do you remember why you said you came to me? Why you’re asking me these questions instead of any of your friends out there?” Tobias asked.
Josh nodded. “Yeah, I said you would tell me the truth.”
“Well, the truth is, you’re both idiots. You’re already a couple, without the sex. Which I hear is the best part for a lot of couples. So, maybe try adding it. If you try it, and it’s good, why would you bother looking anywhere else when you have everything you need in that man?”
What. The. Fuck?
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say so many words at once unless you were giving workout instructions.”
“I talk when it’s necessary,” Tobias said as he settled a supportive hand on Josh’s shoulder.
“Does that mean you’re ready to talk about Chase?”
Tobias blinked at him. “Not even a little bit. Think about what I said, and get out of my office.”
There was the Tobias he knew. Everything was right with the world again.
His personal world was another story. That was a mindfuck.