Chapter 1
ONE
MALIK
SIX WEEKS LATER
“He’s here!” As my gaze caught a moving truck stopping in front of the house, I jogged from the kitchen to the front door, my pulse pattering in my ears.
We’d spoken a few more times since the initial FaceTime call, but it was officially moving day.
He’d take the primary bedroom that Casey and Ryker had moved out of when they’d left for Vegas in June.
Tex lumbered up behind me, peering out the window into our sunny front yard, full of landscaping rocks and a lone mesquite tree. “Dude, is that his Audi S8? That’s like a hundred-twenty-thousand-dollar car.” His brows snapped up. “You said he was wealthy, but damn.”
“Yeah, that’s his. It was a high school graduation present from his dad.” I flung the door open and rushed across the pathway to the driveway, where he parked. The sun warmed my head, and the mid-July heat prickled my skin. What would we do first? Get him settled, yes, but then?
He stepped out of his black sports car, the interior a tan leather, and stood tall, his grey polo pulled tight across his shoulders while his black linen shorts hung low on his hips. His thigh muscles bulged under the fabric, and plaid sneakers adorned his feet.
Where the hell did he find plaid sneakers? Oh, hell… “Grey.” I held my arms open, and he fell into them, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Malik, it’s so good to see you.” He buried his face in my neck and breathed me in. “It was a long-ass drive, but I’m so pumped to be here.” He squeezed me and let me go, a broad grin sweeping his face. Shaking his head, he said, “Fuck, man.” His eyes twinkled.
“Yeah, fuck.” I glanced at the men in the moving truck, sliding the back door open. I was pretty sure they’d do all the work while we relaxed.
“Hey.” Tex strolled across the drive with his hand stretched out, his blond hair falling around his face in messy waves, his blue eyes warm. “Nice to meet you, man. I’m Tex.”
“Oh, this is the offensive lineman I’ve heard so much about.” With a charming grin, Grey gave Tex a bro shake and a side hug. “Thanks for letting me move in.” He wagged his brows at me. “And take the primary bedroom.”
“Not a problem. It’s not like I wanted to move my shit into that room, anyway.” Tex beamed at him. “Can we help you with anything?”
Planting a hand on his hip, Grey twisted at the waist, glancing toward the men with the truck, loading boxes onto a hand truck. “Nope, I think the movers have it covered.”
“Let me show you to your room.” I grabbed his arm at the elbow and hauled him into the house.
“Here’s our living room.” I swung my arm in an arc, showing off our blue sectional with the matching recliner and our black coffee tables from IKEA.
“We have the finest of hand-me-downs, compliments of…” I flicked my gaze to Tex, standing next to us.
“Whose parents donated the couch and shit?”
Scratching his temple, Tex said, “I think it was JJ’s, but hell, I can’t remember now. It wasn’t my parents.”
“JJ Matthews was our wide receiver a few years back. The Cardinals drafted him, so you might see him around.” I winked at Grey.
“I’ll make sure you meet him. We’ll have him and his boyfriend over to play some Madden.
” Hell, did Grey even play video games? I’d never seen him play them, but whatever, he’d learn.
“He’s, uh, queer too?” Grey quirked a brow.
“He is.” Tex pressed his lips together. “Five of us were out and queer on the team originally.”
“Oh.” With a stuttered chuckle, Grey brushed his hand down the back of his perfectly coiffed hair. “Sure, I think I remember Malik saying something about that.” He focused on Tex. “You’re, um, you’re gay, right?”
Shifting a quick glance toward me, Tex said, “I am.” He eyed Grey.
“Cool. It’s cool. Just getting the lay of the land.” He flashed a smile at Tex, who relaxed his shoulders. “When we hang out at the bar, I’d prefer avoiding something stupid and setting you up with a girl.”
Tex smirked. “It wouldn’t be the first time, and I’d still be happy you considered me.” He patted Grey on the shoulder.
Clapping my hands in front of my chest, I said, “Okay, then the kitchen, as you can see, is over there.” I pointed to our kitchen with white cabinets and black appliances and dark granite-tile counters.
“I think they remodeled a bit before we moved in, but the house was built in the nineteen eighties.”
“Yeah, I thought as much from the fact they painted the brick walls outside white.” Grey chuckled. “No worries, man. The place has charm, and I care more about the company than what it looks like.”
Two men entered through the front door with moving boxes on hand trucks. One said, “Where are we putting these?”
“Oh, shit, come here.” Grabbing Grey’s hand, I led him toward the hallway to the bedrooms. “Right this way.” I’d never seen Grey’s place in Ithaca, but I knew he’d lived alone in a two-bedroom apartment.
We had to stop thinking of him as the rich kid and start treating him like one of us, because that’s who he was.
As I reached the primary bedroom, a larger room with two closets tucked into the wall, an en-suite bathroom and sliding glass doors opening to the backyard, I freed his hand. “This is your room.”
“Cool.” Rubbing his palms together, he paced the room and slowly nodded, a grin forming on his lips.
“I like it. I’ll put my dresser there.” He pointed at the wall just inside the door.
“And my bed will go along this wall, allowing a view of the yard.” He strolled to the wall next to the patio doors and peered outside, where flowering desert plants sprouted in various places along the masonry wall with a large willow tree centering everything and providing much-needed shade.
The movers entered the room, rolling the boxes in. “Where should we leave these?”
“Just…stack them by the wall there.” Grey waved at the empty wall between the closets.
“I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything.” I squeezed his forearm and tapped the wall as I stopped inside the doorway. “Like a beer?” I wagged my brows.
“I will definitely need a beer once I get my boxes unpacked.” Scanning the boxes as the movers stacked them, he rubbed his brow.
“Sure.” I returned to the main room, spotting Tex sitting on a corner of the sectional, flipping through the sports channels on the television resting on a console at the far wall.
“Well?” I dropped in next to him. “What do you think?” First impressions were important.
“He seems like a good guy. Fucking rich boy though, damn.” He halted the television on ESPN, where a couple of talking heads reviewed the picks from last season’s draft.
“Yeah, but he’s also down to earth. You’ll see.” Twisting my lips, I said, “I think we should take him to Four-One-Four Pizza tonight and get him acquainted with the scene on Mill Avenue.” I studied him. “What do you think?”
With a shrug, he said, “Sure, I enjoy that place.” He smirked. “How’s Grey’s karaoke?”
“Uh…I’ve never seen him sing karaoke.” I chuckled and patted his knee. “But maybe tonight will be a first.” The first of many, maybe? I watched the movers leave the house. Grey must be unpacking those boxes already.
Shifting toward me, he said, “So, tell me what sort of things you’ve done with Grey?”
“Well, at football camp there were many late-night talks, you know, fantasizing about a life in the NFL and all that. Then we’ve been on tons of vacations together. He’s visited my family in New Mexico, and I was in—”
“I know, New York for Spring Break. But what do you do when you’re together?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you the cruising-for-females type?”
I stared at him for a moment. Did he wonder how the climate of the house would change with Grey in it? “Sometimes.” Shit, should I tell him? He’d understand. With my cheeks heating, I leaned in close and said, “We’ve had a few threesomes.”
“You what?” He barked out a laugh. “So, he’s not straight?”
“No, shh, keep your voice down.” I waved my hand at him. “He’s straight. There was no sword crossing. We just both, uh, pleasured the same woman.” I bit my lower lip. Fuck, I’d gotten off watching him, though, hadn’t I? I mean, I was bisexual, so the experience was a double turn-on for me.
“Like, how?” Dropping his mouth open, he eyed me.
“Like, while he fucked her, she gave me a blow job.” Shit, maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. But I was in it now. “Or, while I went down on her, he got a blow job from her, you know, shit like that.”
“No, I don’t know. I’ve never been with a woman.” He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “Okay, I’ve been with two guys, and it was sorta like that.”
“Yeah, so see? No swords crossed.” I glanced at the hallway to the bedrooms while the movers walked in with Grey’s mattress. “He’s not queer. He’s just open-minded, okay?”
“You’ve seen him come.” His brows quirked while his mouth curled at one corner. “Did you like it?”
My eyes popped open. Of course, he’d think of that. “Sure, why not?” Where was he going with this? “Dude, we’re just friends.” I huffed a laugh. “Fine, maybe there are some benefits, but we don’t fool around with each other. There’s a boundary.”
“Boundaries can go to shit sometimes, just sayin’.” He snickered. “And he’s a damn good-looking guy and you’re queer.”
“Stop it. It’s not like that.” I gave him a playful slap on the shoulder. “I’d never jeopardize our friendship.”
Grey strolled from the hallway and planted his hands on his hips. “I’ve got my closet mostly unpacked. Where’s the beer?”
“Oh, let me get you one.” I hopped off the couch, gave Tex a pointed look, and jogged into the kitchen. Tex better not breathe a word of this conversation to Grey.
Grey followed me and set his hand on my shoulder while I pulled two canned beers from the refrigerator. “It’s already feeling comfortable here.”