Chapter 7
Troy
I shifted the Thai food in my arms, the plastic bag crackling as I jabbed the elevator button for our floor. The spicy aroma of pad Thai and green curry filled the small space, making my stomach growl.
We’d had a call an hour before Rhett and I were about to come off shift this morning, and it had been a long one. So I hadn’t eaten since dinner last night. I was fantasizing about face-planting into these noodles the second I walked through our door.
The elevator doors began sliding closed when a familiar voice called out, “Hold it, please!”
I stuck my arm out, the doors bouncing back as Aimee jogged in, slightly breathless. Her blonde hair was piled in a messy bun on top of her head, a few strands escaping to frame her flushed face. She wore leggings and a loose off-the-shoulder top that revealed the sports bra underneath.
I deliberately kept my eyes trained on the floor number to avoid staring at her cute, curvy little ass in those leggings. This girl broke every bro code there was: best friend’s crush, other best friend’s little sister. There was no way I was letting temptation get to me.
“Thanks,” she said, offering a small smile as she pressed the button for our floor, which was already lit up. Her eyes dropped to the takeout bag in my arms. “That smells amazing. Thai at two in the afternoon?”
I nodded, shifting the bag slightly. “Yep. Rhett and I had to stay a few hours late on our shift, and we’re starved. He had to stop by home, so I’m being the awesome roommate who brings home food.”
“So generous.” She glanced up at me through her lashes. “Are there spring rolls in there? My favorite.”
“I know.” I shrugged, trying to play it cool. “Hard to forget when you make that orgasm sound every time you bite into one.”
“Shows what you know about my orgasm sounds,” she said, throwing all my plans to not think about her sexually for a loop.
“Want to join us? There’s plenty.”
“Sadly, I just came from lunch, and I have an interview scheduled in twenty minutes.” She made a little pouty face. Her phone pinged, and she looked down at it, frowning, her jaw clenching, then quickly pocketed it.
“Everything okay?”
“Fine. Just your garden-variety internet bully. Price of podcasting. So, what’s for lunch?”
The change of subject caught me off guard, and I stared at her for a long moment. “You sure you don’t want to tell me what that sad face is about?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. And there’s nothing that can be done anyway. Just block, delete, and repeat. Stop looking so concerned, Troy. I’m fine. It just… sometimes the words still hurt, you know?”
The elevator stopped at our floor and we got out, but I lingered for a moment, not sure I was ready to leave her alone to read emails from some internet creep. She reached out and patted my arm, her fingers sending tingles of awareness across my skin.
Double bro-code violation.
“I’m fine, Troy. Really. Now distract me with information about these kittens. I must be cheered up before I have to go start my interview.”
“How did you know about the kittens?”
“Rhett told me,” she said, then bit her bottom lip, hesitating. Something in her expression shifted, became more serious. “When we were stuck in the laundry room the other day.”
“Ah,” I said, not sure what else to add. He hadn’t mentioned any sort of laundry room adventure, but then, he’d barely talked to me at all since the weird conversation in his truck after the calendar photoshoot.
“He told me other things too,” she continued, her voice softening. “Things that make me regret daring you to kiss him.”
My stomach dropped, the Thai food suddenly forgotten in my arms. “What do you mean?”
Aimee’s eyes searched my face. “I don’t want to interfere, but he seemed really upset, Troy.”
“Upset that I kissed him?”
She hesitated. “I’m not sure if I should be telling you this.”
“Oh, come on, Aims. It’s us. We’re boundary-challenged.”
“I’m not going to say more. But maybe you should be a little kinder to him. Are you acting like the kiss wasn’t a big deal?”
“I mean, no straight guy wants to think his queer best friend is obsessed with him. And I don’t want to fuck up our friendship.”
She laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, the touch burning through my t-shirt. “If you’re actually obsessed with him, I think you need to talk to him. Ask him how he’s feeling instead of making assumptions.”
I blinked, my mind struggling to process her words. That wasn’t possible. Rhett was in love with Aimee—had been since before we moved in across from her. The kiss was just a dare, a challenge. I’d been giving him an out by acting like it wasn’t a big deal.
“I didn’t know it bothered him,” I managed, my voice rougher than I intended. “He said… He was acting like he didn’t want to be friends the other day.”
“I’m sure he wasn’t.”
“He was. He said he didn’t need me to be like his brother anymore or something.”
She shot me a look. “I’m just speculating, but could he be telling you he doesn’t want you to think of him as a brother because he wants you to do non-brotherly things with him?”
“Oh,” I whispered, eyes widening. “Oh fuck.”
“Listen, why don’t you talk to him? You two don’t normally tiptoe around each other’s feelings. Just get it all out in the open. I need to go. I’m late for my Zoom call.”
I stood frozen as she turned and walked toward her apartment, keys jingling in her hand.
My mind was reeling, replaying every interaction I’d had with Rhett since that kiss.
The way he’d avoid eye contact when we were alone.
How he’d flinch slightly when I got too close.
The kittens—god, had he really adopted those cats because he was trying to distract himself?
I’d been so certain I was doing the right thing.
So convinced that brushing off the kiss as meaningless was protecting our friendship.
But what if I’d been protecting myself instead?
After growing up in a family like mine, finding people who really saw you was like a miracle, and I didn’t want to fuck that up.
But I didn’t want to hurt him, either.
I rushed to the apartment, where I found Rhett sprawled across our couch, both kittens climbing over his chest like tiny mountain explorers. He was laughing, his light brown hair falling across his forehead as Cheeto batted at his chin with miniature paws.
He looked up as I entered, that crooked smile of his warming something deep in my chest. “Hey, you brought food! I’m starv—”
The words died on his lips as I set the bag down on our coffee table with deliberate care and took off my shirt.
“You hot?” he asked, tilting his head. “Please don’t tell me you’re torturing me with your cum gutters.”
I froze. “What? I was going to kiss you.”
Rhett blinked, eyes dropping to my chest. “So you need to be shirtless because?”
Why had I done that? “Um…”
He set the kittens aside and ripped off his own shirt. “Works for me. Hi.”
I moved toward him, placing one knee on the couch beside his hip, then swinging my other leg over until I was straddling him. His eyes widened, pupils dilating as he registered my position, my already hardening cock pressing against his abs through our clothes.
I braced my hands on either side of his head, leaning down until our faces were inches apart. “I should have done this after that kiss. After I realized what it felt like to have you in my arms, to feel you melt for me.”
For a heart-stopping moment, Rhett just stared up at me, his blue-gray eyes searching mine. Then a slow grin spread across his face, and he slid his hands up to my bare waist, the touch making me gasp.
“Finally,” he said, and there was no mistaking the desire in his voice. “What have you been waiting for? That photoshoot almost killed me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of me? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I laughed, and something pure and joyful rushed into my chest as I leaned forward and crashed my lips against Rhett’s.
This kiss was even hotter than the first. It was hungry and desperate.
It was all the wanting I’d been denying since that day in front of Aimee, wrapped up in the most intimate kiss of my life.
I devoured him, cupping his face in my hands, tilting his head back to get a better angle.
Rhett responded immediately, his lips parting for me, his tongue meeting mine with equal fervor.
The soft groan that escaped his throat vibrated against my lips.
Fuck, how had I pretended this wasn’t everything I wanted?
I pulled back and looked down at him, cupping his jaw, running a thumb over his bottom lip. “You’re gorgeous.”
“What made you change your mind?” he asked.
“Aimee.”
“She’s perfect,” he whispered. “But can we go back to kissing?”
Our lips reconnected like magnets, drawn together by some primal force I didn’t want to resist. The feel of his bare skin against mine was intoxicating, the slight rasp of his chest hair against my smoother skin creating delicious friction.
I let my hands roam freely now, exploring the planes of his body, the dips and ridges I’d seen countless times but never allowed myself to touch like this.
“Fuck, Troy. I need you so much, I don’t know what to do with it,” he gasped as I broke the kiss to trail my lips down his jaw, his neck.
I bit gently at the sensitive spot where his shoulder met his throat.
His hands weren’t idle either, sliding down my back, tracing every muscle, learning me with his fingertips.
I couldn’t stop kissing him. Couldn’t imagine ever wanting to stop.
My tongue slid back into his mouth, claiming him, tasting the unique flavor that was Rhett—coffee and something sweeter, something that made me dizzy with need.
Our teeth clashed occasionally in our eagerness, neither of us willing to slow down, to be careful.
This wasn’t about careful. This was about finally acknowledging the hunger that had been building between us.