Chapter 8 #2
Sure, I had muscle on me, too—hard-earned from lifting bales of hay, stacking feed bags, and handling livestock on the daily—but that was different from the kind of strength you got from military training.
I wasn’t out there doing drills six hours a day. I wasn’t running obstacle courses or scaling walls to keep up with fitness test standards.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t been salivating over your bunker buddies,” I shot back, lifting a brow.
“Squad,” he corrected instantly, straightening his posture again. “And no. I know how to behave myself.”
Dexter’s eyes bounced between us both. “Are... you both gay?”
My gaze shot to him.
Uh-oh.
Not that I was ashamed—hell, Greyson definitely wasn’t—but the bluntness of the question, the way he’d said it so suddenly caught me completely off guard.
I wasn’t used to people asking. Most of the time, they just knew.
And honestly?
I figured I was pretty damn obvious about it. I hardly had to explain myself after arriving at the ranch. It seemed like a given—especially, with the way I latched onto Wilder’s insanely handsome face and body like some lovesick idiot.
And while no one aside from Laken had actually called me out for it, at least to my face, I doubted anyone else would care.
Well, aside from me. If news of my ridiculous crush ever got back to Wilder, that might actually send me into an early grave.
Meanwhile, Greyson barely even paused before flashing a grin. “Yep. Don’t tell me your dad didn’t give you the birds-and-the-birds talk.”
Dexter’s brow rose. “Don’t you mean ‘birds-and-the-bees’?”
“Nope. Birds can totally be gay. You ever see those tear-jerking videos on Facebook about the gay swan couples raising a bunch of chicks? Ugh, gets me every time. It’s my version of those soldiers-coming-home videos.”
Dexter just stared at him, blinking slowly.
I dragged a hand down my face. “I hate that that made sense.”
Greyson smirked, looking far too pleased with himself. “Just say you love me, Ash.”
“Not in this lifetime.”
Then—totally unfazed—Dexter finally shrugged. “Cool.”
I blinked at him. “That’s it?”
He didn’t even look up as he tossed another card onto the pile between us, his movements casual, completely unbothered. “Yeah? What else is there to say? I’m not some bigot.”
“I wasn’t...”
Ah, fuck.
Now who looked like the total idiot?
And now here I was fumbling over my words like a dumbass, making it seem like I’d been expecting something different just because of the way he’d asked us about it in the first place when it was just out of curiosity. Just like he’d been asking Grey and I all sorts of questions since meeting us.
I was used to putting my foot in my mouth back at the ranch. Had a real talent for it, actually, especially when it came to Wilder.
I figured I’d left that habit when I left Texas, but apparently not.
Dexter finally glanced up again, his brow lifting slightly. “Also. My dad is literally dating your brother.”
Right.
That was... fair.
Even though I was young, I’d already dealt with a whole spectrum of reactions in my life.
There were the ones who got weirdly awkward about it, like they suddenly didn’t know how to act around me anymore—like knowing I was gay somehow changed who I was as a person.
Then there were the overly enthusiastic ones, the people who acted like my existence was some kind of fun trivia fact to throw into a conversation whenever possible.
And, of course, there were the ones who definitely weren’t okay with it but tried to mask it behind tight-lipped smiles and strained small talk.
The kind of people who said ‘I don’t care what you do, just don’t shove it in my face’, as if existing in the same space as them was some kind of political statement.
I’d seen it all.
But personally?
I didn’t exactly believe in the whole coming out thing to begin with.
Because the idea that someone’s sexuality was something that had to be announced, something that had to be put on the table like a disclaimer, felt backward to me.
It shouldn’t have to be a big deal. Assuming someone was straight by default shouldn’t be a given in the first place.
People never have to come out as straight so why the hell should I have to make some grand declaration just because who I was interested in didn’t fit that assumption?
Which was why Dexter’s reaction—or lack of one—had caught me so off guard.
No hesitation, no big response, no processing time.
Just a shrug and a cool.
And honestly?
That was probably the best response I’d ever gotten. Like it was just another piece of information, no different from me saying I liked coffee or that Greyson had terrible taste in movies.
“Damn right,” Grey said, grinning. “You should’ve seen Gage the first time he brought your dad up to us. Stumbling over his words after we caught them on FaceTime together. Like some awkward high schooler with a crush. It was so funny.”
Dexter laughed a little. “That does sound funny.”
“Oh, it was,” Grey continued. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, he never hid anything from us growing up. But it still took him, like, two whole summers to sit us down and explain what being gay actually meant.”
I huffed out a laugh, shaking my head. “That was because we both got a crush on the same guy right before we went into middle school and refused to tell each other.”
Dexter’s brows shot up, clearly entertained. “No way.”
“Oh, way.” Grey nodded, leaning back on his hands. “We were both being little shits about it, too. Neither of us wanted to admit it, so Gage had to step in and force us to talk about it. Gave us the talk and everything.”
I snorted, my lips twitching at the memory. “If I remember correctly, you nearly passed out after he pulled out the diagrams.”
Grey’s head snapped toward me, his glare immediate. “That shit was traumatizing, don’t you try and minimize my trauma.”
Dexter chuckled. “What kind of diagrams are we talking about here?”
“The worst kind,” Grey groaned. “Biological. Anatomical. Detailed.”
He shuddered visibly.
I smirked. “Educational.”
“Unnecessary.” He glared at me.
“You’re such a drama queen,” I shot back, rolling my eyes.
Grey pointed at me, eyes narrowed. “I had to sit through a PowerPoint presentation while you were away at that stupid camp, Asher. Gage had bullet points. Do you know how scarring it is to hear your older brother say the phrase mutual attraction is natural while gesturing at a diagram of the human pelvis?”
Dexter slapped a hand over his mouth, nearly doubled over laughing before catching himself. “Okay, yeah, that sounds pretty brutal.”
“Thank you!” Grey threw his hands in the air. “Finally, someone gets it.”
I just rolled my eyes again, but honestly? Even with all his dramatics, I couldn’t argue.
Because, yeah, that PowerPoint had been a little much when I’d finally gotten sat down in front of it the day I came back home from my weekend boy scout camp.
“Anyway,” Grey said, smoothly pivoting the conversation back to Dexter. “You got any high school crushes? We could give you some advice if you haven’t made any moves yet. Trust us, we’re great at giving advice.”