Chapter Twelve
The sound of jewel cases clinking together pulled Jesse awake. He opened his eyes, waited a moment for the haze of sleep to clear, then looked toward the sound and saw Evan sitting naked on his bedroom floor, flipping through his CDs.
“That has to be some kind of sickness you have,” Jesse said.
“I know, I can’t help it. I see discs and I have to know what ones they are.”
Jesse swung his legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed his iPod off the nightstand.
“Here. You should like playing with this. It’s got the stuff I listen to the most on it.
” He tossed it, Evan caught it. He yawned, stretching his arms over his head.
“I can’t believe we drank that whole bottle of Dom last night. ”
“Drank, licked, sucked.” Evan smirked with his eyes on the iPod as he scrolled through the songs.
Jesse grinned at the memory of leaning against the kitchen counter while Evan dribbled champagne down his body and followed the rivulets with his tongue.
As his cock showed appreciation for his thoughts, he got out of bed and walked over to him.
Evan placed a tender kiss on the inside of Jesse’s thigh.
Jesse combed his fingers through Evan’s hair. “I was thinking we could do something fun today, like go down to Navy Pier, or the Field Museum, or Shedd Aquarium.”
Evan lowered his eyes back to the iPod. “If I want to look at fish, I’ll get sushi.”
Jesse shoved him on his shoulder. “C’mon, it’ll be fun! I’ll even load your walker in the Escalade for you so you can outrun the two fans you have left, geezer.”
Evan looked up at him with a playful grin. “Okay, let’s go. It’ll be a cheap date since I can get the kids’ discount on you.”
Jesse burst out a fake laugh and cracked open his bedroom door to find the kitchen and living room empty.
He stepped out and crept over to Kenny’s room.
The door was open, the bed empty. He couldn’t tell if it had been slept in since Kenny never made it, but he imagined he would have heard him and Carrie if they had come back.
Then again, maybe he and Evan drowned them out.
Jesse sighed. After all they had been through together, when the time came their dream was in reach, they didn’t even celebrate together. He hadn’t meant to ditch him. It just happened, and if Kenny kept his attitude over him and Evan, they probably would have ended up bitching at each other again.
“Looks like we have the place to ourselves,” he said.
“Great. I’m getting a shower, then we can get out of this shit-hole,” Evan said, walking to the bathroom, his clothes tucked under his arm.
Jesse gazed at Evan’s elegant form and felt a little less guilty about ditching Kenny.
“Any extra toothbrushes?” Evan called from the bathroom.
“Use mine. It’s the blue one,” Jesse said, heading into the kitchen.
“Gross!”
“Think about our past three days together and say that again!”
“That’s different! I don’t get off on your nasty ass tooth plaque!”
Jesse laughed and took a few drinks of orange juice from the container.
He walked into the bathroom, stopping to admire Evan’s foggy figure from the other side of the shower curtain.
He looked at his toothbrush, saw it was wet, and chuckled to himself as he globbed it with toothpaste.
When he finished brushing his teeth, he pulled back the shower curtain and climbed in behind Evan.
He wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed the back of his shoulder.
“I think I prefer your shower. It’s a lot bigger. ”
“Everything I have is.”
Jesse slid his hand down Evan’s abdomen. “Mmm, we’re pretty close with some things.”
A booming knock on the apartment door stopped Jesse’s actions. Exhaling a hard sigh, he dropped his forehead against Evan’s back. “If Kenny forgot his keys again, I’m going to kick his idiot ass.”
He ripped open the shower curtain, snatched a towel off the rack, and stormed out of the bathroom, trying to adjust the towel to somewhat hide his erection. As he whipped open the door, he bellowed, “Listen, moron!”
Brandon stomped into the apartment, nearly slamming into Jesse.
“Don’t you call me a moron, you little bastard!
Thanks a lot for leaving me hangin’ last night!
But I guess it’s my own stupid fault for believing you could be considerate!
” He shoved a white paper bag against Jesse’s chest as he passed by. “Here! I brought donuts!”
Jesse couldn’t help but laugh at the last sentence and the anger it tried to keep, and closed the door behind him. “I’m sorry. Ev and I got wrapped up last night.”
Brandon faced him, running his fingers through his windblown black hair. “Ev?”
Jesse fixed Brandon with an are-you-stupid look and pointed toward the bathroom where the shower was still running.
Brandon leaned toward him, his blue eyes squinting in a scrutinizing stare. “So lover boy’s in the shower, is he? Maybe I should peek in and say hello.”
“Don’t you dare,” Jesse snarled under his breath. “Actually, why don’t you take off and come back in a little bit? I don’t want him to feel weird coming out of the shower and having a stranger standing in his face.”
“I’m not a stranger, I’m your brother!” Brandon snapped. He paced away from Jesse in an attempt to collect his patience. “What’s his name?”
“I already told you.”
Brandon spun toward him, ready to unleash another tirade, then stopped and forced his voice to be as calm as it could with his impatience.
“Jess, stop this already. If you’re not willing to tell me his name, then all that shows is you’re not very proud to be with him. How far have you gone with him?”
Jesse smiled, his eyes glazed over in a dreamy look. “All the way. I know you told me how good it can be, but I don’t think even you’ve experienced anything like what he’s capable of. He’s got skills you wouldn’t believe!”
Brandon stared at him in stunned silence for a moment. “You’re being careful, right? You’re using protection?”
Jesse heard the water turn off in the bathroom and glanced toward it. He looked back to Brandon, his smile dimmed to tentative. “Here’s the thing, I know I’m clean, and he said he was, so—”
“Idiot! What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I trust him.”
“You trust him?” Brandon roared in disbelief. “How stupid can you be? If he had any respect for you, he would’ve wrapped it!”
“Can you tone it down, mouth?” Jesse said in a low voice. “He can probably hear you.”
“Good! Let Johnny No Condom hear me!” Brandon snatched Jesse by his upper arm and dragged him toward his bedroom. “Get your ass dressed and kiss lover boy goodbye. I’m taking you to get checked out.”
Jesse staggered behind Brandon, trying to keep his towel in place and free himself from Brandon’s viselike grip. “You’re not taking me anywhere, psycho! Let go!”
“This is the last time we do this at your place. Your hot water sucks,” Evan said, walking out of the bathroom wearing only his jeans and a towel over his head as he dried his hair. He brought the towel down, draping it over his shoulders, and looked at Brandon.
Brandon gasped and released his hold on Jesse. “You’re…you’re really him! I don’t believe it! You’re really Evan Arden!”
“Shit,” Jesse muttered, flopping down on the arm of the couch.
Evan startled back a step, peering at Brandon with a wary expression as he spoke to Jesse. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, but remember how I told you that he’s a freaky big fan of yours?”
Brandon raced toward Evan. Evan held out one hand to slow him down. Brandon snatched it with both of his. “I can’t believe this! I love your music! I actually saw you in concert for the Allegro Tour!”
Jesse scowled at Brandon. “Settle down, jerk-ass. You’re having a conniption and you’re creepin’ me out, so I can’t imagine what you’re doing to him.”
Evan met Brandon’s eyes, a smirk playing across his lips. “It’s Brandon, right? Jess has talked so much about you, I’ve been really looking forward to meeting you. And please, just call me Evan, or Johnny No Condom. Whichever you’re most comfortable with.”
“Yeah, about that—”
Evan held up his hand to silence him. “It’s alright. Jess told me how protective you are of him, and I think that’s awesome, so you don’t have to apologize.”
“I wasn’t going to,” Brandon said, his gaze unflinching from Evan. “You should’ve wrapped it, especially considering what you do for a living, I’m sure you’ve been with a few more people than the average guy.”
Jesse sprang to his feet toward Brandon. “What the hell’s the matter with you, asshole!”
“No, he’s right,” Evan said, looking at Jesse before turning back to Brandon.
“But it wasn’t an issue of not respecting him.
It was an issue of getting carried away in the moment.
It happens to everybody, and I’m sure it’s happened to you.
Regardless, I can assure you that Jess’s wellbeing is in better care with me than anyone else. So let’s move on, shall we?”
Jesse looked from Evan to Brandon. By Brandon’s expression, he could tell Evan’s less than subtle way of telling him to back off had slapped the last bit of star-struck daze from him.
He knew this was difficult for his brother.
Brandon had always been the number one person in his life, and he was the last person he wanted to have tension with Evan.
It was bad enough Kenny was distant because of their relationship, he couldn’t let that happen with his brother.
He smacked Brandon on the arm to get his attention and break the tense moment.
“I guess now you know to believe me when I tell you who I’m hangin’ with. ”
Brandon slowly turned his sharpened gaze from Evan to Jesse. “You can’t blame me for not believing you. Who would’ve thought that someone like him would put up with you for long enough to get your clothes off?”
“Well, I do have incredible patience,” Evan said. “So you saw me for the Allegro Tour. I hope I put on a good show for you.”