Chapter 21
Logan
Kyle’s jeans accentuate his ass so very nicely that it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t quite hit the high notes of the Backstreet Boys song he’s singing from the small stage in the corner of Rainbowology’s main room.
Quinta is wiggling behind the counter, not even sparing a glance at Kyle, but her lack of interest in the handsome man taking part in the karaoke is hardly surprising.
I, on the other hand, feel my mouth dry as Kai, who pretty much forced Kyle to sing the next song with him, playfully slaps those juicy buttocks before uttering a shriekingly high note.
They’re both acting over the top and dancing together as if the performance comes straight from their souls. I wouldn’t usually pin Kyle as someone who wants the attention of the whole room, but three drinks in, he’s ready to roll his hips to the loud approval of the crowd.
I can’t help but laugh as I sip my Coke.
I’m driving us home, so no booze for me tonight, but I’m more than happy to watch him while sober and take in every detail.
There’s been such a change in him since we met at the wedding.
He’s no longer so tense and focused on what everyone around him thinks, and I can’t help but feel pride for the man he’s becoming.
In the evenings, Rainbowology changes thanks to the colorful fairy lights on the ceiling. Everyone is relaxed and singing along. Some of the chairs and tables have been moved to create a dance floor at the far end of the room, where a crowd of young people is enjoying their night out.
The rain outside has intensified, so no wonder people would rather be in, but it’s so warm and cozy in the cafe-turned-bar that it’s easy to forget the summer storm raging outside.
I look around, trying to fish out someone I could talk to, and there’s several new faces, but I keep getting drawn back to Kyle singing off-tune karaoke.
He looks so happy, and I can’t help but think back to seeing him hurt earlier.
He needs to let go of me if he is to blossom.
There’s bound to be growing pains, but life is filled with disappointment, and the failed wedding two months back already proved his resilience.
The crowd whistles and claps as the song finishes, prompting Kai and Kyle to bow, as if they were artistes of the highest order.
“I don’t know about you, but that performance made me feel like a teenager again,” Levi says into the mic, grinning.
His wavy hair hangs loose today, and he seems relaxed on the barstool close to the stage.
“I might have been a KoRn fan in my teen days, but I still had a poster of Nick Carter at the back of my closet.”
More laughter, even though the majority of the crowd are students who grew up with different bands. They still get it.
Kyle is off to get one of the colorful drinks Quinta is so good at making, and while he smiles my way, he’s busy chatting to Kai. I take that as my cue to pay more attention to the other guys around and there it is—a worthy target glancing my way.
The guy has that boy-next-door look I like, but spiced up with a nose ring.
When our eyes meet, I sense a connection, and the hunting instinct kicks in.
He’s sitting at one of the tables moved against the wall, drink in hand, and when I approach, he straightens as if trying to show off the shape of his shoulders.
His gaze wanders up and down my body, and while young, he doesn’t look like a freshman. A postgraduate student starting this fall? I like it when they start coming.
“I haven’t seen you before,” I start and pull on a vacant chair to join him.
“Just passing through. I like your hat,” the stranger says, offering me a faint yet flirty smile.
“Some people ask me to wear it to bed,” I say and wink at him.
“Oh, I definitely would,” the guy says and offers me his hand. “Eli.”
“Logan. I always gladly entertain a reverse cowboy.” I haven’t flirted for so long that my blood’s buzzing already, but then it strikes me that I can’t ask him over to mine.
My gaze drifts to Kyle. If I am to make sure he understands the nature of our relationship, it’s high time for me to meet other people.
We should make an arrangement that would allow me bring this guy home tonight.
It’s not like Kyle and I are anything but friends and roommates—
Despite the café being packed, he draws my gaze like a beacon, and my blood turns to concrete when I see a tall man pat his back while standing way too close for it to be a friendly gesture.
And it’s not just any man either, but Cooper, the owner of the local gym.
The dude goes through guys faster than a student goes through coffee during exam time.
He sucked me off once back in the day, but I’m well aware we’re not compatible.
Because what he wants is what Kyle has to offer, and he must be as giddy about a new face as I was moments ago.
“Logan?” Eli must have said something I didn’t hear, but I can’t focus on flirting the pants off him when Kyle is right there, being hit on by the local stud, who’d roll over him like a bulldozer and leave behind further heartbreak.
Cooper is most definitely not a guy for Kyle, who has a warm heart and an open nature. Seeing the fucker smile and pat Kyle’s thigh sets me in motion. I cannot fathom a reason for him to do this other than establishing touch between them, and I know the drill all too well.
“Sorry, I’ll be back in a sec,” I say to Eli, without even looking back.
If he’s disappointed, I don’t see it, as I plow through the crowd toward my destination.
I no longer notice the music, hearing only the rapid beat of my heart as Cooper’s hand drifts across Kyle’s back.
He is testing the waters, and when Kyle doesn’t brush him off, the bastard stuffs his big hand down my Kyle’s jean pocket, feeling him up.
I never felt the kind of fury that erupts in me when I see it happen.
Not even when I found out Kyle was my cousin’s groom.
Cooper touching Kyle revolts me, to the point where I want to fight him here and now.
And I’m not usually a violent man. This guy would chew right through Kyle and start his journey to becoming the same kind of cynic I am, and Kyle deserves more.
He deserves to have someone who really cares for him and loves him the way he needs.
I don’t think Cooper even likes dogs, so how the fuck is that supposed to work?
I bump into Cooper’s shoulder. Hard. And spill my Coke on him, forcing him to back off.
“Sorry, man,” I say, even though I’m not sorry at all.
Cooper spreads his arms and frowns at me. “Logan? What the fuck?”
Kyle’s smile is soft, his cheeks rosy as he pulls on my sleeve. He is juiced-up, alright. If he went home with Cooper, he might not even remember how it happened.
“Since when are you so clumsy?”
He’s not slurring at least.
Cooper peels the damp shirt away from his flesh and stares at me. “Are you blind, or something? Jesus.”
I glance at Kyle’s flushed cheeks once more and I’ve had it. My patience is up. I put away my glass and push Cooper’s massive chest in warning.
“Are you? Do you not see how drunk he is?”
Cooper releases a chuckle and his gym-formed body doesn’t even budge. “Really? He looks just fine to me.”
Kyle cocks his head and finishes his whisky. He’s so gorgeous with eyes darkened by booze. “I’m not that drunk.”
Cooper smirks, lifting one eyebrow. “See? He’s good to go. What is it to you anyway?”
I see red. “I said back off!”
I ball my hand into a fist and aim under his ribs, but even though he bends in two with a grunt of pain, he still grabs me by the T-shirt and pulls. There’s a ripping sound and when he yanks me to the side, I land at the nearby table, my hat flying into the crowd.
“Logan!” That’s Kyle. At least now he’s less likely to go home with Cooper, and as pathetic as that is, that’s the only thing I care about.
My ankle aches, and I stiffen, worried it might be broken again, but the pain passes. What’s more urgent is the wetness of the spilled drinks on the back of my shirt and the frowning faces all around me. Kyle steps between me and Cooper, spinning when the bastard grabs his arm.
“Is he your little brother or something?” Cooper asks me loudly enough that I can hear it through the melody of a Britney Spears song, which the karaoke participant stopped singing the moment our fight broke out.
“Hands off!” I yell and jump back to my feet despite the pain resonating up my leg. Without thinking, I lean forward and charge at Cooper head-first, wishing I had horns to gore him with.
My hands go for his sides, and the moment my head collides with his chest, I slam him against the counter with a primal scream.
I see stars when Cooper’s elbow descends on my back with great force, but then two pairs of arms pull me away from the bastard, and I helplessly swing my first at his grinning face.
The music switches to a new RnB hit, which plays louder than the karaoke, but before I can rip myself out of the merciless hold, Levi appears in front of me and grabs my face with one hand.
“Get out, Logan!” He spins around to face Cooper and gestures for him to fuck off as well, but in another direction. I can see rather than hear him protesting, but he eventually rolls his eyes and storms toward the back door held open by Quinta.
I know I’ve made myself into a spectacle and don’t struggle as Levi pushes me through the crowd. I’ve lost my hat, my T-shirt’s torn, and my body hurts in several places.
“What did I say?” Levi yells as he pushes me out into the rain. “No drama!”
“You know how Cooper is. Would you let him fuck around with a good friend?” I try but Levi is squinting as he watches me from the open door while rain soaks into my clothes and hair.
“‘Good friend’? Get a grip on reality, Logan!” He shakes his head.
I frown at him. “What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”