Page 59 of Ballads of Lines Blurred

“What are you bidding on?” Tristan asked, peering playfully over Milo’s shoulder.

“Don’t look at my bid,” Milo said, pretending to be serious and hiding his bid. “I don’t want you to steal it.”

“I’m not bidding on anything. Your secret is safe with me.”

“You don’t need to bid,” Dash said, stepping up behind Tristan and putting his arm around his waist. “I just bid on more cooking lessons with Vail.”

Tristan’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“We enjoyed ourselves the last time we were there. Why not get more?”

A man walked toward us. “Hartley,” Tristan said excitedly. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“Yes, well, I always love a good cause.” A blush rose up over his cheeks.

“Let me introduce you. Hartley Weathers, this is Slater, Dash’s brother, and his boyfriends, Milo and Cody.”

We shook his hand and said it was nice to meet him. Tristan introduced him to the others, including Dash and Romeo. Apparently, only Tristan had met him in-person, but he talked enough about his partners that Hartley already knew who they were.

Hartley was a fashion designer. Jordan was interested in his designs, although Hartley had to go out of town for a while because of a sick relative and only recently returned. He and Tristan started talking about schedules while we continued our way along the tables to see if there was anything else of interest to bid on.

Our table was big enough to seat the band and our men. Reed sat next to me. Things had been better between us. My romantic love for my best friend was in the past, where it belonged. Now I only loved him as a friend, a best friend.

“It’s good to be out where we don’t have to perform,” he said.

“It is.”

I could look at Reed, had been able to, and see how he was never meant to be mine. Not when he smiled like he did every time he turned Casper’s and Elic’s way. They were always supposed to be his. And my guys… They were mine, really mine. I didn’t want anyone else. I didn’t have a desire to be with another. Just them.

Cody leaned close from where he sat on my other side. “What’s got that smile on your face?”

“You and Milo. I’m grateful you’re both here.”

“There’s no place we’d rather be.”

“Thank you for not giving up on me. For coming back. I thought I was doing the right thing. Now I know I wasn’t.”

Cody placed his hand on my thigh and gave it a soft squeeze. “Don’t worry about that. I’m just glad we got to where we are.”

“You’re so damn smart, Code. So much more than I gave you credit for.”

“Stop. We’re good.”

Dinner was brought out, pulling us apart so we could eat. I really was grateful I had them both. Two people who didn’t criticize me for my anxiety. Who didn’t brush it under the rug or try to pretend it was easily cured. They were here for me.

While dressing up like this wasn’t my favorite, I had the most important people in the world with me, outside of my parents. I had my best friends, my brother, and the men who made them happy. I had two boyfriends who made me smile just by being here. There were a lot of awful things in the world. A lot to drive the fear inside me. Tonight, I was letting it go to enjoy the people around me and the great cause we were here for. Pretty soon, we’d be on tour again. I needed to have a serious talk with Cody and Milo to ask if they’d want to join us.

It was soon. We weren’t far into our relationship. Why did time matter when it came to that? Who was to say how long we should be together before I asked them to travel with me? No one. And no one else mattered. I just had to keep telling myself that so I started believing it.

27

CODY

Vail Ayers was an intimidating man until he smiled. That smile softened everything about him. From the full sleeves of tattoos on both arms to the piercings in his ears and septum to the muscles in those arms, Vail would probably have most backing away from him. He wasn’t as stacked as Greer or Peyton, but he was big enough to definitely do some damage.

“So glad you could make it,” he said, holding the back door to his home open for us.

Vail lived in a multi-story stone home in West Dremest. There was a driveway between his home and one on the other side, but it was narrow. The opposite side of the house connected to the one beside it.

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