Page 4 of Ballads of Lines Blurred

The card sat between my fingers. Nothing but a phone number on cream-colored stock. A phone number I couldn’t seem to put down.

“Oh my god, why are you still staring at that?” Hale asked, exasperation clear in his tone. “It’s a phone number. Use it or lose it. Jesus.” He opened the fridge, then flinched back, like a vampire going out into the sun. I had the room dimmed, just enough to see. He dove back in until he pulled a wrapped burrito out and slammed the door to block out the light. “I knew there was one left.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t polish it off earlier.” Hale loved to eat as much as I did, and breakfast burritos were his favorite.

“I thought they were all gone. Simon just told me he didn’t eat his.”

“So, you raced down here to grab it at four in the morning?”

“I need my energy.” I knew why but didn’t want to. It was one of the joys of living with my brother and his two partners. At least we worked at Untouchable together, so our hours were weird. We were night owls, none of us on the day shift. Hale and Danny were dancers, while Simon was a guard. Even Danny, who had a day job, was up late, balancing both.

Hale grabbed a plate from the cabinet and unwrapped the burrito so he could warm it in the microwave. He propped his hip against the counter, facing me, while the burrito spun behind him, a low hum filling the room. “You going to do something with that card or is it going into a frame, never to be used, forever to be dreamed about?”

“Why would Dex give it to me if he knows how I am?”

“Maybe he thinks you’d be hot together. That poor man has been moping around the club like a lost puppy. I get it. He’s hung up on Cody and won’t let himself go near him. But…” He tapped his finger against his chin. “I’ve also seen that sexy rock star watch you while you work.”

“You’re delusional. He’s not watching me.” Not that I could tell from where I worked. It was too dark on the main floor where Slater sat.

“You can’t see him while you’re on the side of the stage, and he’s like the Grim Reaper in the back, cloaked with secrecy. The dancers talk and they say he watches you. Of course, I had to see for myself. Sure enough, his eyes were on you.”

“They’re so fucking catty. I don’t believe anything they say.”

“In this instance, I’d take them at their word and mine. They have tried and failed to get his attention.”

The microwave dinged behind him. Five foot ten and slender, my brother moved around our kitchen like he did on stage, with effortless grace. He wore a pair of silver leggings and no shirt. I was used to him dressing in tight clothes and had learned long ago not to give his outfit more than a passing glance.

Spinning the music the dancers at the club lost their clothes to, I saw a lot. A whole hell of a lot. What I didn’t want to look at was my brother in a G-string. I averted my eyes when he took the stage. At least at home he wore a bit more than that for my sake. If he lived alone with his men, he’d parade around naked.

I placed the card on the counter and dropped my head to the cool stone. I sat on a stool at the island, lost in thought for a while now.

“I don’t understand why you’re beating yourself up,” Hale said and set his plate across from my head. “You can fuck him and get it out of your system. Maybe you’ll put a smile on his face.”

“If I fucked him, he’d definitely smile,” I muttered without bothering to move. “He’s not just some guy though.”

“Why do you care? You don’t do relationships. You’re a serial fucker.”

“I wish you’d stop calling me that.” It wasn’t a new nickname. Hale had referred to me as that for years. The name didn’t bother me before. Tonight, it hit differently.

He gasped, then started coughing, pounding his fist on the quartz counter.

I lifted my head to find him bent at the waist, inhaling a big gulp of air. “Thanks for rescuing me, asshole.”

“You’re fine,” I said calmly.

“I could have choked on a pepper.”

“Yeah, that’ll do you in. Not Simon or Danny’s dick. They’re way smaller than a sliver of jalapeño.” I rolled my eyes.

When he finally caught his breath, he stood upright and took a drink of water before talking again. “God, we’re too close. You shouldn’t know how big their dicks are.”

“It’s not like we discuss them. Danny strips on stage in front of me and Si walks around here in low slung sweatpants that do nothing to hide what he’s packing.”

“You’re not wrong.” He shook his head like he was clearing his thoughts. “Okay, I’m going to need you to call Slater because I don’t like you thinking about Si’s and Danny’s dicks.”

“I’m not. Fuck,” I groaned and dragged my hands down my face. Hale knew I wasn’t thinking about his men, but this was what we did. We bickered, annoyed each other, typical sibling shit, although apparently more personal.

Yeah, I needed to call Slater. I lifted the card again and looked at it.

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