Page 8 of Fragile

And with that, he shot a brief displeased glance at Ash before turning and walking away. “You can move in when you’re ready,” Gabriel shouted over his shoulder.

We both watched him go in silence before Ash turned to me. “Yay! So, when do you want to move in then roomie?” he said, pulling me in for a proper hug, full of warmth; this time the contact was genuine and I felt a whoosh of happiness.

As I watched Gabriel turn the TV off and then sit in front of the open laptop, our eyes locked. With just one look, he generated such a warmth in my belly and I struggled to turn away, he was the reason I was safe from Simon. Gratitude bloomed in my gut.

I scanned his beautiful face, he was like a magnet drawing me in. Gabriel was the first to look away, severing the contact and my stomach dipped. Shaking myself from my stupor, I concentrated on Asher who was babbling like an excited schoolboy. He had missed the look I had exchanged with his brother thank goodness.

If I were to live there without complications, my mind needed to have a serious word with my body. Boys were a complication I could do without, especially privileged, full of themselves forces of nature like Gabriel Knight.

From that moment forward, I worried for the entire journey home that I had just made a huge mistake. One that I was sure I would deeply regret one day.

Two

Gabe

“So, when were you going to tell me you shop in the men’s department?” I questioned Asher bluntly.

My brother had been fidgeting in the kitchen for the last ten minutes, clearly trying to get my attention. I snapped my laptop closed before joining him, resting my hip against the counter.

Sheepish was the way I would describe his expression and his sigh was elongated. He answered my question without even speaking, not anytime soon then? If ever.

“The kiss was that obvious then?” he said, turning to face me and losing the dishcloth.

“Yep. I’ve seen more enthusiasm when you’re playing Fortnite. Fuck all passion.”

“And the lack of passion automatically made you think I’m gay? Maybe I just don’t like Leonie that way?” Was he really trying to back-peddle now? I found the thought annoying as it suggested my brother didn’t trust me.

I folded my arms across my chest and shot him an are you for real expression. “For starters, I’ve had my suspicions for ages and you have seen the girl. Any guy with a pulse is going to want to tap that.”

“OK. Good point, if not slightly on the crude side.” Even my brother wasn’t blind enough to realise that most men would find Leonie physically attractive.

“So how long have you had your suspicions?” my brother questioned softly, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

I shrugged, taking a beer out of the fridge, before turning back to face him. “A while— and then you confirmed them when you kissed Leonie like a lump of wood. Fuck me, you made it look painful.” Almost as painful as I’d found it to watch. That jealous urge to drag my brother off her had thumped through me.

I kicked the fridge door shut with my foot; recalling how it had provoked my inner green-eyed monster. Something I rarely saw, considering I was jealous of no one; and had no reason to be.

“Well, it was painful—for me. Plus, we’re friends. It isn’t easy to kiss a friend that way, believe me, even with your sexual prowess, you’d struggle.”

“I should hope so, my friend being Max, who’s built like a brick shit house and smokes like a fucking chimney.”

Asher grinned awkwardly. “Plus, the fact that you’re both straight.”

“Exactly and they don’t come straighter than Max.” My closest friend was the biggest man-whore on this side of London.

I twisted the cap off the bottle of Bud I was holding and threw it into the sink. Ash had moved to straddle one of the chairs around the dining table on the other side of the counter. After taking a long, refreshing drink, I sauntered over and leaned on the kitchen cornerstone, watching him with curiosity. I didn’t sit on one of the high stools pushed under there, I was too het up and thought faster on my feet.

“I take it the ruse was to hide your sexuality from Garrett,” I said, placing my beer in front of me. I rarely called the man dad.

Ash lowered his head and stared down at the crystal tumbler he now clutched. My brother was a whisky man but took his liquor like a bitch. The amber liquid swirled around the glass as he circled his hand.

“Well?”

He raised his chin and placed the glass on the table, saying in a miserable voice. “Yes. You know what he’s like. I guess I’m not ready to be disowned.”

And of course, he was right. Garrett would not like any member of his family to deviate from what he considered to be normal. “So, fuck him. You are who you are. Stand up to him.”

My brother’s eyes roamed over my face as he said feebly, “I can’t Gabe. I’m not strong like you, the guy terrifies the shit out of me.”

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