Page 17 of Complete Me

He gasps. “I didn’t say anything about a sexy man bun. But now that you have—” He glances across the table to where Erik is laughing with Gunnar. “Erik’s is sooooo sexy.” As if on cue, my brother turns and looks right at Jules, mouthing, ‘you good?’ Jules nods and Erik winks saucily at him before going back to his conversation. Jules presses his hands to his heart. “Swoon. Not even a bit embarrassed about that, either.”

“You two are adorable. You all are. I’m so happy you all found someone.”

Jules crosses his arms and looks me right in the eyes. “Don’t think I missed that you haven’t answered my question.”

When did Jules get so bossy? I give him my most innocent puppy eyes, but it’s obviously not working tonight. “How do you even know about them?”

“I was at the nurses’ station when they showed up. And I happen to know one of them. I had no clue that you also know Kaino. And who was the man bun guy? They each said they were old friends of yours, but that doesn’t quite fit with the vibe they were giving at the hospital.”

The desire to deflect is strong. But the pull to finally talk to someone about those visits wins. “Jules, you see too much.”

His eyes lose some of their sparkle. “It’s a skill honed from a lifetime of observing from the sidelines. Now spill.”

Before I have to come up with an explanation, everyone stands and starts clearing plates, moving into the kitchen to clean up. I do the same, stopping to hug Jocelin, then Gunnar. “I’m so happy for you. Let me know when you need help moving, and I’m there. I’ll be on leave for a while, so I have lots of free time.”

“Thanks, Bjorn. It’ll be relatively soon, so maybe you can supervise or something.” Grumbling, I nod. I won’t be much help with my current physical restrictions. “It’s what you do best, anyway.” With a cheeky grin, Gunnar hugs me and grabs more plates, heading into the kitchen.

Jocelin watches him go, then hugs me carefully. “That means a lot. Thank you. I’ll let you know details once we have them ironed out.” He pats my shoulder, and then he’s off into the kitchen, too.

I reach for my plate, but Jules grabs my arm, tugging me toward the living room. “Nope. You cooked. Remember? Let’s go sit.” My very petite not-quite-brother-in-law is a lot stronger than he looks. Not that he could budge me if I resisted, but I’m not, so he’s able to gain some traction. Like a reluctant teen, I follow him into the living room and plop onto the couch with only the slightest of winces. Pita, seeing we’ve left the dining room where he’s not allowed to be while we eat, takes his usual place draped over my feet. Jules turns toward me, tucking one leg under himself. “Now, who was that, and why don’t you want to talk about them?”

With a sigh, I give in. There’s no denying Jules. “Fine. They’re both exes.”

Jules’ eyes go wide, and he sits up. “Oooh! I didn’t know you had exes! Were they bad breakups?”

“No. Neither of them were. We were just busy. I was always busy.” Busy trying to keep a lid on Gunnar, and everyone focused on graduating. “I had no real time for relationships. And it seemed like they didn’t either. We parted on friendly terms, though.”

“Were you all friends?” He leans even closer, grin mischievous. “Was it a throuple thing?”

I bark out a laugh. “Oh my god, no. Those two are far too alike and yet so completely opposite. I can’t imagine them meshing well, even as friends.”

Jules tilts his head a bit and frowns. “What do you mean?”

I’m really not sure where he’s going with this whole conversation, or why I’m humoring him, except he’s Jules, and we can’t say no to him. Not that any of us minds. And what else am I doing? Not a thing. And I kind of like having someone to talk to about Xander and Kaino. I hold up my fist and start ticking things off with each raised finger. “Both are blonds. Both have light-colored eyes. Snark. Sooo much snark. Both are incredibly intelligent. Neither has any patience for stupidity, and I’m not talking about lack of education. I mean people who are willfully ignorant and proud of it. They both have opinions about everything and firmly believe they’re right about whatever it is.”

I can feel the grin on my face, and the melancholy from earlier fades, replaced by an unexpected excitement. “But Kaino is an observer, like you. They enjoy people, but on their terms, if that makes sense. They’re a quiet well of power. Calm on the surface, but thoughts and beliefs run deep.” I laugh, remembering that Jules said he’s met Kaino. “But I suppose you know that about them.”

Jules nods, considering. “And what about man bun guy?”

“Oh, Xander is irreverent, funny, and caring. But where Kaino is calm, Xander is drama. He can also be a bit pompous and a little full of himself. He’s an English professor and thinks anyone who hasn’t read the classics,”—I make air quotes around the words—“has been failed by society and higher education. He can be prickly and defensive, but he’s incredibly passionate about teaching and loves to talk about books.” I wink at Jules. “Even the non-classical ones.”

“So why not ask one of them out? Better yet, no one says you have to be exclusive. Ask them both out.” He points at me with a very stern look on his face. “But be up front about it. No one likes a player.” I blink, stunned. Is Jules giving me dating advice? I almost laugh, but then I consider the suggestion. I could do that, couldn’t I? Would either of them want to reconnect that way? Like he’s reading my mind, Jules answers. “If they didn’t want to reconnect, they wouldn’t have come to the hospital. And asking them out would determine if they want to be friends.” Jules leans in and waggles his eyebrows. “Or something more.”

Dammit, he’s right. Why hadn’t I put that together? I’m blaming the pain medication. “You think?” Okay, now that he’s said it, it’s obvious. But I’m feeling needy and will take all the reassurance I can get.

“Yeah. I do. And maybe you’ll hit it off again with one of them. Or maybe you won’t, but it’ll get you back into that mindset, and you’ll find someone else to date.”

Out of nowhere, Gunnar appears on my other side and hands me a steaming mug of coffee. “Or at least help you get laid. God, how long has it been?” Before I can say a word, he holds up a hand. “Don’t actually answer that. I don’t want to know. But get the fuck on Grindr and lose some of that tension you’re holding.”

Astrid comes in from the kitchen and sits near Jules, wrinkling her nose at me. “I don’t want to know about your Grindr plans, thank you.”

“Good, because he wasn’t going to tell you about them. Right?” Gunnar nudges my side, and I wince. “Oh, shit. Sorry.”

I suck in small breaths and pat his leg. “It’s all good. Just need a sec.”

“A sec for what?” Jocelin joins us, sitting on the back of the couch and swinging his legs over to slide down next to Gunnar.

Gunnar kisses his cheek. “Bjorn was going to tell us about his Grindr adventures.”

---