Page 57 of Home Game

And near the bottom of the list, one of them caught my eye: Racks Superstores.

I furrowed my brow, looking closer at the photo. “You posted this online? Last night?” I asked Storm, a flash of panic hitting my chest.

“It was one of a couple pictures I posted,” Storm said. “The one after it was cute, too.”

Chase scrolled up to show a picture of Storm, still shirtless, this time sitting on his kitchen counter.

All of this gets renovated, starting tomorrow. Can’t wait to transform my house with the Fixer Brothers.

“Chase!” the director of the show called out from inside the house. “Can I get a hand with this framing in the living room?”

“Coming.”

In another moment it was just me and Storm standing on the front doorstep.

My heart was pounding already.

“What is wrong with you?” I said, my voice low.

Definitelynotcalm. Not friendly and professional. But I couldn’t believe what I had just seen.

“What?” Storm asked.

“Don’t play dumb. You called out Racks the night before renovations start. You really do want to ruin this deal for me, Storm. For the Fixer Brothers, too.”

“That list of companies is going around all over the internet, right now,” Storm said. “I’m only one of hundreds of people posting it. And yes, Emmett, I stand up for what I believe. I’m never going to stop doing that.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Something flashed in his eyes. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means that you haven’t done the research, and I have,” I cut back at him. “There aren’t any homophobic donations coming from Racks. There wasoneexecutive linked with an anti-LGBTQ+ organization, twelve years ago, and he was swiftly fired the moment it was found out.”

Storm was quiet. Finally, foronce,shutting his damn mouth.

“Racks Superstores actually donates to multiple charities thathelpthe community,” I said. “Not to mention the fact that their vice president is a bisexual woman with a gay son, and for the last decade, they’ve been focused on inclusivity more than almost any other major corporation.”

I felt raw in a way that I never had before. I’d been trying for so long to keep composure around Storm, and I’d been failing in small ways the whole time.

What did I want?

What did I want fromhim?

It wasn’t just about the Racks deal. The deal mattered to me, but there was something more. Like there was an active volcano inside me, ready to burst from the smallest provocation.

Storm’s expression was serious. “I didn’t know that.”

“Of course you didn’t,” I said, words starting to spill out of me beyond my control. “Because you don’t actually do the research. You just want to fuck with me. That’s all it’s ever been.”

“Emmett—”

“Because you’vehatedme since the moment we met, for no reason,” I said, hurt coming up inside of me that I didn’t realize was there. “You think I’m someone I’m not, and I’m so tired of it.”

“Morning, boys!” a chipper voice came from behind us. I pulled in a shallow breath as I turned to see Nathan, Shawn, and Charlie getting out of their work van, all dressed in their construction clothes and ready to kick off day one of renovations.

You can’t help what you feel, but you can help how you behave.

I needed that advice now more than ever.

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