Page 18 of Christmas Trouble

“Perhaps you don’t want him to move away.”

Stone turned away from his cousin because the guy hit the nail on the head. If Dave moved away, what the fuck was he supposed to do?

“Why don’t you move here with him?” Creed said.

“I’m assisting with the running of Erebus, Pegasus, and Genesis. How the hell can I do that from Colorado?” Stone ran a hand through his hair, not caring if the ends stuck up.

“Make it work.”

Stone snapped his gaze to Creed. Damn but his cousin had a way with words.

“How?”

“Just do it,” Creed said. “What’s the alternative?”

“I don’t know,” Stone said through his teeth.

“Then do whatever you have to do to make it work.” Creed’s voice was soft and calm. His cousin had become laidback and patient since marrying Kellum. And the change in Creed was damned good.

Stone sighed and turned away from Creed’s probing gaze to face the view of snow and mountains.

Figure out a way to make it work.

Was it really as simple as that?

“Fix your hair, you look stupid,” Creed scoffed.

Stone snorted, but combed fingers through his dark hair until the strands felt somewhat in order.

“Are you and Dave together, together?” Creed said.

“We are not, but not for lack of trying on my part,” Stone sighed and turned back to face his cousin. “And I can’t tell if it’s our age difference or that it’s because I’m gay.”

“What?” Creed looked startled. “The man runs teams with mostly gay members. I doubt it’s that. Have you asked if he’s gay or bi?”

“He’s been dodging my attempts to get close for years,” Stone scoffed.

“You should talk to him, Cuz. Really talk. If for nothing else but to know where you stand. If there’s no possibility, then you need to know so you can move on.”

Stone heard the words, and as much as they hurt, he knew without a doubt that they needed to be said.

Now was not the time, though. Right now he was going to enjoy the hell out of the last holiday he may ever get to spend with Dave.

Christmas Eve Night

“Hey, are you okay?” Joshua sat on the edge of the bed where Travis was reclining. The other boy held the remote and had been flipping through channel after channel.

Eyes the color of a grassy meadow locked on Joshua and dark hair fell over Travis’s forehead almost into his big eyes.

“Kind of.”

“Still feel sick?”

“No,” Travis admitted with a sigh. “But I want to be able to not puke when shit like that happens.”

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself.” Joshua closed a hand around Travis’s ankle where it rested on the bed.

“You weren’t affected.”

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