Page 53 of Stolen

“Not yet. But I think everyone’s just getting set up, so give it some time.”

“Ha, ha,” Leo said, without even a hint of a laugh. “Are we still waiting on Andrew? What about Keith?”

“Looks like they’re coming in right now,” I replied, just as Andrew and Keith walked through the door. Andrew was already dressed up in a way-too-tight suit, and Keith looked purposely disheveled in one of his basketball uniforms.

“Perfect. Let’s get started,” Leo said, looking over at Tommy and the rest of the crew. “Especially since there’s a small chance I’ll get a call telling me to shut the whole thing down.”

“Wait. What?” Tommy squinted in confusion. “Did you just say we might have to stop the shoot?—”

“Not if we get started right now, we probably won’t!”

“Pretend there’s a fire!The flames are licking the side of your face! But you’re not afraid because you’re not afraid of anything!” Leo called out, as Chris tried to sexily lean againstthe wall. He was only wearing a pair of beige pants, with Tommy telling him that he’d be able to edit on the rest of his firefighting outfit later.

Chris, taking Leo’s direction, began to dramatically run in place, his face wearing a determined expression.

“Damn. That looks pretty good,” I murmured, to no one in particular.

“Right?” Diego appeared right beside me as we watched the photoshoot. “Leo and Tommy know how to make magic together. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Diego paused for a moment before he went on. “I saw those photos. With Keith and Leo.”

I shrugged. “Not much to be done about it, even if it’s not the truth.”

“It really doesn’t bother you?” Diego hummed. “I may not know everything going on with you and Leo, but it’s pretty obvious that you two are having a moment together.”

“A moment?”

“Something special, right?” Diego shrugged. “Don’t worry. I don’t need to know the specifics. All I really need to know is what I already know.”

“And what’s that?”

“That Keith is an asshole.” Diego laughed. “Not always, but a lot of the time. He’s way too immature for a relationship. If Leo goes back to him, he’ll just do the same thing all over again. He’s like the dog who has the diamond in his mouth, and then sees his reflection while crossing a river and thinks another dog has a diamond, too. So, he drops his diamond in the river, all while trying to get the other dog’s diamond.”

“I think that might’ve been a stick, not a diamond?—”

“Leo is worth way more than a stick.” Diego held up a finger. “You and I both know that.”

“You’re right. Leo is worth way more than a stick.” I grinned. “And thanks. For being on my side with everything. I figured since all of you have known Keith for longer?—”

“You two talking about who’s Team Leo and Team Keith?” Andrew interrupted our conversation. “Because I’m pretty sure we’re all Team Leo. Except for Keith. For obvious reasons.”

“I… didn’t realize that everyone was choosing sides?”

“Don’t tell Keith. Or Leo,” Andrew replied. “They probably wouldn’t like it.”

“Definitely not.” Diego shook his head. “But if you ask anyone, you’re the clear frontrunner.”

“It’s not a competition.”

“Yes. It is.” Diego’s eyes went wide. “Jacob, do you not realize who you’re up against?”

“Yeah, man. We really need you to take this seriously. We’ve got some cash riding on this thing.”

“What are you talking about—is that Leo?” I was now looking down at Diego’s phone, where there was a photo of Leo and Keith cuddled up together on a private plane. Leo and Keith were wearing matching shades, matching shirts, and matching shoes.

Everything looked soexpensive.

“Did you show him the photos from Cabo?” Andrew asked. “Show him the photos from Cabo, Diego.”

---