Page 4 of Truth or Spare

“Great,” Dewey replied flatly, his instincts grumbling that he’d just signed himself up for more trouble. That was Dewey’s curse: he couldn’t turn his back on a stranger in need or ignore a stray, even whenhewas the one in need of rescuing. But for some reason, Dewey trusted Theo Hessen and was willing to give him a shot, despite having very strong misgivings.

I hope that reason isn’t in my pants. Or his…

But Dewey knew he was sunk when he craned his neck to get a better look at Theo’s ass as he bent over to check out the Winnie’s mini fridge.

Chapter Three

Theo’s first night in a Minnie Winnie had been a surprising delight. The bed’s mattress was just right and he would have slept through his phone’s alarm if Matteo hadn’t called.

“Where the hell are you?” he demanded as soon as Theo answered.

“Moagn, Teo. I’m putting myself first and thinking about my future,” he said groggily, stretching and yawning loudly. “Like you said I should.”

“I didn’t mean—!” Matteo bit back a curse. “Where are you, Theo? I just returned to Muriel’s and your room is empty and all of your things are gone. Do you have any idea of how freaked out I am?”

“First of all, stop freaking out,” Theo said calmly. “I’m aging quickly, as you so kindly noted, and you and Eli don’t need me. I’m on a new adventure and I’m hoping I’ll find myself.”

“Fine! Have lots of adventures. That’s what I wanted, but you didn’t have to move out,” Matteo complained.

“I had to leave Manhattan so I?—”

“You left Manhattan?”

“Please, relax,” Theo said with a wry smirk. He was glad that Matteo was shocked. It would wake him up as well and teach him a lesson about taking people and his comfort for granted. “I wanted to go someplace where our name wouldn’t be recognized and I might have a chance of blending in.”

“Das ist doch bescheuert. Where would that be?”

Theo opened his mouth to tell Matteo, but paused. His instincts warned that telling Matteo would blow his cover with Dewey Brooks. It would only be a matter of days—maybe hours—before Matteo came to check out Oslo for himself and see how his older brother was being treated.

“It’s better if you didn’t know,” Theo said as he moved an invisible chess piece into place.

“What does that mean?”

“For plausible deniability,” Theo returned, causing Matteo to gasp.

“I see what you did there and I do not like it. Not one bit!”

A wide grin spread across Theo’s face. “I’d apologize but I’m enjoying myself too much. I never get to be the mysterious one.”

“What if you get into trouble? How will I help you or tell Leo how to find you?”

Theo snorted and shrugged. “What kind of trouble could I possibly get into and why do you assume I couldn’t handle it on my own?”

“Look, Theo… You’re the wisest and the kindest person I know. But sometimes, you’re a little too trusting and see too much good in people.”

“I refuse to believe that’s a bad thing,” Theo said firmly, then grimaced when he saw the clock on the microwave. “I have to go or I’ll be late.”

“Late for what? Where are you going?” Matteo asked quickly.

Theo shushed him while sitting up and rising, careful to keep his head low as he stood. “It’s the first day of my future, if I’m lucky,” he said before Matteo let out an anguished shriek.

“You tookeverything!You monster!”

“You’ve looked in your bathroom,” Theo guessed. “I wasn’t sure if there would be a Sephora here and how long the shipping would take so I…took everything,” he said with a shrug. He was in the wild unknown—and aging rapidly—while Matteo was still safely ensconced in luxury and privilege in the Olympia.

“I hope someone kidnaps you,” Matteo muttered. “I’ll tell Leo not to pay the ransom and to let you rot.”

“You don’t mean that.”

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