Page 116 of Off Limits

“Were you always this amazing? I swear you used to be an asshole.”

He laughed, his smile big and genuine and so bright my chest went warm, and I couldn’t help grinning back at him. I used to love pissing him off, now I loved making him smile.

“I was always this amazing. I just didn’t let anyone see it.” He slid his hands down and cupped my ass. “Does that sound familiar at all?”

“I may be able to relate to that.” I grinned down at him, still trying to process everything that happened since we lay down.

My joy faded as an ugly thought invaded my mind.

“What’s that look for?” he asked.

“What are we going to do about our parents?”

“Tell them.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“It can be if we want it to be.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think telling them is the best strategy. We could try to hide it, but how long would that last? They’ll find out we’re living together eventually. That will be enough to make them butt into our business until they get answers.”

I sighed. He wasn’t wrong. Our parents might be completely detached from our lives and want nothing to do with us unless they could get something out of us, but they were nosy as fuck and felt entitled to all the details of our lives when it suited them.

There was no way in hell they’d ever leave us alone if they suspected something might be going on between us.

I’d already had to deal with my mother after the kids told her about Dex coming over to babysit with me. Thankfully that conversation had been over text, so I just said he stopped by for a few hours to spend some time with the kids and left when theywent to bed. She’d accepted that at face value and made a few comments about how wonderful it was that Dex wanted to be so involved with them, and that was that.

I couldn’t have pulled that off if we’d been talking face to face, and there was no way I could go back to pretending I disliked him and not have her see through me like I was made of glass. My mother might not like me, but she knew me, and she knew exactly how to set me off so I’d tell her exactly what she wanted to know.

“Are you worried about how they’ll react?” I asked.

“Not really. I’m sure they’ll have issues with it, but whatever. We’re adults, and we’re not related. They don’t get a say in our lives anymore. Especially after ignoring us for the last eight years and treating you like their errand boy and babysitter.”

“And you like a prized pig at the fair.”

He laughed. “That’s a scarily accurate description of how I feel every time I have to be around them and their friends.” He paused, a thoughtful look crossing his handsome features. “What about the kids? Do you think they’ll be able to handle it?”

“I think so,” I said. “Ruby and even Tanner are too young to really understand dating or relationships. Chloe has a better grasp on it, but I think even she’s too young to put adult thoughts and feelings onto those kinds of things.”

“What do you mean?”

I rubbed my cheek against his chest. It meant a lot that he was asking my opinion on this and deferring to me since I’d spent more time with them. “They’re still young enough that they still see the world through the lens of a child. It might be confusing for them because we’re boththeirbrothers, but they know we’re not related to each other. They also know I’m gay, and it's never been an issue. Chloe constantly asks me if I have a boyfriend, and Tanner’s told me he hopes he grows up to be gay too because boys are more fun than girls.”

Dex chuckled softly. “I remember thinking that when I was a kid and learned what gay was. Maybe that was one of the early signs I missed.”

“You never know. I don’t remember if I thought anything like that, but I didn’t even like people until you, so I might not be the best metric for measuring future LGBT status. But think they’ll be fine as long as we talk to them before our parents can put it in their head that this is somehow not okay or weird.”

He gave me a little squeeze that felt way too good. “Yeah, that makes sense. Do you think we should do it right away, or wait until the next time we see them?”

“I’m not sure. What do you think the odds of them finding out before we can talk to them are?”

He paused. “Not that high. As far as I know, they’re not friends with any of my friends’ parents. And I can’t see the info getting to them through any of their contacts.”

“Then I think we should wait. I want to enjoy this before I have to stress out about that conversation.”

He chuckled. “I completely agree.”

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