Page 30 of Tameron

I snorted. “I highly doubt that. I’m quite secure in my straightness, thank you very much.”

Nash shared a look with Heath that I couldn’t quite interpret, but whatever. Maybe I had imagined it.

The movie was surprisingly entertaining, and I could see why it was considered a classic. The special effects were a bit dated, but the story was solid and the humor on point.

And god, Rachel Weisz was hot. The way she carried herself with that confident swagger, the intelligence burning in those dark eyes as she played her role of librarian-turned-adventurer. Her accent when she spoke, the way she bit her lip when concentrating on decoding ancient texts. Even the little half-smirk she’d give when she knew she was right about something. There was something magnetic about a woman who was both brilliant and badass.

And Brendan Fraser… I’d seen him before in a nineties classic calledBlast from the Pastwith the amazing Alicia Silverstone, but he hadn’t stood out to me there. But he sure as fuck did now. His broad shoulders filled out that white shirt nicely, and when he took it off… I found myself studying the lines of his chest, the way his muscles flexed when he fought. His smile was infectious too—bright and genuine in a way that lit up his whole face. Even his voice was appealing, deep and warm with just a hint of playful humor. How had I never noticed before how hot he was?

Wait, what?

Since when did I notice if male actors were attractive? But here was no denying Fraser had that rugged adventurer thing that was hella appealing. He reminded me of…

Oh fuck.

He reminded me of Dayton. They were nowhere near the same age and their hairstyles and hair colors were different, but they shared the same easy confidence, that effortless charm. And a similar build, though Dayton was in even better shape than Fraser was in the movie. Not that I had studied him or anything, but the guy kept sending me pictures of Knives with him in them. His smooth chest, his broad shoulders, those powerful thighs, that perfect six-pack that I hadn’t even possessed in my best days. Not even the scar on his stomach took away from his…beauty.

His beauty. I thought Dayton was beautiful. Gorgeous. Was that…?

Holy mother of god…

Not so straight after all. I was pretty sure that truly straight men wouldn’t salivate over another man’s body, and there was no denying that’s exactly what I was doing. Over Brendan Fraser, obviously. Not Dayton. What the actual fuck?

As I watched the movie, my head kept spinning. I’d made fun of Creek for not realizing he was into men, and now I was in the exact same boat. Somehow, I’d spent twenty-nine years considering myself straight, and now I had to admit I’d been wrong.

Dammit, that meant Heath had been right about this movie, and that plain pissed me off. Well, it would’ve been far worse if it had been Creek instead of Heath, but still. I hated being wrong, but there was no way around it here.

I was pretty quiet during the rest of the movie. When it was done, Bean let out a huge yawn, mumbled his goodbyes, and disappeared into his bedroom, Jarek on his heels. Heath and Creek followed right after, though my guess was they weren’t going to sleep just yet. Those two did love to fuck, and boy, was I grateful I could take out my hearing aids at times.

“You okay?” Nash asked as he stacked the empty plates. “Give me a hand with cleanup, would you?”

“I’m fine.”

Nash snorted. “You’re one of the worst liars I’ve ever met, kid. Try again.”

I should’ve known he’d pick up on my emotions. He always did. “How did you know you were gay?”

To his credit, Nash only blinked at what must’ve been an unexpected question. “I’ve always known. I must’ve been eleven or twelve when I realized I was attracted to boys, and that wasthat. It never went away, obviously, as much as I hoped at times that it would.”

“Your parents never suspected?” I asked as we carried the dishes to the kitchen, where I opened the dishwasher and started loading it.

“Never. When I came out to them, it was a nasty shock. I’m still pretty straight-passing, for lack of a better word. Few people ping me as gay, even other gay men.”

“Maybe because you’ve repressed it for so long? I mean, you weren’t out in the Army either.”

Nash flashed me a grin. “Not to everyone, but rest assured, I found plenty of fellow-minded soldiers to have a good time with.”

I snorted. “I don’t doubt that for a moment. You’re pretty good-looking…for a guy your age.”

I expected him to flip me the bird, but instead, he cocked his head and studied me. “That’s an unexpected observation from you, our only straight guy…”

Shit, did he know already? Had I betrayed myself that easily? Then again, it wasn’t like I needed to keep this a secret from Nash. He wouldn’t tell a soul if I asked him to keep it quiet, and he was usually the first person I talked to about stuff I struggled with anyway. He’d been right by my side when I’d gotten the diagnosis that my hearing loss was irreversible, and he’d held me as I’d cried.

“I’m not so sure about that anymore,” I said quietly.

Nash nodded slowly. “I figured.”

“How?”

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