Page 81 of Stick By Me

Heat tingled over my skin. It’d been way too long. I broke the kiss, breathless, then gazed deeply into his eyes. “Archer, you mean the world to me, and it wouldn’t be right to be up there with you and your family during a crisis like this and be hiding us from my family.” I brushed my thumb over his cheek.

His eyes glistened and he took a hard swallow. “I love you, Leo. I knew I could count on you.”

“You can. We’ll get through this together.” I kissed him again, my chest aching, then freed him.

Jonah opened the door from the garage into the kitchen. “Oh, hey.” He did a double take of us. “Why are you here, Leo?” He set his backpack down by the kitchen island, then strode to us. “What happened?” He dropped in beside Archer.

Archer’s lower lip trembled.

“Oh, fuck. Your dad.” With a quick glance at me, he threw his arms around Archer and hugged him tightly. “Did you hear from him?”

“Sort of. He heard from his uncle. His dad had a heart attack and will be having bypass surgery soon. I’m going back to Minnesota with Archer.” I set my hand on Jonah’s forearm,wrapped around Archer’s back. “I need to deal with a few things with my family. Can you take care of him while I’m gone?”

Archer peeked at me from under his blond bangs, his thick lashes catching in them.

“I’m coming out to them all.” I knew Archer would be in good hands with Jonah and he didn’t need to witness any fall out from my family. I focused on Jonah.

“Yeah, I’ve got him. You go and do what you need to do. Let me know if you need anything along the way, Leo.” A short smile crossed his lips. “You’re a good man. I’m glad you’re going with him. He’s going to need you.”

“Shit, I’m right here.” With a sniffle, Archer freed himself from Jonah’s hold. “You two are talking about me like I’m not.” He drew a rough breath, then gripped my hand and gave me a thin-lipped grin. “I’ll be okay.” He glanced at Jonah. “I appreciate all your concern though.” He tapped his head on Jonah’s shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

“You know I’m not letting you out of my sight.” Jonah scoffed. “And I’m going to help you pack.”

“Fine.” Archer snatched Jonah’s hand. “I have the best friends and boyfriend a guy could have.”

I’d textedAxel and Remy and made sure they were both home. In the off-chance Axel did freak out on me, I’d need Remy to help settle him down. Mom and Dad were also waiting for me to come see them tonight. I’d told them I had some news and of course, Mom had wanted to make me dinner, but I didn’t want to leave Archer alone for that long.

As I strode inside my house and into the kitchen, my heart pounded like I’d run a marathon.

Axel and Remy sat on our couch, watching the news. AsRemy twisted and his gaze caught mine, he lifted the remote from a cushion and paused the program.

“Hey, bro. What’s up?” Axel stood up and stepped to me, his black bangs falling past his cheekbone, his blue eyes focused on me. “Jesus, you look like shit.” He planted his hand on my forearm.

I glanced at Remy, who upnodded at me. “Yeah, I have something to tell you.” I swallowed thickly. Axel wasn’t going to care…much. Right? He was such a gay crusader.

“What is it?” He squeezed my arm. “Jesus, Leo, did somebody die? You’re turning white.”

“It’s…it’s Archer.” I swallowed again, my chest pinching, then straightened my spine. This was it.

“What about Archer?” His eyes grew wide. “Fuck, he fell in love with you. You had to end your friendship.”

I choked out a stuttered laugh. “Yeah, he fell in love with me. But I fell in love with him, too.” My gaze cut to Remy for a beat, watching us closely, then came back.

Axel’s brows snapped together, then he gaped, threw a glance at Remy, and arched a brow at me. “Are you telling me you’re fucking gay?” The edges of his lips twitched. “My fucking metro-sexual brother is gay?”

“Oh, shit.” I dipped my head and pressed my fingers into the bridge of my nose, then straightened. I had to be clear about this. “I’m bisexual, Axel. I’ve hidden the part of me that likes men and focused on dating women. Then I met Archer?—”

“And the hot-as-fuck hockey player turned my brother gay. Hot damn.” He giggled and flung his arms around my neck, then planted a quick kiss on my cheek. “I knew it. I fucking knew I saw something going on between you two.” He pointed at me, then turned his point on Remy. “You little shit. You knew this all along. Didn’t you.”

Remy smiled and shrugged a shoulder. “Leo needed someone to talk to and obviously, I’ve been right where he was.”

My body relaxed. Thank God, Axel was taking this well. “So, yeah, I’m in a gay relationship with Archer and it might be the best relationship I’ve ever had.” Now I needed to tell him about leaving for Christmas.

“Wait, why didn’t you tell me sooner, Leo?” Axel cocked his head. “I mean, what did you think I was going to say?” His lips tensed and he stepped closer to me. “Fucking Angie was really Archer. You lied to me.”

“Axel...” Remy rose from the couch and walked to us.

“Why would you keep this from me?” Axel’s gaze turned hard. “And from Mom and Dad. You know we’d all have supported you.”

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