Page 6 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them
André sulked.
He knew he was sulking, but dammit, he had reason to. Justification, even. He’d never been so firmly turned down, and it fucking rankled.
After his classes were done for the day, he’d retreated to the house. He sat on the couch with his laptop and scrolled through Ian’s Facebook page. Yes, André was stalking him on social media. No, he had no plan; he just didn’t know what else to do.
Felix dropped onto the couch next to him, a king at his leisure. Felix was, in many ways, a second big brother he’d never wanted but was stuck with anyway. That said, his actual older brother adored Felix to pieces, so André did his best to put up with him. Most of the time. It helped that Felix was cute. He was this bite-sized twink with ivory skin, soft blond hair he wore in a sweep over his forehead, and big blue eyes he used to his advantage. Mostly against Benedict. Felix had been in his life for twenty years, so André viewed the man more like a bratty adopted brother he couldn’t quite shake.
“Who’s that?”
“Guy who saved me,” André answered distractedly. “Ian.”
“And you’re stalking him why?”
“I asked him out, and he turned me down. I’m trying to figure out why.”
“’Cause he’s smart, would be my guess.”
André flipped him off. Dammit, who called Felix over here anyway? Never mind neither Felix nor his brother lived here, instead sharing an apartment near campus.
“Felix,” Benedict chastised gently.
That’s all it took for Felix to settle down, no longer teasing.
André honestly didn’t know who was more whipped, Felix or his big brother. He’d be utterly disgusted with both of them if he weren’t also jealous of their relationship. Besides, he was happy for Benedict. He basically worshipped the ground Felix walked on, so it was nice to see him happy after two decades of pining.
Benedict came around the coffee table to sit with Felix. His brother looked like he’d come in from a swim, his hair damp, or maybe he’d just taken a shower? He wore only a tank top and shorts, showing off defined muscles. Unlike André, Benedict bulked up easily. Really, they were such opposite in looks, Benedict darker in coloring, so most assumed one of them had to be turned and not born to the family. In truth, André took after his mother, Benedict their father. His mother hailed from France, his father from Spain, so of course the children would reflect both nationalities. Didn’t mean André couldn’t wish for a little genetic fairness.
The second Benedict sat on the couch, Felix immediately leaned back, cuddling against his side. It was all so fluidly done, one would suspect they practiced it.
“You asked Ian out?” Benedict inquired, also peeking at the screen.
“Yeah,” André answered heavily. “I don’t get why he turned me down.”
“Maybe he’s straight,” Benedict suggested.
“I mean, I did consider it, but I’ve also been told by several people that I can turn a straight man gay.”
Felix paused, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “How many supposedly straight men have you seduced, though?”
“Three,” André answered. Maybe a little smugly.
“Well, that does prove the theory, then.” Felix went back to snuggling.
Benedict’s eyes lifted to the ceiling as if asking for patience. He often did so when Felix and André were in the same room for more than thirty seconds.
“Why did you ask him out?” Benedict asked because he was an awesome, supportive big brother. He always got the parameters down before trying to help.
Seeing that he had two listening ears—and Felix may or may not be helpful, who knows?—André put the laptop aside and turned toward them. “Okay, so. I didn’t think to ask him out when I hunted him down on campus. I was just going to thank him for the help. But then I spotted him, and I saw two things I liked. One, he was feeding this stray kitten, and he was so gentle and sweet with her. Cats are my weakness; you know this.”
Benedict nodded, agreeing.
“And he was just so incredibly cute when he smiled.”
Felix’s face screwed up in doubt. “He’s cute? Really?”
Not about to let this point pass, André picked up the laptop again and scrolled up to a picture where Ian was laughing, the smile lighting up his whole face. It was, so far, André’s favorite picture of him. Also more flattering than the picture Felix had just seen of Ian covered in mud and water and looking exasperated.
Felix took in the picture, humming in agreement. “Yeah, okay, I can see it. He’s fuckable.”
