Page 68 of Jacked
“Just?” Fender gasps. “No, there is no ‘just.’ You are the best gay romance writer of all time.”
“Ooooh, I get it now.” Butch gives Fender a friendly punch on the shoulder. “He’s a writer too, you know?”
Fender shakes his head rapidly. “No, no I’m not. Not like you. I just write fanfic sometimes.”
“Really awesome fanfic,” Callan says while Fender continues to shake his head, blushing furiously.
“Seriously? You know, a lot of the authors I know started in fanfic. If you want to send me some links to your stuff, I’d love to read it,” Cas says.
“I’ll send it to you,” Butch offers before Fender can argue.
“Holden Dickson’s going to read my smutty fics. I think I need to go drown myself in the lake now,” Fender mutters.
Once the fanboy freakout passes, Cas and Nolan seem to fit into our little group well. Callan cooks burgers for everyone and we spend the day enjoying the sunshine and swimming. The worries from earlier stay firmly buried for now, and by the time we’re headed back to the apartment, I’ve nearly forgotten them.
We’re all damp and overheated as we make our way back up the stairs in the evening, chatting about where to go for dinner after we get dried off and changed. Slater is a few steps ahead ofme on the stairs, but he comes to a stop as soon as he reaches the top.
“Um, hi, can I help you?” he asks.
I jog up the last couple of steps to see who he’s talking to. When I reach the landing and look past him, my stomach sinks and my body rages hot and cold all at once as panic surges through me.
“Logan,” I sputter, seeing my brother leaning against the wall in our hallway right outside our apartment. He looks a little disheveled, like he’s been traveling, which obviously he has. He isn’t supposed to be here, he’s supposed to be in Boston. “Is everything okay?”
He gives me a tired smile and drags his fingers through his shaggy, dark hair.
“Yeah, of course. Is it a crime to miss my baby brother?” He glances around at the three other men filling the hallway and grimaces. “I guess I should have called first. Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I try not to fidget with my keys as I fight the urge to reach for Slater’s hand. My throat feels too tight and my heart is beating too damn fast.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Logan. I’m Slater, AJ’s roommate.” He takes over the greeting when I can’t make my tongue work. Hearing Slater refer to himself as my roommate makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I hate it. It’s not right. But I need at least a minute to get my thoughts together before I can come out to my brother. What am I supposed to say? Fuck, I’m not prepared for this.
Slater shakes Logan’s hand and then pulls out his own set of keys to unlock our apartment, waving everyone inside. I can hear Cas taking over the rest of the introductions as they file inside, and once we’re alone in the hallway, Slater turns back to face me.
“Fuck,” I mutter. “I had no idea he was coming.”
“It’s okay,” he says softly, putting his hands on my shoulders and rubbing them soothingly. “Take a deep breath. There’s nothing to panic about. I don’t mind playing it cool, okay? I told you before, I’m not going to rush you to come out.”
I nod, but my stomach twists again. “I want to tell him.” I look past Slater towards our apartment door. “Let me find out why he’s here unannounced, and then, before he leaves, I’m going to tell him about us.”
“Okay. You just let me know what I can do to make this easier. Should I pull Cas and Nolan aside and tell them to cool it with the gay stuff for now too?”
I shake my head. “No, it’s fine.” I blow out a breath, then lean closer and steal a slow, sweet kiss. “I’m not going to hide.”
“You’re brave as hell. You know that?”
I wheeze a laugh and drag my thumb along his damp lower lip. “I’d rather be happy than brave, but I think brave has to come first.”
“You’ve got this. I’ll be right there the whole time.”
His words settle over me like a comforting blanket. I don’t think he just means right now either. I want Slater right there next to me for all the shit I have to be brave for, but I want him there for all the good stuff too. Always.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
SLATER
Not touchingAJ on our way into the apartment is the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever had to do. It’s been impossible to keep my hands off of him since day one, long before we learned all the fun and sexy ways to touch each other, but I’m not about to tip his brother off if I can help it. I have to shove my hands into my pockets to keep myself from reaching out to massage the tension out of AJ’s shoulders or brushing my fingers along the back of his neck to remind him that I’m here, no matter what happens.
Cas and Nolan are standing in the middle of the living room chatting with Logan. When he hears us come in, Logan spins around to face us, zeroing in on his brother with another apologetic smile. I can see the resemblance between the two of them. Logan is a lot leaner, closer to my build, but they have the same eyes and they carry themselves the same way.
