Page 66 of Jacked
“You said they’re both artists. They’re going to peg me as a dumb jock in two seconds flat and decide I’m not good enough for you.”
I snort. “Uh, in case you missed it, I’m a dumb jock too.”
“But they already like you.”
“They’ll like you too,” I promise him again.
AJ grunts, either accepting my assurance or giving up arguing in favor of stewing in his nerves for a few more minutes. I nuzzle the stubbled edge of his jaw and press a few kisses there to calm his worries. Cas and Nolan aren’t like that, judging people and dismissing them, but AJ will find that out once he meets them.
He makes another contented purring noise in his throat and leans into me, turning his head and burying his nose in the tuft of blond hair in my armpit. His warm breath tickles and I choke out a half laugh, half moan, my cock swelling immediately.
“Dude, don’t give me a boner right before my brother gets here.” I squirm and playfully push his face away, grinding the heel of my other hand against my stiffening cock through my shorts.
“Sorry,” he murmurs, kissing my shoulder before working his way up to my neck with little nibbles and licks.
I squirm again, but tilt my head to give him more space. How long will the cab ride from O’Hare take? How long has it already been? I might just be in a gambling mood if he keeps up with those little moans in between each press of his lips. Just as I’m about to suggest we see if we can break the record for world’s fastest blowjobs, the harsh sound of the buzzer blares through the apartment.
“Fuck.” I laugh, adjusting my now fully hard dick so it’s less obvious as I get up and hurry over to buzz them up.
Their footsteps thunder up the stairs, and I’m even more sure now that our neighbors hate us for racing each other up the stairs and generally being loud as fuck in the hallway. AJ hovers behind me, shifting his weight and fidgeting.
Cas and Nolan reach the top of the steps. I saw them right before I moved, but it feels like it’s been longer than just a couple of months. I’m hardly even the same person I was when we were all together last, and that’s some wild shit to think about.
Cas crashes into me first, dropping his bag right inside the door and tackling me in a hug. He might be my younger brother, but he’s been bigger than me for years now, broad and sturdy in ways I’m not, just like AJ. I’ve put on a lot more muscle since the last tackle hug though, thanks to my new trainer, so I manage to hold my ground, slapping his back and returning the ferocity of his squeeze. Nolan is next, but we share more of a shoulder punching, hair mussing greeting like we have since we were kids. I introduce them to AJ, and we all shuffle into the main part of the apartment, where we spend a few minutes talking about their flight and catching up.
“Are you guys hungry? I’ve got a leftover veggie bake from last night,” I offer.
Nolan eyes me skeptically and Cas wrinkles his nose.
“I made it.” AJ answers the unasked question with a chuckle, and both their expressions turn around instantly.
“You can’t possibly be aworsecook than Slater, right?” Cas says.
“Hey, I’m learning to cook,” I grumble.
“You’ve been doing a lot better,” AJ says, putting his hand on my shoulder and leaning in to brush a kiss to my cheek. It’s such a casual touch that it makes my heart race and my cheeks heat, a smile spreading rapidly across my face.
The soft look I catch in Nolan’s eyes and the flicker of a grin on Cas’s face are all the reassurance I need to know I was right. They don’t care if AJ is a nuclear physicist or the dumbest jock alive, they just want to see me happy.
“But, yes, the veggie bake is safe to eat.” I chuckle. “Orif you guys want to jump right into some fun since you’ll only be here a few days, we could head down to Hollywood Beach. Some of the guys from AJ’s gym were planning to go this afternoon, soak up the heat, cook some burgers on a portable grill, and check out all the oiled-up eye candy.” I wink.
“There’s a beach here?” Nolan arches an eyebrow at me.
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, in case you missed it, there’s a giant-ass lake. And it’s not just a beach. Hollywood Beach is agaybeach.” I waggle my eyebrows.
“This is so wild. It’s going to take a big mental adjustment to see Slater and thinkgay.” Nolan shakes his head.
“Bisexual,” I correct him, then shrug. “And it’s not so different, is it?”
“Honestly?” Cas tilts his head, assessing me. “I always wondered if you were totally straight. I noticed the way your attention lingered on certain guys when we were teenagers, but then you never seemed like you were faking it with girlfriends either, so I just chalked it up to me projecting. But it’s not that much of a leap to recalibrate and see you as bi.”
“Really? You noticed?” Unlike AJ, who’s had to unpack years of toxic bullshit, I’ve had a hard time wrapping my head around why it took me so long to realize my attraction to men. I wasn’t in active denial about it, I just straight-up didn’t notice. Hearing that my brotherdidis kind of a mind-fuck. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”
“Seriously? What would I have said? ‘Hey, I noticed you staring at that package of underwear with the half-naked beefcake on it for a really long time. Are you getting a boner over the dude or just having a hard time deciding between boxers or briefs?’”
I snort a laugh. “Yeah, that would’ve been perfect, actually.”
“Well, I’m sorry. Next time I notice latent sexual tendencies that you’re possibly in denial about, I’ll be sure to bring it to your attention.”
