Page 25 of Perfect Storm
“Ethan went to Portland U. Wanted to be his own man,” Avery explained, back against one side of his chair, legs dangling over the other side, his brown eyes full of dry humor. “Where did Riley go?”
“Stanford.” Aidan sighed. “He wanted to do his own thing too. Always has.” He’d spent enough years mourning that, and now there was nothing to do but accept—and actually embrace—it.
They’d had a nice big-brother chat and discovered a lot in common despite the ten-year difference in their ages.
So he hadn’t been totally alone.
But Aidan had been alone enough. Alone enough to really think. To start letting the truth of the situation with Morris really sink in.
It sucked. No question about it. He’d had his low points. Cried about it, even. One night he’d railed against the unfairness of the situation, how cruel life and fate could be, to put the one man—possibly the only person he’d ever really loved—in front of him and then made sure Mo didn’t return his feelings.
But even though it didn’t feel great, Aidan did believe he was slowly beginning to work through it. Riley, Levi, and Landry were all right; now that he’d learned the truth, the bare facts of the situation, every day was a little better than the last.
He worked out and worked some of his feelings out, too. Feeling like every drip of sweat that fell was changing him, too.
Aidan couldn’t say he didn’t think about Levi. He did. On purpose and also in passing, whenever his ongoing contract situation came up on ESPN. When it got too hard to use his stable of Mo fantasies for jerking off, he thought about that kiss in the kitchen and imagined if neither had pulled away. Andthatthought kept him fueled for a whole bunch of jerkoff sessions.
Three weeks after Riley and Landry left, he was chilling in bed, exhausted after a harder than usual afternoon workout, TV turned down low, and his phone dinged.
Rolling over, Aidan grabbed his phone, glancing at the screen. He’d kept expecting that at some point he might hear from Levi. Maybe even Levi making an offer to come back to Michigan. But he’d been quiet, apparently laser-focused on his contract negotiations.
Aidan knew he wouldn’t be hearing from Morris. Not anytime soon, anyway. The way they’d left things in Vegas, Mo had said he’d give Aidan as much time as he needed. And while Aidan did feel like he was getting somewhere, he wasn’t ready to open that wound back up again. Not yet. Not until it was a little more healed over.
It wasn’t Levi and it wasn’t Mo.
It was Landry.
I told Levi to tell you, but he’s being weird about it. Levi signed with the Thunder this afternoon, so I’m pulling a classic Aidan overprotective-big-brother move. You’ll let him stay with you, right? At least until he finds his own place in Toronto?
Aidan took a breath and then another, trying to calm his suddenly racing heart.
Levi was coming to Toronto.
Levi hadn’t wanted to text Aidan to tell him.
It was impossible not to wonder what that meant.
When Levi had left to go meet with his agent, had he known that Toronto was a strong possibility? Was that why he’d left? So Aidan couldn’t overhear and talk him out of coming to Toronto? Talk himintoit?
Did he think Aidan wouldn’t be happy about it? That he wouldn’t welcome him?
Fuck, this was going to beweird.
Good, but weird.
Aidan exhaled, slowly, fingers hovering over his screen. Unsure what he wanted to say. Knew what heshouldsay. Threeyears ago when Riley had signed with the Condors, he’d called Landry and essentially demanded that Riley move in. Insisted that Landry needed to become Aidan’s extension in Charleston.
Thank God his best friend had been too smart to do that.
He wanted Levi to know he was welcome. That Aidan was glad he’d be there to watch his back. He really was a fantastic tackle and would solidify the offensive line. He even really liked the guy. He was chill and funny and always himself; he’d slot into the locker room like he’d always been there. There were no downsides to this, except for the fact that the last time they’d seen each other, they’d been kissing in Aidan’s kitchen.
Except for the other fact that they’d promised they’d have sex in a year.
The next time they’d see each other, it would not be next year, not in Aidan’s kitchen, or on Aidan’s patio, and he wouldn’t be sharing this exact bed with Aidan. It would be in six weeks, and it would be in Aidan’s condo in Toronto, which was big as condos in Toronto went, but not reallybigwhen you compared it to just about anything else.
Aidan hesitated just long enough he felt absolutely shitty.
Landry didn’t know about the kiss or the sex pact. He only knew Levi was his younger brother and Aidan was his best friend.
