Page 17 of Bulletproof
“That’s part of the problem,” Alan argued. “We love the parties, but these open house, anything goes, giant fuck fests gotta stop.”
Jeremy picked up on Alan’s line of reasoning. “We don’t know who the hell’s out here after me and Alan go to bed, or what the fuck they’redoing.”
“Security’s here,” Derek replied, pissed off about where the conversation was headed.
“I don’t care.” Alan stood his ground. “I don’t want a bunch of strangers fucking on our furniture. We could be sitting in a cum stain right now.”
Cam, who was sitting on the other side of Jeremy, shot to his feet and cringed. “That’s disgusting.”
Brandondraped an arm around Cam. “Which is exactly why we stay in our own suite.”
“That’s another thing.” Alan addressed Brandon. “Since we’re not gonna be having these wild parties anymore, or people fucking all over the place, there’s no reason for you and Cam to stay in a separate suite.”
“We miss you, Bran!” Jeremy exclaimed. “We want you back. You too, Cam. And Brandy.”Jeremy called the dog up on the couch and gave her a hug.
Brandon’s bright blue eyes turned sappy, and he placed his hand over his heart. “That means so much to me, you guys. I miss staying in the same suite, too. Hanging out all night. Spur of the moment, middle of the night writing sessions. Or just bullshitting together. But it’s up to Cam.” He smiled at Cam with big puppy-dogeyes.
Cam paused to contemplate his answer, while a skeptical squint permeated one eye. “No more wild parties full of groupies trying to score with my guy?”
“Not here,” Alan answered. “Not in our suite.”
“Well . . . OK. It sounds like fun.”
Brandon grabbed Cam by the back of his neck and pulled him in for a hard kiss. “Thank you, baby.”
The dog barked happily.
Alan and Jeremy high-fived each other and let out a simultaneous, “Woo hoo!”
Derek listened to the upcoming changes. He loved that Brandon would be moving back into the suite and bringing Cam and Brandy, but he couldn’t get past the vote to eliminate parties in the suite. He stood with his arms folded across his chest, slowly shaking his head.“No afterparties? That fucking blows.” His friends stared at him, confused by his posture. They didn’t get it, and Derek’s spirit deflated. His shoulders fell and his arms hung loosely at his sides. He suddenly felt like he was an outcast in their group of friends, left out as the only single guy in the mix. He sighed with resignation and pushed his fingers through his hair. Everything had changed.Everything would be different from now on. Two of his best friends were now lovers.
Brandon, Derek’s oldest and closest friend, had been the first to settle down. And that was fine. But when Jeremy and Alan got together, it really made Derek see how his friends were moving on to the next phase of their lives, while he was happily living his life in the present. He wanted things tobe the same, the way they had always been.
“Come on, man.” Jeremy stood and wrapped a brotherly arm around Derek’s shoulder. “Don’t look so upset. We still love you. We’re not throwing you out or anything like that.”
“Fuck no!” Alan jumped up and placed a hand in the center of Derek’s back. “I hope that’s not what you’re thinking.”
“No, I’m not, it’s—”
“Listen,” Alan interrupted. “We can still have parties. Just not here. We can rent a suite in the same hotel. Down the hall or on another floor.”
Brandon and Cam both stepped forward, so now they all formed a semi-circle of support around Derek.
“Why don’t you find a boyfriend?” Cam suggested. “We could be three couples!”
A laugh flew from Derek’smouth. “Wait a minute now.” He held his hands up and took a step back from the peer pressure of entering into a committed relationship. “I like my freedom. If you guys want to settle down, that’s fucking great. Not me.” He’d never seen his friends happier, and he’d never been happier for them. Cam was a great guy. Totally opposite of Brandon. He was a preppy, corporate executive, and Brandon wasa long-haired, tattooed rock star. They were like night and day, but they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. They complemented each other perfectly, and their relationship worked.
As for Jeremy and Alan, hell, those guys were cut from the same cloth, as alike as two people could be. He didn’t begrudge them anything. He only wished his friends were as wild and crazy as theyused to be. Sadly, those days were gone. Derek was on his own, and he was ready to take on the world.
He broke through his semicircle of friends and jumped onto the coffee table, arms raised in the air. “I’m the last man standing! And you’ll never take me down, motherfuckers! I dare anyone to try to tame the awesomeness that is Derek MacAlister!”
His friends all laughed.
“Get off the coffee table, you psychopath,” Brandon said.
“The coffee table was made for dancing!” He rocked his head back and forth so his hair whipped around his face. “It’s my own personal stage!”
“So I noticed.” Cam looked down at the coffee table. “Just please don’t claim the dining room table as your dance floor, because if I’m moving into the suite,I’m not eating off a table that you’ve been walking on.”
“Cam, you drive a hard bargain, but I think we can come to an agreement. The dining room table is off limits.” He strutted back and forth from one end of the coffee table to the other doing his best Mick Jagger impersonation. “But the coffee table is still my catwalk.”
