Chapter Six
“Jesus! Can younot?”Drew said, swatting Bas’s hand away from his ribs. He focused determinedly on the tiny soccer players running across the TV screen and tightened his grip on the gamecontroller.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Bas tilt his head like he was pretending to ponder theanswer.
“Nope. Sorry. I’m afraid I’ve got to,” Bas said, before reaching out, with both hands this time, to tickle Drew again. One of Bas’s large, warm hands latched onto the faded t-shirt Drew had borrowed, while the other fisted into the borrowed sweatpants riding on Drew’ships.
It was a lot like a fantasy Drew had had more than once, except in his dreams, Drew wasn’t one goal away from a victory, and Bas was holding him down for a far more compellingreason.
He elbowed Basfutilely.
“If this were a real soccer game, you’d have to dodge defenders, McMann, and deal with distractions.” Bas’s voice was breathless with laughter. “I’m just helping to make this morerealforyou.”
“No, you’re arealcheater! Stop! Foul! Penalty!” Drew yelled, squirming to the side and holding his arms clear. He focused on the screen, punched a button, and the crowd on the screen erupted into cheers andscreaming.
“No!” Bascried.
“Yes! Goooooooooal!” Drew said, jumping off the couch to pump his fists in the air. He smirked at Bas, who’d sprawled face-down and groaned into the cushion when the evidence of Drew’s vast FIFA superiority had flashed on the screen. “I’d like to thank everyone who made this victory possible, namelyme. I dedicate this win to Dragon Puzzler, for the hours of intense strategy and hand-eyecoordination.”
“You match jewels,” Bas mumbled into the pillow. “It’s not rocketscience.”
“And,” Drew spoke over him. “I’d like to thank all the haters, namelyyou, for inspiring me to be the championI amtoday.”
“So humble,” Bas muttered into the pillow. He slouched back into the deep red cushions and glared at Drew in annoyance. “Such a rolemodel.”
“One of my gifts,” Drew agreed, resuming his seat. He looked over at his friend and grinned. Pouty Bas was adorable… and Drew had missed him so damnmuch.
Drew pulled his knee up to sit sideways on the sofa, draping his elbow over the back cushion so he could look at Bas fully. His dark hair was mussed and flopping across his forehead, dark lashes framed his blue eyes. His strong jaw and the broad chest that stretched out his t-shirt made him look like the football player he’d once wanted to be. Up in his closet, Drew knew Bas had a dozen thousand-dollar suits. His garage boasted both a sleek restored Charger and an Escalade. He had some of the most influential scientists, politicians, and businessmen in the world on his speed-dial. But looking at him now, no one would recognize him as a tech genius, or one of the richest men in Boston. With that sulky look on his face, he seemed more like a pissed off teenager who hadn’t had enough sugarrecently.
And Drew had to curl his outstretched hand into a fist to resist the urge to smooth the hair off the man’sforehead.
Fuck.
This plan to get over Bas was stalled at the startingline.
When Bas had invited him in tonight, Drew had been so very close to sayingnoand hurrying back to the safety of his suburban house alone. Even now, despite the fun of beating Bas at FIFA - a joy that never got old, really - Drew wasn’t sure he’d made the right decision. He was in a weird place tonight, a little too vulnerable and way, way too aware of the man sharing the sofa withhim.
The revelation Bas had shared about his relationship with Amy was fucking with his mind. It hurt that Bas had never confided in him about it, yeah. And it sucked that Bas had been about to tie himself to someone he didn’t love. But what Drew hadn’t admitted in the car was that it fucking killed him to think of how their engagement had broken Drew’s heart… and forno goodreason.
Drew remembered with painful clarity the gut-cramping grief he’d felt the day Bas had decided to ask Amy out. Their parents had been trying to set the two of them up for years - Amy, with her sweet smile and boundless enthusiasm had seemed like the perfect foil for Bas’s intensity and single-minded focus. Bas had always found a way to wriggle out of it, though, telling Drew privately that although Amy was pretty, she was about as exciting and transparent as tissue paper. Bas never planned to settle down - he liked focusing on his work, hanging with Drew, and occasionally hooking up with random girls when the urgestruck.
Drew had let himself believeit.
Then one random Saturday afternoon, he and Bas had been sitting on this very couch, playing games, trash-talking, and wrestling just as they’d done tonight, just as they’dalwaysdone. Bas had pinned him to the couch, childishly pissed about losing a game as healwayswas, and Drew had been overwhelmed with affection for the man. He’d smiled at Bas - open, unreserved, andunrestrained.
Bas had suddenly sat up and brought Drew’s mind to a crashing halt with just onesentence.
“So, I’m thinking of asking your sisterout.”
At first, Drew had laughed out loud. But Bas hadn’t beenjoking.
“It’s time I stopped screwing around and got serious. We’re getting older, counselor,” he’d joked. “And besides, your sister’s cute. Like you but, you know, awoman.”
And Drew, like the fucking martyr he’d let himself become, had smiled through the blinding pain of that, had nodded and said all kinds of bland, encouraging things, but Bas had known, goddamn him, that Drew wasn’t really okay. Because sure enough, Bas had asked Amy out - had started escorting her to events and taking her out to dinner to the delight of their mothers. But he had never done more than peck her cheek when Drew was around. And he’d never discussed her with Drew again… until the day he’dproposed.
“It’s time to make things permanent. Amy’s ready. But I promise, nothing between us will change, Drew, except that we’ll finally befamily.Forreal.”
Drew couldn’t remember ever drinking as much as he had the night he’d realized that the love of his life would be marrying his sister. The only way he’d reconciled himself to the idea even atinybit was with the knowledge that surely Bas must be deeply in love, even though Bas had never volunteered that information and Drew sure as fuck hadn’tasked.
