One
Did wishing Matteo no longer had feet make Elio a terrible brother?
If so, Elio was guilty and the world’s worst brother because he felt sick as he stuffed his T-shirts in a duffle bag. He didn’t just wish Matteo never had feet, Elio was regretting the fact that he had a working pair of eyes in his own head and wondered if gouging them out would help him forget.
“You’re overreacting,” Matteo said as he leaned against the closet door in a robe.
Elio stuck his tongue out, gagging when he accidentally glanced at his brother’s feet. “No, the fuck I am not.” His jeans followed and Elio glared at Matteo. “Go to New York and stay with Teo and Truman! You’ll have a bloody wonderful time!” he mimicked with a sneer around the closet and the guest room beyond. He had finally given in and moved to Manhattan to be closer to Matteo and keep an eye on the love birds for Leo, but Elio had lasted less than two weeks in Truman’s townhouse. “Ha! I have been traumatized.”
“Come on! You’reneverup this early and we got carried away.”
“In the kitchen?”Elio shuddered as he recalled the moment he wandered into the kitchen, bleary eyed and yawning, to find Matteo naked on the marble island. Truman was sucking on Matteo’s toes as he came all over the other foot.
Matteo held up his hands, sheepish and apologetic. “I’m sorry you saw all of that, but sometimes, adults have sex in the kitchen. You’ll understand one day,” he added with just a hint of a grin, making Elio recoil.
“I seriously doubt that. No amount of good dick could make me forget my dignity or do something so unsanitary. I’m not even mad about seeing your taint or worried about why you don’t have a follicle of hair below your neck. But to be confronted with…thatwhen I was seeking the rejuvenating effects of coffee is intolerable, Teo.” He snatched tubes of tennis balls and handfuls of socks from the shelves and Matteo laughed.
“Wirklich, Eli?” His head tilted condescendingly. “You’veneverbeen hung up on a guy? Never needed someone so bad, you couldn’t think straight?”
“No!Why would I want that?” Elio countered, his face twisting at the thought. “Not that I ever think ‘straight,’” he said and they both chuckled.
Then, Matteo clicked his teeth sadly. “I sincerely hope you lose your head and a little dignity over someone special. You deserve what I have with Truman and I think it’s time you focused on something other than your work. What do you want the rest of your life to be about?”
Elio shook his head. “My work is my life. And you and Truman are…uniquely suited for each other. Congratulations,” he said facetiously, gagging again. “I’m not going to fit with anyone and I don’t want to. I have more important things to accomplish,” he said simply but Matteo snorted.
“Most people would say that becoming a professor and winningsixteenawards and medals, including the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics are important accomplishments.”
“I haven’t won the Nobel,” Elio noted but Matteo pulled a face.
“Yet. The Breakthrough Prize is worth more money and look at what it did for Ottavia’s House.”
“See? I still have more to accomplish and who could I possibly be compatible with?” he asked, gesturing at himself. “Anyone who is into this, isn’t going to understand this,” he said as he tapped his temple.
“That’s just armor,” Matteo said with a grimace, acknowledging Elio’s numerous tattoos and piercings. “You’re not even as grouchy as you pretend to be. You just don’t want anyone toknow youand you don’t want to know anyone enough to care about them.”
“Exactly!” Elio said with a firm nod. “I have enough people to care about already and I barely care about them. And now I know far too much after this morning. I’m going to the Olympia and staying at Muriel’s.”
“It’s not that far, at least,” Matteo observed, causing Elio to reconsider.
“Maybe I should move to Oslo. Theo and Doobie have an extra room.”
Matteo bit down on a grin, his eyes twinkling with barely-contained laughter. “Do you think they have less sex?” He shook his head. “Doobie’s house is smaller and they’reloudfrom all I’ve heard.”
“Why? Why is that necessary?” Elio asked, completely baffled.
“One day you’ll understand. Do you really want to commute from Oslo? It’s hours away.”
Elio grunted, dismissing the idea. He’d just signed a contract with the Starlight Institute and working remotely would defeat the purpose of accepting their offer. “Even Poldi has lost his senses and he was supposed to be the serious, sensible one.”
That got a sarcastic hum of agreement from Matteo. “It struck the worst with Poldi. He’s hopelessly in love and I don’t think he’s ever been happier. All that sex and the way Jonathon worships him… Someone should put a stop to that and rescue Leo!” he said dramatically before throwing a hand at Elio.
“There’s more to life than sex and I don’t require another person’s devotion to feel validated.”
“Good for you!” Matteo held up his hands and clapped like he was at an opera, the arse. “But you should give sex a try, at least once. It’sfunand it might help you realize that other people exist and appreciate them. Despite what you might believe, you aren’t the center of the universe.”
“Then why did our parents name me Elio?”
An even wider smile spread across Matteo’s face. “The sun isn’t the center of the universe, justoursolar system.”
