XANDER
Dillon didn’t get in touch with either of us until the day before the open call at McKay’s Models. Every day, Jae wondered if we should reach out to my brother, but I persuaded him to wait. I knew the silence was killing him. Heck, it was killing me. But Dillon had said he needed time, and that was what we had to give him.
Jae and I had been distracting each other by exploring areas of London I’d never visited, long, lazy walks, silliness, and lots of cuddles. We’d gone shopping for cleanser and moisturiser, and after nearly a week of using both, I had to admit my skin felt much better. Less tight. Jae seemed to agree because he spent a lot of time caressing my face. I wasn’t going to complain about that.
It was late. Jae had gone to bed because he had an early start to get to Shoreditch, where the McKay’s Models London office was. I was watching a movie and trying to get tired enough so I could join him in bed. My phone chimed with an incoming text.
Dillon:Are you free to video call?
Xander:Yes, but Jae’s asleep.
Dillon:That’s fine. It’s you I want to talk to.
Ominous.
Xander:I’ll fire my laptop up. Give me five.
I had to sneak into the bedroom to retrieve my laptop. Jae was fast asleep. His hand rested on the pillow beside his cheek, fingers curled. I paused to kiss his temple. My touch was so light that he didn’t stir at all.
Once I was back on the sofa, I switched off the TV and turned my laptop on before opening the video conferencing software and calling Dillon. He answered immediately. It was good to see his face.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Good. You?”
“Fine.”
“How’s work?”
“Eh. Boring, but it’s an income. Or it will be when I get my first pay cheque. How’s streaming going?”
As far as I knew, Dillon didn’t know about my True Fans account, only my YouTube one. If he did know, he’d never mentioned it to me.
“Good. My followers are gradually increasing, and I’ve recently had all-time highs on the number of people watching my live streams.” I sighed. “You didn’t call to chit-chat.”
“No.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You and Jae…is it serious?”
“Yes.”
“Then you need to promise me you’ll take care of him. He’s my best friend. If you break his heart, being my brother won’t protect you.” The ferocity in Dillon’s voice was palpable across the internet.
“Are you going to give Jae this speech too?”
“No.”
“I’m hurt.”
“Don’t be. You’re big enough and ugly enough to take care of yourself.”
I pressed my hand over my heart. “Now I am hurt. Ugly? I’ll have you know I’ve been cleansing and moisturising this gorgeous face.”
Dillon laughed. “That’s Jae’s influence, isn’t it?”
“Yup. He gave me a facial the other night. It was oddly nice.” I lowered my hand and ran my finger back and forth over the space bar. “I really like him, Dillon. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him. I know it’s fast—”
Dillon snorted. “It’s not like you haven’t known each other forever.”
“I know, but he was your best friend. Heisyour best friend. I don’t want to come between you.”
