“I can see that it does.” With his finger caressing her cheek, he kissed her on the forehead. “Whatever it is, we can talk about it.”
Gina rubbed her lips together and exhaled. “Are you bisexual? And before you answer that, I want you to know it’s okay if you are. It doesn’t change anything.”
The words tumbled from her mouth with such earnestness that his eyebrows shot up, then, holding onto her thighs for support, laughter bubbled up from his chest. “No, I’m not.”
“I knew he was lying.” She lifted her chin, a smile crossing her face. “Told him so, too.”
“Who?”
“CJ.”
That motherfucker.
“He’s such a dick. I can see why the band fired his ass.” Her legs around his waist cinched tighter, holding him between her thighs. “I mean, c’mon, did the guy really think I’d believe that you fuck other men?”
“Uh… well…” He had, and he wouldn’t deny it. Matt cleared his throat. “I have in the past.”
“Wait, you just said—”
With the fragrant aroma of her rosemary bread filling the kitchen, he sealed her lips with his own. Then he kissed her, pressing the erection in his jeans against buttery-soft silk to remind her who he got hard for. “Because I’m not.”
“I don’t understand.”
With a slight headshake, Gina’s hazel-green gaze clouded, and Matt was reminded just how innocent she was until he got his filthy hands on her. This is what Sloan warned him about, and why Tony didn’t want them to be together.
He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “Yeah, I’ve fucked a dude, but that doesn’t mean I’m bi.”
“What does it mean then? Bi-curious?”
“It doesn’tmeananything.” Holding her face in his hands, Matt looked into the eyes he loved. “I’m attracted to women—you, specifically. And the fact that I’ve had sex with men on occasion doesn’t change that.”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
He lowered his forehead to hers. “A person’s sexuality isn’t as definitive as you might think.”
“So, you’re not attracted to men?” Gina asked, playing with the hairs on his chest. She sounded so hopeful.
“No.”
“But you’ve fucked them.”
“Yes.”
Her head flicked back slightly. “Why?”
To let the beast out.
He wasn’t about to say that, though.
“Because I could.”
There was something about playing in Bo’s basement. Familiarity. Comfort. A throwback to the days of their youth. Matt couldn’t quite put his finger on why, but down here the music flowed effortlessly, as if the songs were already written in their final form, when in reality they were merely rough outlines of what they would eventually become. With every session, the band of brothers came closer to perfecting their sound.
The deal with UMG was still on the table, and Brendan wanted to have demos ready to go when they asked for them.
After the bullshit with their former label, Matt wasn’t sure it was a good idea to sign with another. In the three years since they’d gone indie, Venery had managed to put out two albumsthat went platinum and sell out a tour on a schedule convenient to them, yet he couldn’t deny the advantages Universal could offer. He just hoped they wouldn’t have to sell their souls or hand over the masters in exchange.
Jesse came down the stairs, Brendan trailing along behind him. The cousins took a seat at Bo’s piano in the corner, listening quietly until they finished the song they were playing.
