“Whatever you want. Seriously, Van. Anything.”
“So good for me.” I press my lips to his and he gasps, opening his mouth and clinging to me. Damn, he’s passionate.
We stumble backward until my legs hit the coffee table and we almost fall over. I stabilize us, and we dissolve into laughter.
Before I can say anything, there’s a knock at the door. He exhales slowly, then yells, “Come in.”
The door opens and Deo and Balt enter. Deo smiles. “Hey, guys. We came to see if you want to grab dinner with us. We’re going to our favorite sushi place downtown.”
Nantes gives me an inquisitive look and I nod. It’d be good for us to spend time with his family. We can always get back to what we were doing later.
“Yeah,” Nantes says. “Let me change.”
He walks off, but I notice the way Deo is checking us both out. Balt, for his part, seems disinterested, but then again, he’s generally stoic from what I’ve seen so far.
“Happy to be back in town?” Deo asks.
“Very happy. Your family has always felt more like home to me than my own.”
“I’m sure Nantes is happy. He missed you, even if he won’t admit it.”
“I missed him too.”
More than I even realized.
Chapter 14
Nantes
We walk into Red Sushi and are seated pretty quickly considering how busy it is. I kind of wanted to keep Vanian to myself, but at the same time, I want him to be able to enjoy Madison while he’s here. My head is still spinning from what happened between us this morning, but he’s acting so normal I almost feel like I imagined it. I wasn’t this chill when I first hooked up with a guy, and I knew I was gay at that point.
I can’t believe I confessed my secret desires to him, but then again, I can. We were so close back in the day, but now that I don’t have to hide who I am, I feel like we’ve grown even closer just in the few days he’s been here.
We sit across from Deo and Balt, and Vanian winks at me, squeezing my knee under the table.
“Should we just share a bunch of stuff?” Deo suggests.
“That works for me,” I say after visually confirming with Vanian.
We each pick two or three items, and when the server comes over, Balt orders sake for everyone.
I raise my hands in surrender. “No, not me. I drank too much last night.”
“Hair of the dog, Bro,” Deo says, grinning. “One cup won’t hurt.”
Vanian chuckles. “You haven’t changed, Deo. You were always the fierce one, adventurous, taking everything in stride.”
“That’s true about him,” Balt says, gazing lovingly at my little brother. “Even how we met. We both just went all in.”
“We did,” Deo replies.
The look in their eyes makes my chest tighten with envy. In the back of my mind, I’ve hoped my life would slow down enough that I could find a partner, but even though it has, that hasn’t proven easy. The dating world is tough.
“How did you meet?” Vanian asks, leaning his elbows on the table.
“Bookstore,” Deo says at the same time Balt says the same thing. They both laugh.
I didn’t believe it the first time they said it and I don’t believe it now, but far be it from me to pry. They probably met at a sex club or on a hookup app.
