“Yep, and the Sicilians don’t fuck around when it comes to dressing like a big swinging dick.”
Val saunters into the kitchen, dressed far more casually in black jeans and a white t-shirt.
“So I made sure our boy here was looking fine asfuck.”
He slaps Roman’s ass, grabs it, then pulls him around to kiss him against the fridge.
“Hi, yes, hello,” I groan. “Third wheel roommateright here.”
Roman blushes deeply as he pulls away from Val. Then he grins and leans back in, kissing Val again before givinghisass a squeeze.
“Sorry, Eves,” Roman chuckles. “But grownupsdohave sex with each other.”
Val shoots me a look, and my face throbs before I quickly look away.
“Well, you look sharp,” I mumble at my brother.
“Thanks. It’s all Val.”
“Damn right it’s all me, baby,” Val murmurs, nipping at Roman’s ear before he slides past him in search of coffee.
I chew on my lip.
I want what they have.
The sharp banter and steamy looks. The private smiles and public kisses.
The ass-grabbing. Shared cups of coffee in the morning.
For oneinsanemoment, it makes me want to blurt it all out and tell my brother about Vaughn.
Then I decide it's the caffeine talking and I've had quite enough of it for one morning.
“Hey, speaking of roommates,” Roman frowns, “it feels like we’ve all been ships passing in the night recently.”
“There’s a ‘big wooden mast’ joke in there somewhere,” Val sighs. “Gimme a sec. I’ll get it.”
I snort, hiding my face as Roman rolls his eyes.
“Anyway,” he sighs. “What if we all got dinner together tonight?”
I shrug. “Sure. I’m free.”
Roman grins, then suddenly winces. “Ahh,shit.” He sighs. “Sorry, forgot I have a thing with Nikolai Antonov tonight.” He frowns. “Lunch?”
“Not me,” Val shakes his head. “I’ve got lunch with my dad.”
“How’s that going, anyway?” I ask. "It must be so cool to have him back."
Val nods. “It’s...going? I mean, yes, it’s fucking awesome that he’s still alive, and I'm so grateful that I get to have all these conversations with him I never thought I would. But there’s still the past. Like, I don’trememberhim leaving Vaughn and I home alone for days without any food in the cupboards so he could go on a meth binge…” He taps his temple.
“Thanks, amnesia," he grimaces. "But there are emotions that come back, you know? Sometimes, there’s a feeling of abandonment that bubbles up when I’m around him.” He rolls his eyes. “Dumb shit. I’ve been working on it with my therapist.”
I shake my head. “Not dumb. I get it.”
Roman smiles as he wraps his arms around Val’s waist and pulls him to his chest. “I’m proud of you for trying with him,” Roman says quietly. “And I think it’s incredible that he’s putting in the effort, too.” He shakes his head. “I can’t imagine what it’d be like to try and climb out of a hole that deep.”
Val kisses Rome’s forehead and then turns back to me with a shrug. “It’d be nice if Vaughn triedat all. I dunno, maybe it's because he remembers way more than I do about that time inour lives. I’ve asked him a dozen times to drop in on our lunch for even just five minutes today, but I know he won’t. It is what it is, I guess.”
