Gabriel fita burger the width of his fist into his mouth, and Sterling watched in mild amazement as his jaw made short work of his first bite. Cheese melted down the side of the bun, and some of it had smeared across the wax paper the burger had come wrapped in. A piece of bacon tumbled out, and Gabriel made a noise of mild disappointment, then set theburgerdown.
Before he could reclaim the dropped bacon, Adrian swiped it off the paper. Gabriel, mouth full, made an angry humming noise. Adrianlaughed.
“I got you extra, extra bacon.” Adrian twisted the strip back and forth between his thumb and his index finger. “Big brother tax isn’t going to ruin yournight.”
“Mmpht’s mine!” Gabriel grumbled through hismouthful.
Adrian snickered and popped the piece into his mouth. As he chewed, he met Gabriel’s eyes with the kind of amused look only brothers could get away with. “Notanymore.”
Sterling had never eaten anything from Slim’s before—fast food wasn’t really his thing. But to see Gabriel so happy, and to know that Adrian was having just as good a time, made the indulgence worth it. Besides, it wasn’t like Sterling hadn’t had a hand in the meal. Two virgin gin and tonics occupied spaces near Adrian and Gabriel. A true gin and tonic stood proud just beyond Sterling’s fried chickensandwich.
“You know,” Gabriel said once he’d finished swallowing, “There’s not going to be any bacon in Stonecrest at all. Lucian told me. They serve healthy things inthere.”
“And that’s why I’m going to make sure you have an in.” Adrian leaned toward Gabriel on an elbow conspiratorially. “I know a guy who’s married to a guy who works in Stonecrest as one of the counselors. If you end up working with him, I’ll make sure he slips you the good stuff while you’re there. If he ends up not being your counselor, I’ll make sure he figures out a way to arrange adrop-off.”
“I don’t know if I should be condoning this.” Sterling looked between the two of them, an eyebrow raised. “There’s a reason why there are rules in place at Stonecrest, just as there’s a reason why there are rules in place…elsewhere. Youdoremember how important it is to follow the rules, don’t you,Adrian?”
Adrian’s gaze sharpened, but not even Sterling’s firm reminder could strip the humor from his eyes. “Yes. But Sterling, think of the gummy bears. If I’m not slipping them to Gabriel, where are they going to go? You wouldn’t put poor, defenseless baby bears out on the street,wouldyou?”
Oh, he was good. Sterling held back a smirk. “What if the gummy bears were adamant that they could get their own apartment? I wouldn’t want them to think that I don’t believe in theirindependence.”
Adrian snickered, and when his eyes met Sterling’s again, they were lit from the inside not with anger, but with the kind of intense adoration that made Sterling’s heart skip a beat and sent his pulse skyrocketing. The conversation moved on, but the feelingdidn’t.
And Sterling didn’t think it everwould.
* * *
Late that night,after cleanup in the kitchen was seen through to completion and everyone had showered for bed, Sterling laid back and rested his head on his pillows much earlier than he usually did. Beyond the floor of his penthouse, just a few feet from where he now relaxed, another night was in full swing at The Shepherd. For the first time in a long time, he realized that he didn’t miss beingthere.
Tonight had meant more to him than the club he’d dedicated hislifeto.
The blackout curtains were drawn tonight, as they always were, but clumsiness on Sterling’s part had left a sliver of window uncovered. Electric blue light from The Shepherd’s neon sign shone through the window, bathing the room in a dull glow that let him pick out each distinct piece of furniture in the room. The bedposts, the dresser, the television suspended on the opposite wall… all of it had been collected over time to provide a sense of stability to a life that wasincomplete.
Tonight, heart brimming from how Adrian and Gabriel had gotten along over dinner, Sterling understood just how lonely he’d been. No matter how many partners he took or which relationships he’d chosen to pursue, the void inside had never been fully filled. After their mother’s death almost a quarter-century ago, Sterling had worked tirelessly to provide for Clarissa as a parental figure—but he’d never had someone do the same for him. Now, older and wiser, with his distant father buried and his only tie to the world the sister he’d raised from childhood, Sterling finally found his needs met. The family he’d never been able to have hadfoundhim.
A baby, an unofficial boyfriend, and that unofficial boyfriend’s littlebrother.
When had he ever been sohappy?
Sterling ruminated on the thought as the night passed. When at last he grew tired of his thoughts, he pushed his elbow into the bed and made a move to get up, but stopped before he’d so much as pulled back thesheets.
The bedroom door clicked as it opened, and Sterling watched as his unofficial boyfriend slipped in through the narrow crack hecreated.
Blue light played across Adrian’s face, darkening the shadow cast by the bridge of his nose and shading his golden-brown hair. He wore pajamas, just as he did everynight.
The door closed. Adrian turned, then crossed the room and climbed up onto the bed until he was straddling Sterling on his hands and knees. Sterling looked up at him as Adrian looked down, and for a little while, they held that position without sayingaword.
Then, without prompting, Adrian slid his hand along Sterling’s cheek and through his hair. His palm directed Sterling’s head back, and as Sterling bared his throat for Adrian, their lips met, and they shared ascorchingkiss.
Words weren’t important anymore. There were things that Sterling wanted to say, but they fell by the wayside. Adrian already knew them, anyway. All that was important was touch, and taste, andfeeling.
And no one made Sterling feel likeAdriandid.
As the kiss deepened, Adrian lowered himself onto Sterling. The sheets between them and the thin material of Adrian’s pajama pants did little to hide Sterling’s growing erection—nor did they hide Adrian’s, especially when Adrian pushed his hips forward to grind against Sterling’sthigh.
“Let me take care of you tonight,” Adrian whispered, his voice starved for breath. “Let me give back everything you’ve giventome.”
“There’s no need to give me anything.” Sterling stole another kiss that he was sure would lead to them stripping each other, but to his surprise, Adrianpulledback.
