Alex and I get out of the hot tub and head upstairs with the rest of the guys. For some reason, Alex gives me a wide berth, but I’m not complaining. With the shower running, and the door closed, I finally have a minute to lay down and relax. I doze off, but it’s all too soon that the bathroom door is opening.
I expect Alex to come out in a towel and be in my face, but he comes out fully dressed in a tight black t-shirt that clings to his skin enough to show the outline of his pecs. A silver chain on his neck glints off the light. It looks like a choke chain, but fancier. Like it cost him a decent chunk of change. He runs his hands through his dark hair and clears his throat.
“Ready?”
A flash of him naked in the shower pops into my head, and I jerk upwards.
I grunt my response, not wanting to stare and give him the wrong idea. We meet the others in the hallway to figure out what the plan for the day is.
We split into two groups because we want to do different things. But of course, Alex wants to do everything I want to do.
He gives off so much little brother energy, it’s not even funny. Every time he’s around me, I’m grateful I don’t have any siblings to deal with. I have an older sister who’s older than me by twelve years and she’s much smarter because she got the fuck out of dodge the moment she could. Apparently she’s married with kids and happy as a pig in shit. She sends me a card on Christmas and my birthday, and once told me that when I’m ready to leave, she’ll be there. But I’m doing my own thing over here, trying to make my own life. I don’t need the disappointment of reaching out and her ignoring me. So, I’ll figure life out on my own.
“What are we doing first?” Alex asks.
“Coaster is this way, the wheel is that way,” I say, pointing in the direction they’re in.
“Let’s start with the wheel,” Andre says.
“I agree,” Hudson adds. “Give me some more time to settle before I go through loops.”
We make our way to the High Roller, passing a ton of places we stop on the way. Clothing stores, chocolate, ice cream, all of it.
I hate shopping. I don’t see the point in it. If you know what you want, there’s no need to browse around for shit you don’t need. I guess I’m the odd man out though, because I’m dragged through too many different stores and walk out with nothing while they all have bags hanging off their arms.
“You okay?” Alex asks, his voice strangely concerned.
I glance at the watches and necklaces in the display case. Hudson wants to get a necklace for his mom and so we ended up in this fancy as fuck jewelry store. Everything in here is nice, there’s no denying that, but none of it is my style.
“Fine.”
I expect him to argue with me, because that’s what he always does. He never takes no for an answer and has to push my buttons. Unfortunately, he knows where each of them is.
He shrugs and says, “Okay,” before heading to the other end of the store. He’s been acting weird all day. Weirder than usual, which is saying something.
When we finally get to the wheel, we head inside and buy tickets and end up inside a cart with a few other people considering it’s huge. I had no idea it was going to be like this, with glass all around. It’s fucking amazing,and I bet the view is even better at night with everything lit up.
The guys chat animatedly as they look down at the city below that seems tiny from all the way up here. The sphere is lit up like a happy-face emoji, looking around the city excitedly. That thing is pretty cool, and if we can catch a show there, I wouldn’t be mad about it.
“Beautiful, huh?” Alex says quietly as we look through the tinted glass.
I grunt a response, and that’s all he’s getting.
“You don’t have to hate me, you know,” he says.
“I don’t hate you,” I say. “You’re just annoying.”
He shrugs, keeping his gaze out the window.
“So I’ve been told.” His smile falters for just a moment, but it’s soon replaced by the sly grin I’m more than familiar with.
My biggest issue with Alex isn’t that he’s annoying. It isn’t that I caught him jerking off or find him staring at me all the time. It isn’t that he’s bi and probably thinks about putting his dick in my ass. It’s that I know beneath his layers and layers of loud and obnoxious, he’s sad just like me.
Chapter Six
Alex
I lean back in my seat on the bus, closing my eyes for just a moment. I’m not nearly drunk enough to handle the guys and their overexcitement, or their mad rush to drink everything under the sun. If they don’t slow down, they’re going to end up shitfaced and puking their guts out before we hit the second club tonight. But I guess that’s the college kid thing, right? Hurry up and throw up so you can do it all over again.
