“You're an asshole,” I retorted. “And you're also not wrong. Colin could do better than us, but I can't say I'm not grateful he doesn't realize that. I'll talk to you after a bit.”
“I mean it, Daniel. Take good care of him.”
“I will. I promise.” When I walked into the bedroom, Colin was sitting cross-legged on the center of his bed, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. “You heard that?”
“I can't believe he's being so chill about everything.”
I set lunch down on the desk and climbed into bed behind him. Colin scooted closer until his back pressed against my chest. “He worries about you.”
“He's a good big brother.” Colin sighed. “He’s not the uptight jerk I thought he was when we were younger. Maybe Mom and Dad insisting that I room with him was a good thing. Now, we can get to know each other for real.”
“I think that’ll be a good thing, too.” I wrapped my arms around Colin's torso and pulled him back against me. “He was hurt that you didn't tell him sooner, but I think he understands.”
“I hope so.” Fuck, he should be elated about Chase’s reaction, but he still sounded so damn sad, almost like he couldn’t bring himself to believe Chase wasn’t lying.
“Either way, you can't change it now, so there's no point stressing out about it anymore.”
Colin leaned forward, making grabby hands toward the desk. “Why did you leave lunch all the way over there? I'm starving.”
“I figured you would be.” I let him go long enough to grab the food. He piled everything onto one plate before settling back into his place between my legs. “You do remember there's plenty of food in the kitchen, right?”
“Yeah, but that would've required peopling,” he pointed out before taking a massive bite out of the sandwich that was supposed to be mine. Luckily, he and I had similar tastes. “I didn't want to accidentally run into Jayden.”
“Why not?” I popped a few grapes into my mouth. Colin could eat until he was full; I could always grab leftovers for myself. I was just happy to see his appetite return.
“I don't want him upset with me. Chase might be acting all cool now, but he wasn't when I first told him. He was confused and angry. I actually had to get his sippy cup and tell him he needed to lay down and rest.”
I couldn't help but laugh. I could just imagine how awkward that moment was for the brothers. But maybe it shouldn't be. Once all of us got past our own hang-ups, we had a pretty unique little family here. And hopefully, everyone else would be as accepting of our relationship because Chase had been.
We didn't talk much as we ate. With every bite, Colin’s body seemed to deflate a bit, as if he’d used every last bit of energy and was struggling to stay awake long enough to fill his stomach. We were definitely taking a nap. It would probably be the first decent sleep he'd gotten in weeks.
I wished we had seen the signs of how hard it was on him sooner, but as I'd told Colin, there was nothing we could do about it now. Colin sagged against me and his plate slid on to the mattress. I pushed it out of the way and pulled back the sheets. It wasn’t easy to maneuver around both of us, but I managed.
“Come on, baby. Let’s get some rest before Zach gets home.” He mumbled something as we laid down, then he burrowed against my chest.
“Yeah. Sleep is good,” he muttered, a good ten minutes later. I kissed the top of his head, whispering how I felt about him until I finally drifted off, too.
18
Zach
“Cansomeone please explain to me why we’re going out with the guys tonight, instead of staying in to celebrate while everyone else is out of the suite?” I grumbled, even as I pulled on the pants Colin had laid out for me. This, someone else being in control of decisions for me, was weird as hell. I was a grown man, more than capable of taking care of myself, and yet, I got hard as soon as I walked into our room and saw that Colin had taken the time to lay out clothes for me while I showered the caked flour and stench of stale pizza off myself.
Today had been an absolute nightmare at work, and socializing was the last thing I wanted to do. A quiet night, curled up with the guys, watching a movie until things inevitably took a turn to sexual pleasure, was something I’d been looking forward to. I’d totally forgotten that we’d agreed to a little roommate bonding time.
The only thing I felt like doing less than hanging out with the guys, was going out with all of them when we’d be on display.
“Because now that Chase knows about us, we need to let the rest of the guys know. And this seems a hell of a lot easier than sitting everyone down for a formal talk about it,” Daniel informed me. He made it sound like our relationship was something they had any right to have an opinion about.
“We shouldn't have to make a big deal about it,” I complained. “If they don’t like it, they can go fuck themselves. I don’t remember Jayden or Matt and Brandon coming to us to find out what we thought about their love lives.”
“You’re absolutely right. They don’t get to say anything about us being together,” Colin agreed. “That's why we’re going to go out and act like nothing's changed. Because it hasn't. Other than the fact we don't have to keep pretending like we're just friends whenever somebody else walks into the room. Won’t it be nice to curl up together on movie night?”
As if demonstrating what he meant, Colin stepped in behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I dropped my hands to my sides when he reached for my zipper. If Colin wanted to help me get dressed, who was I to argue? Besides, I wouldn't admit to it, but I was starting to realize that I liked being taking care of. I’d never go to the lengths Chase or Matt did, but I could get into this part.
“I suppose you're right,” I conceded, leaning back against him. Colin kissed his way up the side of my neck. I moaned when he cupped my dick, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Think of all the fun I can have with you now that everyone will know what's going on,” Colin whispered in my ear. I wasn't sure if he meant it to be a promise or threat. “I could pull a blanket over our laps and tease you all night. But you wouldn’t say anything because you wouldn’t want them to know. You’d be embarrassed, but you’d be turned on, too. Wouldn’t you?”
