I hadn’t meant it to be a threat, I was more curious about what would happen. Testing the waters, sort of. I wanted to see if he’d open up to me, so I didn’t have to make assumptions, which got me in trouble more often than not.
“Wouldn't I? You might want to think about that,” I warned him, chuckling so he’d hopefully understand I wasn’t being serious.
“You’re a big meanie,” Chase protested, shoving me backwards. The little shit caught me off guard and I actually stumbled. “I don't know if I like this new side of you.”
My heart sank, even though I was mostly certain he was joking.
He stepped up in front of me, placing a hand on my arm. “I'm sorry, Zach. That was mean. But what happens between us, stays between us. Right, Matty?”
Matty?That was new. Or maybe not. As I thought about the past few months, I remembered hearing Brandon call him that, but I’d assumed it was just a pet nickname.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized before Matt could respond. “I don’t know the rules yet, so you might have to teach me. I don’t want to mess up and not be allowed to play—”
“Wait a minute,” Matt interrupted. “Are you…you know…too?”
To my credit, I managed to not laugh out loud. I shook my head. “Oh, no, I'm not. Not if you’re what I think you are.” This was the worst possible place to be talking about this. A few other groups joined us, all of them laughing and talking animatedly. I heard some of them making wagers, similar to the one I had with Chase. They didn’t need to hear this. “But it's okay if the two of you are. I'm sorry if you felt like you had to hide things from me before. I really was an asshole, wasn't I?”
“Gee, you think?” Matt scoffed. Unlike Chase, he plopped his ass in the wet grass and started tugging at his shoelaces. The tip of his tongue peaked out from the corner of his mouth, and he scowled as he muttered something about stupid double knots.
“It's okay though,” Chase assured me. “The important thing is, you know now, and you can fix it. You don't think it's weird? You said some pretty mean things to me when I was looking for that Pikachu Pop last year. Told me to act my age.”
“That’s because I didn’t understand,” I explained. “And I’m really sorry. That was a dick move, and Jayden had every right to want to kick my ass for it. I mean, he did even before now, but man, if I was him, I don’t think I could have held back.”
“You’re being seriously cool about this.” Matt looked up at me, taking a break from wrestling with his shoelace. I was about to suggest he not worry about it, and kick his shoes off like Chase had, when he cried out in victory, tossing his shoe in the air. He was crazy, but cute, too. “Are you sure you’re not even a little curious about it? I was at first, and I even said I didn’t want it because I didn’t think Bran would be into it, but he is. And he’s the best, except when he tells me I can only have one treat.”
“See, even if I thought I might be…you know,” I said, parsing my words because the crowd was growing, “I couldn’t do it. No way am I letting someone tell me I’m eating too much junk food.”
“But we get to play, too,” Chase protested. “It’s notallrules and punishments. And even those are fun sometimes.”
“Dude, nothing personal, but I don’t want to hear about what you guys do behind closed doors,” I complained. And I knew just how to shut them down before we reached the TMI zone. “I mean, you can if you want, but then I get to talk about my sex life, and that means you’re going to hear what your brother likes doing to me.”
“That’s gross!” Chase squealed. “No way. Nope. Never mind. I don’t need to know. It’s bad enough I saw his search history.”
“From what I heard, that’s payback for giving him a computer that you hadn’t wiped the evidence from,” I pointed out. “But thank you for that, because it helped Colin learn all sorts of—”
Chase clamped a hand over my mouth. “No! Do not finish that sentence, otherwise I’m going to tell Colin that you were mean to me, and you know he’ll find a way to punish you.”
“Lucky for me, I’ve learned to like punishments,” I quipped. “And you were the one who said what happens between us stays between us.”
“Yeah, well, new rule,” Chase said with a very serious expression. “That doesn’t include if you start telling me about my brother’s sex life. There has to be a limit.”
“Deal.” I held out my hands and we all shook on the amendment.
I wished Colin or Daniel were there with us. Even though I didn't need their approval, I wanted it. Even being able to look up and see Colin smiling and giving me that nod he did when I did something right would have been nice.
I carefully took off my boots and lined them up along the edge of the fence. “The sooner you guys get your shoes over here, the sooner we can bounce, and I can prove that I’m the best bouncer in the suite.”
“If you win, I am calling you Tigger from now on,” Matt warned me.
“Do it and die,” I threatened, waving a fist at him. I was joking. Mostly. But someone would have to get hurt if the rest of the guys started calling me Tigger.
As Chase climbed to the top of the ladder, ready to dive into the inflatable bag, I stared into the distance, wondering what the rest of the guys were up to. They were all watching us. I tried waving them over, but I wasn't sure Colin could see me from so far away.
When we got home, I was going to have to thank him for making me come tonight. I thought it was a stupid idea, but I was finally learning to let go and have a good time, and I felt closer to Matt and Chase than I ever had.
19
Colin
