“I don’t miss mine at all,” Van snapped. Emmett’s sudden look of fear made him feel like the perfect ass. “I’m sorry. The speech didn’t make me homesick; it made me angry that he got so lucky, when my adopted parents were pricks. I didn’t get the fairy tale childhood.”
“From what details Lincoln has given me, Dominic didn’t have a fairy tale childhood, either. Some rough things happened to him in high school. Great parents don’t mean bad things can’t happen.”
Like Emmett’s house burning down and taking his parents and sister with it. I’m a selfish ass.
Van sighed. “How much a jerk am I right now?”
“You’re not a jerk. You’re entitled to your feelings, but they don’t happen in a bubble.”
“Good point.”
“You also aren’t the only one who ran off.”
“What?” Van took three long steps toward Emmett. “What happened?”
“I didn’t see it, but apparently Bobby made a snide remark about Benji chasing after his other boyfriend, and then he admitted the impromptu vacation the band had a few weeks ago was because of Benji.”
Van’s stomach flipped. He knew that secret would come out sooner or later. “How did Benji react?”
“He got upset and left. Benji’s mom showed up not long after. Apparently, Benji’s dad took him somewhere to chill.” Emmett squinted. “You don’t seem surprised about the vacation thing.”
“I wheedled it out of Joshua a while ago. I knew too.”
“Oh good, well, at least now Benji can be mad at all of us.”
Van’s phone chimed with a text.
Benji:Meet me outside, parking lot. We need to talk.
It had been sent to multiple people, so the final four words didn’t have the same ominous ring to them that a private conversation would have elicited. Damning words like “I can’t do this anymore” or “we’re over” were less likely to be coming Van’s way. Didn’t stop a worm of fear from digging its way into his chest and staying put.
Emmett didn’t follow him, so he wasn’t included in the group. Van walked outside on the heels of Joshua, Bobby, Andy, and Danielle. Benji was standing near one of the handicapped spots, arms folded, a new kind of determination in his eyes and stance. It might have been an incredible turn-on if Benji didn’t look so fucking serious.
Everyone ended up in an awkward semi-circle, until Benji tugged Joshua over to stand next to Van. All of the attention shifted to them as the other three members of Fading Daze stared at them with undisguised curiosity.
“Okay, we need to get everything out on the table, guys,” Benji said in a strong voice that matched his posture. He kept tight hold of Joshua’s hand. “And I mean everything. I’ll even go first. You all know I’m in a committed relationship with Joshua.Well, the two of us are also in a committed relationship with Van.” His free hand curled around Van’s and squeezed.
Van squeezed back, his breath catching.
“Like a threesome?” Danielle asked. “That’s so cool.”
“So you’re, like, dating two people at the same time?” Andy tilted his head like a curious puppy. “Man, I can barely handle one person, never mind two.”
“Hey!” Danielle smacked him on the ass.
“Does this mean you two are finally admitting you’re seeing each other?” Benji said. “Out loud and official?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She cut her eyes at her brother. “You okay with that?”
Bobby shrugged. “Like you’ve ever cared if I like who you date. Just don’t make him dump you, because he’s too good a drummer to lose.”
Rising to the challenge, Danielle yanked Andy down to her height so she could plant a long, sound kiss on his mouth.
Joshua applauded. “Nicely done.”
The levity helped, but no one had really addressed the bigger issue, so Van decided to shine the spotlight on it. “What about Benji being with both of us? Sooner or later, the gossip pages are going to find out.”
Benji shrank a bit. “If managers are already pulling out of commitments because of my gay public image, what will happen if it comes out that I’m in a poly relationship? It could kill the band.”
