Adrian groaned again, rubbing a hand down his face. “Shut up, or I’ll post your embarrassing pictures on Facebook, Alon.”
Alon just grinned, unbothered, while Logan chuckled and turned the page.
The laughter faded slightly as the next set of photos came into view.
Adrian, standing ahead of his unit, clad in crisp white navy dress uniform—sharp, immaculate, a stark contrast to the Adrian Logan had met chasing waves and sunrises. His hat sat perfectly in place, his black shoes gleamed, his posture was rigid, disciplined, andgod,he lookedsodifferent. His body had been even more muscular then, his hair cropped neatly, his expression unreadable.
He was so damn hot in uniform.
Not now, Logan scolded himself.You’re in his parents’ living room, for god’s sake.This is not the time to picture Adrian in that uniform and then taking it off. Slowly.
He shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat, and flipped to the next photo before his thoughts betrayed him further.
Then, suddenly, he stopped, his eyes widening with recognition. His lips curled into a smile.
“Wait… is that Dean?” Logan laughed, pointing at a young man in the photo standing beside Adrian, looking every bit as disciplined and severe as Adrian had.
“Yeah,” Adrian affirmed, his tone infused with glee.
“Oh my god, I would never have recognized him,” Logan said, shaking his head.
“Why not?” Alon asked, leaning in slightly to look at the picture.
“I don’t know, just look at him,” Logan gestured at the image. “He actually looks… uptight here, like a serious person. Nothing like the Dean I know now.”
Adrian snorted at the assessment, while Alon, still staring at the photo, mumbled absentmindedly, “I think he looks just fine.”
Adrian glanced at him, catching the slight blush on his brother’s face before he turned away, feigning indifference.
Ah.So his suspicions were right.
Alon had a crush.
It made sense now, the extra bitterness in his voice when talking about Adrian’s friend, the subtle defensiveness. If he was gay or bi, if he had spent years struggling with it the way Adrian had once struggled, then of course some of that anger was about more than just standing in his brother’s shadow.
Adrian didn’t say anything. He didn’t let his face betray the realization. He just let it pass—let Alon have his moment—and turned his attention back to his mother, who, miraculously, with her broken English, still managed to share story after story, each more embarrassing than the last, about his childhood to Logan.
“He not know that… ah… she want him—” Tammi laughed, slapping her knee. “He take her to movie and ice cream. He think,‘we friends!’She paused for dramatic effect, eyes gleaming. “She kiss him… and he to run!”
She burst into full laughter, clearly delighted with her delivery. Adrian groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Mom, please.”
Logan was already laughing, leaning back on the couch, completely enthralled. “You were quite the heartbreaker, weren’t you, Ad?” he teased, nudging Adrian’s leg.
Ofallthe embarrassing stories she could’ve chosen, she had to tellthatone. Adrian had been fifteen. The girl from the next building had chased him down for weeks, asking him to take her to a movie—some randomaction thing—and then for ice cream. He’d finally caved, assuming it was friendly. But at the end of the night, she leaned in to kiss him, and Adrian, overwhelmed and blushing to his ears, mumbled a goodbye and practically bolted.
“He was!” Tammi said, proud as ever. “After he… gay, come out the closet,” she nodded seriously at Logan, as if clarifying something important, “I have boys—many many boys!—come to house. Try talk to him. Boys all over. Boys from school, army, neighbors. Cute boys. All of them.”
“Many, many boys? Boys all over? You don’t say,” Logan asked, eyebrows raised, smirking at Adrian, his voice low and full of mischief. His eyes had gone dark—warm, amused, a little possessive.
“But my boy, he is gentleman,” Tammi said, tapping her chest. “He… picky. Very very. Want…” she gestured with her hands, searching for the word. “Connection.Not just kiss-kiss. You know?” She winked. “Feeling. Real love, yes? He… ah…ah… sensitive. My boy, sensitive, very.”
“Mom,please,” Adrian groaned again, his ears now a deep shade of red. “She is exaggerating.” He said to Logan.
But Tammi was already launching into the next story. “Once, he in beach, yes?” she started again. “No shirt, tan, my boy beautiful—”
“Mom,” Adrian cut her off.
“No, no, I want to hear it,” Logan said, flashing Tammi a charming grin, and she melted on the spot, grinning right back.
