Do you like ramen?” I called out, chewing on a toothpick, as I considered the slim options in my room that I had to offer Harley. I knew I could easily cave and have him buy us dinner, but that defeated the point of my making him dinner. It was a silly thing, but I wanted to do something nice for him.
Unfortunately, the idea of feeding ramen to someone with the kind of money he had was mortifying and ridiculous.
“I’ve never had it,” Harley replied from the kitchen. Grabbing two bags, I shoved the box back in the closet wall and hurried to join him. When he saw me from his spot at the tiny kitchen table, an easy smile overtook that pretty face of his. Those full lips of his were slightly swollen, and his cheeks were flushed. Kissing on the beach led to kissing in the car and then against the front door. And now he was sitting in my kitchen, which gave me ideas.
He was an untapped well of need and passion. For the guy everyone called a prude, he sure as hell couldn’t get enough of me.Which I liked.Kissing him was an effortless adventure of figuring out the sounds he made while knowing nothing more was expected. I liked that journey. The intrigue of him was addictive.
“I don’t make it like the package says,” I informed him as I moved around the limited space. “I drain the water and just mix the noodles with the seasoning.”
“Isn’t it supposed to be a soup?” he asked. I liked the slight way his nose crinkled when he said it.
“Yeah, but I don’t like soup,” I shot back.
Another shrug, another smile, and I was definitely a goner for Harley Lowell. It was unexpected, but I welcomed how everything was just easier around him. He spilled sunshine into my dark places. I craved it. Needed it. Wanted more of it—as much as humanly possible.
I’d never liked anyone the way I liked him, and that should’ve scared me, but it didn’t. If anything, it invigorated me.
I liked everything about Harley and being around him.
Dinner turned into showing him my pathetic little corner of a room and making out all over again. There was no rush as something oddly peaceful settled over us, and we just lay there tangled up in one another. I let Harley take the lead, letting him experiment however he wanted to. I was a willing participant in whatever he wanted.
But when I saw headlights pass over the window, I was up and out of bed in a heartbeat—one that had my chest constricting and the blood rushing in my ears. I had no idea how Aidan would react to Harley being here, but I didn’t want him to stick around and find out.
“Come on,” I said as I held a hand out. Harley took it, and I practically yanked him out of bed. “You need to leave.”
“What—”
“I need you to leave, Harley,” I repeated over him. Thankfully, he didn’t argue. I stuck close, keeping one on his lower back, as I ushered him outside. The door to Aidan’s car opened, but I ignored him. Instead, I focused on getting Harley out of there. “Get in your car, and don’t look back.”
“Are you safe?” He paused just a moment, and an uncomfortable anxiety clawed its way through my chest. I could feel the weight of Aidan’s stare as he watched us.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I told him with a smile.At least, I hoped I would.Aidan’s response to Harley would be unpredictable, but I knew in no way would it be a good one.
I patted the hood of Harley’s car once before he pulled away. I watched his taillights as he drove away to make sure he got out of there without any issue. Only when he was gone did I look at my brother. His expression made my heart race. It was calculated and composed. That was worse than anger. His anger was loud and explosive, but it was predictable. I knew the hits were coming. This was colder and more dangerous. It scared me.
He followed me back inside without a word. I was left standing in the middle of the living room while the minutes of silence grated on me like razors. The already small space felt smaller in every way. The walls seemed to close in around us as I just waited with bated breath for him to say something.
“Imagine my surprise when I get a call from Jay telling me my baby brother is playing house with Harley Lowell,” he began, the bitter tone in his voice making me uneasy. Under his breath, he added, “Stupid fucking rich people living in a goddamn golden palace while the rest of us struggle to put food on the table.”
“It’s not a golden palace,” I said. The second the words left my mouth, my stomach twisted painfully with dread.
“So you’ve been there,” he replied. How he rounded on me made my stomach drop. My body reacted before my thoughts did, my muscles tightening and my heart kicking up against my ribs. I knew exactly where this conversation was going. I’d seen it too many times before. Aidan didn’t ask questions unless he already knew the answer.
Aidan had given up on real jobs a long time ago. Being a tourist-heavy town gave him and his crew plenty of opportunities for petty theft. Since I was a kid, I’d been roped into helping him whenever he ordered it. My purpose depended solely on his demands.
He stuck mostly to tourist areas—hotels, beach rentals, and so on—because he was more likely to get away with it. People like the Lowells he left alone because the stakes were higher, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t steal from them if he could figure out how to pull it off unscathed.
My throat tightened. I could see the possibilities unfolding in his head, and I needed to stop him before everything got out of control.
“Please, Aidan,” I whispered, not caring if I sounded pathetic. I couldn’t let him use Harley like that. The thought of it made something desperate rise in my chest. “I like him.”
It felt dangerous to say the words out loud. Admitting it made it something Aidan could grab onto and crush at will.
“Do you really think the Lowells will let their son be around the gay trailer trash kid?” he scoffed. “You already had the world looking down on you before you decided to be a faggot.”
The words cut in places that he constantly assaulted, reopening fresh wounds that never healed. I drew in a sharp breath but said nothing. He wanted to get a rise out of me. Ever since he had figured out that I was gay, it was just one more thing to use against me. One of these days, I’d fight back.
Just not today.
