NOLAN
JANUARY 2028
Islept for the entire flight. Sleep has always been hard for me, something that doesn’t come easy. But when I’m with Benji, it comes as easy as breathing. I blink the sleep from my eyes as we land with a gentle thump. Benji just presses a sweet kiss to my forehead and murmurs, “Shh, it’s alright.”
If I asked Benji, I think he’d happily carry me off the plane. But I won’t. Despite how heavy my entire body feels, how exhausting it is to take a single step. Benji gathers our two suitcases that now contain my entire world. The air is cold and the sky is gray when we disembark the plane. When Benji said Florida, I expected palm trees and sunny skies, not whatever this place has going on.
“Jackson!” Benji calls, relief coloring his voice.
Jackson’s lip twitches at one corner as his gaze pings between us. I watch, detached from my body, as Benji and Jackson embrace. They murmur something that’s too soft for my ears to pick up. But Benji pulls away with a sound in the back of his throat and backs up to tangle his fingers with mine.
“Trevor didn’t say you’d be picking us up,” Benji comments.
Jackson swings the driver's side door open. “Trevor didn’t decide. Get in.”
Benji grimaces slightly, but helps me get into the spacious G-Wagon. I slap his hand away with a hiss when he tries to buckle me in. There’s sweetness and then there’s too fucking far. Benji lets out a frustrated shaky breath, then busses a kiss to the apple of my cheek. I allow the display of affection despite wanting to kick him away. Maybe he feels the need to piss on me in front of Jackson considering we’d fucked once.
The car is full of tense silence as we make our way out of the airport.
“This is awkward,” I comment dryly.
Benji pinches his nose in clear annoyance. “Nolan.”
Jackson flicks a hard look at me in the rearview mirror. “You’re not here to start trouble.”
“We’re here because I tried to kill myself and Benjamin thinks I’m his soulmate.”
Benji’s cheeks turn a bright, vivid red at my words. His gaze stays on the road ahead, but I’m pretty sure later I’ll get a talking-to about it. I lean forward and tap Benji on the shoulder, holding my hand out when he shifts to look back at me. He sighs and leans down to rustle through the backpack he’s been sporting for months. A second later, my headphones are shoved into my hand. I slip them over my ears and pull up a familiar playlist, something full of sad, weepy, rock ballads that makes me feel a little more alive than I do when sitting in the silence.
I lean my head against the window and happily zone out. The murmur of Jackson’s and Benji’s voices filter in and out, but I can’t understand them. I figured Benji needed to talk to his friend without my prying ears. The drive takes a seemingly endless age. My leg shakes, jostling the back of Benji’s seat. He reaches back with one hand to curl his palm around the back of my calf until the shaking ceases. His thumb sweeps up and downmy leg until my brain does that thing it often does because of Benji, everything just goes static, still, hush-quiet.
When I finally blink my eyes back open, the car is slowing as we approach picturesque farmland. Despite it being January, everything is still green and lush. The land is so alive my breath catches in my chest. Life.
Jackson rolls the car to a careful stop in front of a large farmhouse that would make anyone from a fixer-upper show salivate. The house even has those lovely storybook windows and a wraparound porch with rocking chairs. Jesus. Benji really did bring me to the farm.
A large blond man steps out of the house, hands tucked into his jeans. Benji hops out of the car just as a curly-haired man rushes down the steps. That must be Eli, the only fake boyfriend I’ve never met. Up on the stairs beside Colby is a ravishing redhead that’s staring at the car with lethal daggers in his eyes. And finally there’s Trevor standing beside an absolute unit of a man. If any of these guys are possessive, I’m in for a world of hurt.
Benji swings the car door open with a grin that doesn’t meet his eyes. That won’t do at all. I reach out with my hand, using my thumb to push the side of his mouth up in the mimicry of a smile.
“Like this,” I say softly.
Benji turns his head into my palm, placing a sweet, loving kiss to my skin. His eyes dart up to mine and his mouth turns up at the corners, this time his smile is sweet and true.
“Alright, Nolan.”
I take a deep breath as I look at the men standing up ahead. “They can’t be mean to me. Right?”
Benji reaches up to cover my hand with his own. “They won’t be mean. They know… they know we’re here to get you some help. Okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper softly as I jump out of the car.
Benji wraps a protective arm around my shoulders and guides me toward the large farmhouse. The redhead is still staring daggers at me, but his eyes soften when Jackson rounds us to hurry up the steps. Jackson dips down to kiss the man on the cheek just as the redhead bodily pushes him away. Cute dynamic. Reminds me of someone.
“We’ve set up the mother-in-law suite for you both. You can stay as long as you need,” Eli says, sounding slightly breathless. He worriedly glances from Benji to me. “You know, we all love Benji very much. He’s one of us.”
“Clearly,” I drawl.
Benji’s hand squeezes my shoulder. “He doesn’t need a shovel talk, Eli. Did you do that research I asked about?”
