Shit. He thought I was only being nice to him because of Kai. I’d probably been acting weird and uptight because I saw his dick. “Really,” I said with a nod. “It would be great to have you along. Let me buy you a drink and give you a proper welcome to Pittsburgh.”
His eyes danced from side to side as he wavered but finally shook his head. “Some night soon, I hope.”
I nodded and hurried away. All the way to the bar, I wrestled between feeling relieved that I wouldn’t have to fight back my attraction all night and disappointed that I wouldn’t get to enjoy staring at his sweet face. Hopefully, there’d be someone cute and available out that evening. Once I let off some steam with a stranger, I was sure my head would clear again.
Obsessing was not my style, but then again, I had never been forbidden from sleeping with a guy before. It was Kai’s fault, really, that my brain was acting the way it was.
Totally Kai’s fault.
I found Cass and Shawn at the back of the quiet little sports bar where we sometimes met up. Cass was a drummer and a carpenter, and my little brother Shawn was a science writer with a passion for astronomy. It took me a little while to get used to seeing them coupled up and acting sweet together, but now that some time had passed, the relationship made total sense.
Cass’s tattooed arm was slung over Shawn’s shoulder as I approached. I noticed the way Cass was tickling my little brother’s bicep and the dopey smiles on their faces, both of them happier together than they ever were apart. Shawn raised his soda when I approached, and the flickering bar light bounced off his glasses.
“Don’t the happy fiancés look good tonight?” I teased as I joined them across the booth.
Cass and Shawn glanced at each other. “Always,” Cass said with a wink to Shawn.
“No Kai?” Shawn asked.
“Yeah,” Cass joked, then slid me a glass of beer. “You stag?”
I grunted. Jokes about Kai and I being a couple were common, considering we were both perpetually single and roommates. But it was hitting pretty close to a sore spot that evening.
“He’s chilling at home. Long day, I think.”
“How is it having the new roommate around?” Cass asked.
I took a sip of my beer and considered how much to share. It wasn’t totally lost on me that I had discouraged Cass and Shawn from having a relationship, but that was back before I even knew they were interested in each other.
They were the guys best suited to give me advice. I just knew they would tease me mercilessly after. Ever since they got together, I’d been outnumbered.
“It’s chill. He’s helping out at the firm, too. We’re getting along fine.”
I bit my mouth shut before I blathered something I didn’t intend.
“Is it like having two Kais around?” Cass asked.
I scoffed. “They look nothing alike.”
Shawn arched an eyebrow. “Aren’t they identical twins?”
“Sure, they look alike in that way,” I said quickly. “Physically. But they’re totally different, too. River moves differently, likegracefully, and he has this really beautiful long hair.”
They both stared at me with startled expressions, then burst into laughter.
“Oh my god,” Cass chuckled, a beer frothing in his hand. “You think he’s hot.”
“Do you think Kai is hot, too?” Shawn asked innocently.
I knocked my head back against the booth a few times. “Why do I even try to hide anything from you two?” I stopped and looked directly at Shawn. “And no, I do not think Kai is hot. He’s, like, nonsexual to me.”
Cass laughed. “Unlike his twin.” He drank from his beer. “Did you hook up with him already? I know how impatient you are. What does Kai think about it?”
“No, we haven’t hooked up, and it would be a total fucking disaster if we did.”
Cass snorted a laugh. “Afuckingdisaster, for sure.”
“River is on a relationship moratorium,” I explained, “and Kai specifically told me not to touch him.”
