Peyton laughed as he tossed his bag down. “Except you gave my little brother my room.” He pulled his glasses off, wiped the snow off his short brown beard, and smiled at me. “Thanks again for taking him in, by the way.”
“I told you on the ride,” Casey said as he kicked his boots off. “Russell’s great. You don’t need to mention it.”
Casey and I shared a quick glance. Peyton had been in the house for thirty seconds, and I was already guilting myself about everything he didn’t know.
I shook my head, pushing the thoughts away, then patted him on the back. “What can I get you. Hungry? Thirsty?”
“Just a water, but I’ll be ready for a drink soon. Camille broke up with me.”
“Aw, fuck,” I grunted.
“Sorry, man,” Casey added.
Peyton shrugged. “It was coming for a while.” He looked hopefully between us, then put his glasses back on. “I thought bachelor weekend would cheer me up.”
Casey and I exchanged another glance. This time, he held my gaze, and I saw a flash of something stronger in his eyes. His dark eyebrows were furrowed, and he had this look set on his face that I always thought was hot, like he was wrestling with something in his head. “Bachelor weekend it is,” he finally said, breaking eye contact. He pushed his hair back, then started toward the kitchen.
I huffed. Something about calling us all bachelors irritated me.
It was one thing to dance around the truth with my mom. She and Dad were accepting, and I knew that, whatever came next, we’d talk about it at our own pace. And I’d had plenty of practice not telling Peyton that I sometimes sucked Casey’s cock.
But this felt different. Pretending I wasn’t with the guys felt… wrong.
Casey handed Peyton a can of fizzy water, then tossed one to me before he hopped back on the counter. Catching a glance of his ass sent another jolt of distracting desire through me, and I quickly tore my eyes away, not wanting Peyton to notice.
“What happened with Camille?” Casey asked Peyton. “You want to dish?”
Peyton cracked his can open. “I should have had you visit more, I guess. She said I wasn’t fun.”
Casey winced. “Ouch.”
I frowned. “You’re fun. You’re a little brainy and serious sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you’re not fun.”
“For an architect, especially, you’re a fucking hoot,” Casey added.
Peyton crossed his arms over his chest. “Thanks a lot, guys,” he said sarcastically. “Resounding vote of confidence.”
I chuckled. “Aw, Peyton,” I said and patted him on the shoulder.
The door banged open in the back, and a moment later, Russell hurried in. “Peyton,” he said with a wide smile, still kicking his boots off. His brother turned and hugged him close for a minute.
“These two clowns treating you right?” Peyton asked, gesturing back to me and Casey.
Russell looked at us and pursed his mouth to the side. “Yes, very much,” he answered.
He hadn’t done his makeup, which honestly kind of disappointed me, but Russell still had that boost to his energy. It was like his smile glowed lately, and his hips moved just a little looser, whether he dressed up or not.
It was nice, and I felt satisfied knowing that Peyton would see how happy his younger brother was, living under our roof.
“You brought a blizzard with you,” Russell told Peyton. “Did you see the weather report?”
“It’s not going to let up?” Casey asked.
Russell shook his head. “I’m not sure how much we’ll get out of the house, actually.”
Peyton frowned. “That sucks. I wanted to see the bookshop, check out your new job. But I guess I get the kind of bachelor weekend where we sit around the house and eat Casey’s gourmet cooking. That works, too.”
“Bachelor weekend?” Russell asked.
