by E. L. Todd
“No, they’re still at it. But I want to talk to you.”
Oh, that sounded interesting. “Alright. See you soon.”
She arrived at the house ten minutes later, an Uber dropping her off at the curb. Instead of knocking, she walked into the house because she knew I always left the door unlocked. It was raining outside, so she shed her soaked coat and left it on the rack before she joined me on the couch.
I spoke first just to clear the air. “Don’t worry, I’ll get over it. Just caught me by surprise.”
“That’s not what I wanted to talk about.” Kayden understood how to keep her relationship with my brother separate from the one she had with me. She rarely mentioned explicit information about their relationship, and she was still fun when we went out.
“Then what’s up?”
“You really hurt Rex’s feelings back there.”
“What?” I almost spit up the beer I’d already swallowed. “Rex doesn’t have feelings.”
Kayden gave me that serious look. “I’m not kidding, Rae. He’s going through a hard time right now.”
“What are you talking about? His bowling alley is a success, he’s paid off his debts, he’s got a hot girlfriend...” The list went on and on. Rex didn’t have a single thing to complain about. Everything was going his way.
“What I’m about to tell you has to stay between us, okay?”
“Okay...” I turned off the TV since I couldn’t watch it anyway. The sound of the cheering crowd was distracting.
“I just had a heart-to-heart with Rex, and he told me why he moved across the hall.”
“And what’s his reason?” To annoy me until I committed murder?
She sighed before she answered. “He wants to be close to you, Rae. Isn’t that obvious?”
Close to me? All we did lately was fight. He kept getting in my way, making a mess in the bathroom and using up all the hot water. We had the same work hours, which meant we were always home at the same time. That meant a lot of fights over the remote and the TV. “That’s ridiculous, Kay.”
“Listen to me,” she said forcefully. “Now that you and Zeke are together, he says he never sees either one of you. Zeke spends all his free time with you, which he understands. And you’re always at Zeke’s place, so he doesn’t see you either. He said you’re his only family in the world, and it seems like you’re slipping away. He thinks you guys are going to get married and have kids, and then he’ll never see you at all.”
When she said all of that, it actually made me sad.
“He’s just scared, Rae. He thought if he lived across the hall, he would bump into Zeke when he came to visit you. He’s just trying to stay close to both of you.”
Now my heart ached in guilt. “I didn’t know he felt that way...”
“He thinks you hate him. He said he’s going to find another apartment as soon as possible.”
I massaged my knuckles and sighed as I stared at my hands. “He’s being paranoid over the whole thing.”
“I understand where he’s coming from,” she whispered. “You and Zeke do spend a lot of time together alone. In the beginning, we all understood because it was new. But things haven’t changed since. We’re seeing you less and less. It’s just not the same.”
I nodded in understanding.
“I just wanted you to know that.”
“I get it.”
“I hope you’ll talk to him. He’s pretty down right now.”
Despite how much my brother irritated me, I felt terrible for hurting him. I didn’t show it very often, but I did love him from the bottom of my heart. We’d been through a lot together, and sometimes, I took him for granted. He never said it, but I knew he needed me as much as I needed him. “Yeah, I will.”
“Thank you. I hate seeing him like this.”
“I really was harsh.” It was usually hard for me to admit I was wrong, but in this case, it was easy. I stormed off and made Rex feel unwanted. His gesture was actually sweet if I took the time to see it that way. “I’ll make it right.”
Kayden relaxed when she’d accomplished her mission. Rex’s best interests were in her heart. It was clear she would dig all the way through the earth just to change it to his advantage. Without telling me she loved him, it was obvious.
Blindingly obvious.
***
Zeke came home sometime after five. He was still in his workout clothes, his muscles bulging from lifting heavy things all afternoon. He tossed his keys and wallet on the counter before he joined me in the living room. He examined my expression as he sat beside me.
“You guys done?”
“Yeah. Took a few hours, but we got everything. Your living room doesn’t have a couch or a table now.”
“My new stuff will be there tomorrow.”
He sat in silence, letting the awkwardness between us stretch. “What’s Rex doing now?”
“He’s alone in his new apartment.”
I should head over there and talk to him. “I’ll make things right, Zeke. Don’t worry about it.”
Remaining neutral, he didn’t say anything.
“But I think you and I need to talk about our relationship.”
“In what way?”
“We spend too much alone time together.” As much as I loved coming to his house every day and hiding from the world, we couldn’t do that anymore. It was ruining the dynamic of the group, and Rex felt forgotten. “We both need to spend more time with Rex, as well as everyone else.”
Zeke didn’t object. “You’re probably right.”
“Maybe I should only stay here on the weekends.” I wanted to sleep in his bed every single night, those powerful arms wrapped around me. His body heat kept the sheets warm, so I could lie in the nude all night long. When the alarm went off in the morning, he could insert himself inside me without being blocked by clothes.
He didn’t agree right away, probably because he didn’t want to. “You’re probably right.”
“You should hang out with Rex more often. I think he misses you.”
Zeke wrapped his arm around my waist. “I picked up on that this afternoon. I didn’t realize how much our relationship bothered him until today.”
“Yeah...”
He kissed my cheek then my neck. “I’m gonna miss you.”
“I know... I’ll miss you too.”
He kissed my neck again as he slowly laid me on the couch, his powerful body covering mine. He kissed me hard on the mouth as he pulled off my leggings and got his own bottoms off. When we were both naked from the waist down, he shoved himself inside me, his cock greeted by my wetness. “There might be a few booty calls.”
I grabbed his ass and pulled him farther inside. “I love booty calls.”
***
Rex answered the door and didn’t hide his disappointment when he saw me. “Don’t worry. I’ll find another place—”
“I’m sorry.”
His mouth kept moving, but no words came out. Finally, his jaw stopped working, and he stared at me in surprise. He knew I didn’t apologize often, if ever.
“I overreacted earlier. You just caught me by surprise, and I didn’t know how to handle it.” I crossed my arms over my chest and continued to stand in his doorway, feeling out of place outside my own apartment. “Living with you for so long just made me anxious for my own space. But having you across the hall is fine. I might need to borrow some eggs or something.”
Rex watched me with suspicion, like he wasn’t sure if he could believe me or not. “Did Kayden say something to you?”
“About what?” I played dumb as well as I could.
“About me living across the hall from you.”
“What could she possibly say?” I wasn’t a good liar, but I did my best so Rex would feel comfortable with me again. “That I need to calm the hell down? I’ve got Jessie for that.”
After a few minutes, Rex was convinced. "Are you sure you don’t mind me living here? Because I can leave, Rae.”
/> “I really don’t mind. Just give me back my key.” I extended my open palm. “I want to walk around my apartment naked again.”
He dug into his pocket until he found the key. He dropped it into my open palm. “I definitely don’t want to walk in on that unless I’m blind.”
My fingers closed around the key, and I finally savored my freedom. My apartment would be sterilized again, and there wouldn’t be dishes piled up in my sink and mustache hair in the bathroom. It wouldn’t smell like man anymore. “That makes two of us.”
He leaned against the doorway and still didn’t invite me inside. “Well...I guess I’ll see you later.”
I made my move before he could shut the door. “Want to get dinner at Mega Shake?”
He stilled at the question like he could hardly believe I’d asked it. “You don’t have plans with Zeke?”
“No. He’s got paperwork to do, and I don’t feel like cooking.”
His eyes lit up the way they used to, and the Rex I knew was slowly coming back. “Yeah, sure. I don’t have any food here anyway.”
“Then let’s stop by the grocery store on the way back.”
“Good idea.” He locked the door behind him, and we walked side by side.
I slipped my hands into the pockets of my hoodie. “So, how are things with Kayden?”
After a pause, he talked about their relationship. The words flowed just the way they used to, and quickly, the conversation felt normal again. He was honest with me even though Kayden was my best friend, and our relationship started to feel the way it used to.
Like we were friends.
Chapter Ten
Rex
Having my own place was nice. I left dishes in the sink on purpose, just because I could. My bathroom was a mess, exactly how a man’s bathroom should be, and I didn’t care about getting stains on the already tarnished couch. Plus, I drank right out of the milk carton when there were no clean glasses.
It was awesome.
Kayden stopped by whenever she felt like it, and we had a lot more room to do the things we enjoyed. I got a few blow jobs on the couch, and she cooked some awesome meals in my kitchen.
And knowing Rae was just across the hall comforted me.
I wasn’t codependent on my sister. I could function just fine without her. But I felt better when she was near, so I could be there for her if she ever needed me. I got to see her every day without invading her space, and she was civil to me now that I wasn’t annoying her. Rae was my rock. If it weren’t for her, my bowling alley would have gone under, and I would have been in debt for the rest of my life. She was my parents, my sister, my grandparents, and the very definition of family.
Maybe it was a lame thing to say, but I needed her.
Rae texted me even though she was just across the hall. Game night. You down?
We hadn’t had game night in forever. Sure. When?
Now?
Alright. I put on my shoes then walked across the hall. A stack of board games was on the dining table, and Rae was ordering pizza on her laptop. Safari lay on the brand-new couch in the living room, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling with even breaths. “The couch looks good.”
“Thanks. I wish I knew if it were comfortable.” She eyed Safari in the living room. “But someone keeps hogging it.”
“And you thought I was a bad roommate?” I teased. “At least I let you sit down.”
She chuckled. “I guess that’s true.” She shut the laptop and set it on the shelf. “The pizza will be here soon, along with everyone else.” She grabbed the board games. “What should we play? Uno is fun with lots of people.”
“Sure. I’m down for whatever.” I grabbed a beer from the fridge before I joined her at the table. “How was work?”
“I did a bunch of boring stuff you would never understand.” She opened the deck of cards and shuffled them.
“Excellent point.”
She made a bridge then pressed the cards down with her thumbs into a single pile. “So, did you know that Zeke was going to propose to Rochelle?”
The mouth of the bottle was against my lips when she asked the question. I almost poured the beer directly onto my face because my hand shook. She cornered me when I least expected it and caught me by surprise. “Uh...what?”
She repeated the question word for word, sounding just as calm. “Did you know Zeke was going to propose to Rochelle?”
I didn’t see any way out of this. “Yeah, I did. After he got the ring, he showed it to me.”
She continued to shuffle the cards like this conversation was less serious than it really was.
“Is that it?” I asked. “No more questions?”
“I was just curious, that’s all. His sister spilled the beans last weekend.”
I figured Zeke didn’t tell her himself. “When he told me about it, I kind of questioned everything. He wasn’t happy at my lack of enthusiasm. But I think that’s when he started to realize it wasn’t a good idea. I planted the seed of doubt in his head, and it started to grow.”
“So you told him how I felt even though you knew he was going to propose?”
“Yeah.” And I didn’t have any regrets. “I made the right decision. I knew Zeke wanted to be with you, and Rochelle deserved to be with a man who looks at her the way Zeke looks at you. So you better not give me a guilt trip about it.”
She didn’t. She set the cards down and sipped her wine. “You made the right call, Rex.”
Damn right, I did.
“I just wish I’d realized these feelings a long time ago, you know?” She swirled her wine and took another drink. “I feel like I wasted time. I feel like I caused my heart unnecessary pain.”
She was talking about Ryker, even if she didn’t mention him by name.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? And you’re the strongest woman I know.”
She sipped her wine with a smile on her lips. “I don’t know... Kayden kicked my ass in an arm-wrestling match a few weeks ago.”
“Well, she does have an arm on her. When she—” I shut my mouth and stopped myself from saying something really stupid. “You can tell she lifts weights.”
If Rae picked up on the direction of my words, she hid it.
“So, you’re really into Zeke, then?”
She set down her glass. “I think that’s the dumbest question you’ve ever asked.”
I gave her a blank look. “So...what’s your answer?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes. I’m very into him.”
“Good.” It was a relief. I didn’t want them to break up because it would make all connecting friendships uncomfortable. “Because he’s head over heels and pussy whipped.”
“Yeah?” She leaned toward me, the girly side of her coming out. “What else does he say?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Oh, come on.” She slapped my wrist. “I’m your sister.”
“And he’s my best friend. What he tells me in confidence is kept secret.”
“And you blab everything I say? How is that fair?” she demanded.
“I don’t blab everything,” I said defensively. “The only reason why I told him the truth about your feelings was because he was about to make the worst mistake of his life. I had to do the right thing, even if it meant betraying you. But I’m not gonna tell you what he says when you aren’t around. And I wouldn’t tell him what you say either.”
“Yeah, whatever.” She rolled her eyes.
“So, if I told you I was going to dump him, you wouldn’t give him a heads-up?” Victory was in her eyes.
My first impulse would be to warn the guy that he was about to take a knife to the heart. He’d been into Rae since I could remember. It would kill him. But I kept my voice steady. “No...”
“Bullshit.”
Before we could get further into it, there was a knock at the door. Zeke let himself inside with a case of beer hanging on his arm. “Game night is the best. I’m a
wesome at it.” He set the beer in the fridge and pulled a bottle out for himself. When he came to the table, he gave Rae a quick kiss on the lips, and to my surprise, sat on the opposite side of the table, next to me. “What are we playing?”
Rae acted like his behavior was completely normal. “I was thinking we would start with Uno then move on to something else.”
“I love Uno.” Zeke drank his beer then turned his attention on me. “What’s up with you?”
I eyed them back and forth. “The question is, what’s up with you two?”
“What do you mean?” Zeke asked innocently.
“You’re like a mile apart.” I measured the distance between them with my arms.
“I don’t have to sit in his lap all the time,” Rae said. “Zeke and I have our fun when you guys aren’t around.” The doorbell rang, and Rae scooted out of her seat to answer the door because she knew it was the pizza guy.
With her gone, I turned on him. “Seriously, what’s up?”
“Nothing,” he said with sincerity. “Rae and I are trying to be more laid-back.”
“Why?” Since when did she start caring about stuff like that? She used to stick her tongue down Ryker’s throat in front of all of us.
“Does it matter?” He leaned back into the chair. “Where’s your lady?”
Once Kayden was the subject matter, I stopped thinking about everything else. “She’s on her way.”
Rae set the pizzas on the counter. “I asked for extra cheese, Rex. So you better be happy.”
“Hell yeah.” I rubbed my palms together. “There’s no such thing as too much cheese.”
“Your colon wouldn’t agree with that,” Zeke said with a chuckle.
The door opened again, and Kayden walked inside. She removed her scarf and her heavy coat since the weather was piss-poor outside. “It’s me. I’m sorry, I forgot the wine.”
“It’s okay,” Rae said from the counter. “You know I’ve always got a backup.”
I left the table and walked to the entryway to greet my woman. “Hey, baby.” My arms moved around her waist, and I gave her a PG kiss. But the one I would give her later would totally be rated X.
She kissed me back. “Hey, stud. You’re in a better mood.”