Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Neil got up for another glass of water when the conversation slid toward more normal topics. When he cut the sink off and turned around he found Aaron waiting for him in the middle of the kitchen. Aaron jerked his chin in a silent order to follow and stepped out the back door onto the balcony. Neil set his drink aside and followed. He closed the door as quietly as he could and went to lean against the railing. Aaron made no move to close the gap between him.
"Nicky's kind of stupid," Aaron said. "He made the mistake of saying something to Andrew instead of waiting until he could get you alone. Andrew almost cut him open when he didn't take the hint fast enough." He glanced over his shoulder at the back door, maybe making sure the kitchen was still empty, before turning back on Neil. "That leaves you with me, since Andrew didn't see fit to warn me off you."
"When's the last time Andrew saw fit to talk to you at all?" Neil asked.
"Last Wednesday," Aaron reminded him.
It wasn't the answer Neil expected. He'd laid the groundwork for Aaron and Andrew's therapy and it'd been weeks since Aaron first muscled his way into one of Andrew's sessions, but this was the first hint that they were actually doing something real with that time. Aaron's awful attitude that first Wednesday was the only reaction they'd ever gotten from the brothers. Neil had assumed the two were still getting nowhere fast. Triumph was a quiet, smoldering heat in his stomach quickly snuffed out by Aaron's next words.
"So now you're going to talk to me," Aaron said, "and I'm going to give you exactly one chance to tell me the truth. Are you really fucking my brother?" He waited a beat, but when Neil just gazed back in silence, asked, "Do you take your cues from dead men?"
"What?" Neil asked.
"Just wondering how you went from your whole I-don't-date high horse to Andrew's bed," Aaron said. "Either you were lying to us to hide the fact you're a flamer, or you saw Drake rape Andrew and realized he's easy prey."
Neil punched him—a terrible mistake in retrospect, as he ended up half-crumpled over his screaming hand. Aaron took a couple bored steps out of Neil's reach and calmly checked the corner of his mouth with his thumb. He spat to one side and crouched to get a look at Neil's face. Despite his cruel words, his expression was calm and searching. Neil had the distinct feeling he'd been had, but that didn't soothe his outrage any.
"Fuck you," Neil said in a voice like gravel. "Walk away while you still can."
"Nicky guesses it's nothing more than hate sex," Aaron said like Neil hadn't even spoken. "I'm hedging my bets on it being something else. We'll know soon enough, right?"
"Stay out of it."
"I won't," Aaron said. "You wanted me to fight for her. Do you think he'll fight for you?"
"No," Neil said.
Aaron shrugged, got to his feet, and went inside without another word. Neil waited until the fire in his hand became a dull roar, then eased upright and checked his bandages. There was enough light filtering through the glass back door for him to see clean gauze. Neil couldn't believe something could hurt so much and not leave a mark.
He sucked in a slow breath to throttle his lingering anger and headed indoors. His cup was where he'd left it, and Aaron was back in his chair when Neil stepped into the living room. Aaron didn't look Neil's way again that night, and Neil was happy to pretend Aaron didn't exist.
Kevin and Dan showed up not much later. Neil didn't see any fresh bruises on either of them but they looked like they'd gone through an emotional wringer. Nicky got up without being asked and collected a few bottles from the kitchen. By the time he returned Kevin had found a seat on the outskirts and Dan was practically sitting in Matt's lap. Dan and Kevin were more interested in getting tanked than contributing to the conversation, so their teammates filled in the silence as best they could.
By the time the Foxes split up for bed, most of them were unsteady on their feet. Luckily Renee was sober enough to help shepherd the shakiest ones up the stairs. Neil almost followed before remembering his room was downstairs. As if Allison could read his mind, she leaned dangerously far over the railing and pointed at him.
"This cabin isn't soundproof. Don't keep me up. That goes for you two, too," she said, and turned her accusing finger on Dan and Matt. Dan tried for an innocent look but was too drunk to pull it off. Allison shook her finger for emphasis. "No fucking where I can hear it. It isn't fair to those of us who aren't getting any."
"Maybe if you ask Kevin very nicely," Nicky started.
Kevin's scathing look was almost louder than Allison's revolted noise. Neil shook his head and started for the bedroom. Andrew wasn't far behind him, and together they got Neil changed out for bed. Neil eyed the bed with some consternation. The only person he'd ever shared a bed with was his mother. She crammed them onto the same narrow mattress so she'd always know where he was; it was the only way she could get any sleep at night. Hesitation did neither of them any favors, though, so Neil picked a side and tugged the blankets back as carefully as he could.
Despite his reservations, there was something painfully familiar about the weight of another body in his bed. Less familiar was the way it felt being pushed deeper into the mattress, Andrew's hands on his shoulders and tongue in his mouth, but that was something Neil could definitely get used to.
He wouldn't let himself dwell on Aaron's ugly words, but it was harder to let go of Nicky's assumption that this was nothing more than an anger-fueled attraction. Nicky was more right than Neil wanted him to be, but Neil had no reason to resent that. He'd known going into this what Andrew thought of him—Andrew's apathy was precisely why Neil had decided to accept Andrew's advances.