Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Our gazes lock.
No, it’s not, Alexei. Something’s coming. And I have a feeling it’s going to be terrible.
But I can’t tell him that. “Why do you ask?”
“You seem…different…since that night.”
“I could say the same about you.”
He lets out a nervous laugh. “Yeah. I bet.”
“Are you okay, Alexei?”
He hesitates, his gaze wandering before he says, “I’ll be better once we get these dishes done.” He offers a charming smile, then changes the subject, which I embrace. Once we finish up, we join the others in the living room, and Dan encourages us to play a board game. It’s what Dan and I would do with Mom and Dad for holidays, and it picks at a familiar sting, like the one I felt on Halloween when I went to that party at Alpha Alpha Mu.
I can tell Brad’s caught on by the way he keeps eyeing me, how he moves closer like he wishes he could protect me from my past. But just like that night with the Slasher, he can’t protect me. Not from this.
I don’t want to spoil the night, so I do my best to get through it before Cheryl has to head to her hotel for the night.
“I really wish you’d stayed here,” Dan says as we say our goodbyes to her in the foyer.
“I didn’t want to be any trouble,” Cheryl says. “And it worked out, since now Alexei can get your guest room. I really just wanted to meet the guy who won my Brad’s heart.”
“Mom,” Brad mutters. It’s one of the few times I’ve seen him blush.
As Alexei snickers, Dan says, “Well, Luke’s a good kid.”
“I can tell,” Cheryl says. “And I don’t doubt my Brad to know a good man when he meets one.”
As she and Brad exchange a look, I sense the pain behind that statement…since he knew such a bad man when he was growing up.
She offers us all hugs before leaving, though we’ll see her again tomorrow.
Afterward, we all head to bed, where Brad and I finally have some alone time to make up for all the kissing we missed throughout the day.
“Mmm…” he says after pulling away from a kiss. He’s got me backed against the wall of my old room. “Did you see how good I was by not making out with you in front of Mom and Dan?”
“Did you want an award?”
“Think I deserve one,” he says with a cocked brow.
“If you want an award, you’re gonna have to earn it tonight,” I say, excitement pulsing through me at the thought of having a good fuck after our day of being decent.
But Brad’s expression turns serious. “You good?”
I know he’s asking because he knows this was a hard day for me. And while there were difficult moments, having him here with me made it better. “No worse than usual,” I say, but with the mood spoiled, I feel it’s a good time to bring up what’s been on my mind. “Alexei mentioned that night.”
“What about it?” Brad asks, and I can hear the concern in his voice.
“Seems like it’s in there somewhere. He wanted to make sure I was all right. I don’t know. It was a strange conversation. Sometimes I wonder if it’d be easier on him to know the truth. But the truth is so fucked, revealing it seems even more cruel.”
Brad raises his hand to my face, caresses his knuckles along my cheek. “I’m sorry you’re in this position. But if you do think it’s better to tell him, you say the word, and I’ll advocate for it with Seth and Codes.”
I nod. “Let me think on it. In the meantime, I’d rather do things to help me forget about it…at least for tonight.”
“Mmmm.” He leans close and kisses the side of my throat. I roll my head back against the wall, and as I moan, there’s a knock at the door.
I growl softly and feel Brad smile against my flesh. “Guess you’re gonna have to be a good Straight Boy a little longer.”
“Pretty confident you violently murdered Straight Boy, but sure.”
When I answer the door, I find Dan standing outside.
“Mind if I grab you for a minute?” Unlike earlier in the day and throughout dinner and our game, he’s glancing around uncomfortably, as though he’s just received some bad news.
I head out into the hall and close the door. “Everything okay?”
“Just wanted a minute with you, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course.”
He leads me down the hall, into the primary bedroom, closing the door behind us.
“Are you sure everything’s okay?”
“First, I wanted to tell you that I really like Brad.”
“Glad to hear that. He’s been very good to me. In ways that are difficult to explain.” In ways I wish I could explain to you, Dan. “But I’m assuming you didn’t bring me in here just to tell me that?” I press, unable to shake the discomfort in his expression.