That’s not the problem. The problem is he isn’t alone.
Another naked body sits next to him—looks of shock and surprise on both their faces. Maybe even a little fear.
I look at the man sitting next to my brother, my own shock written on my face. My brother is g*y?
I blink twice slowly, not sure what to say over this plot twist.
Kidd clears his throat. “Ummm.”
I can’t help it. I start laughing at the awkwardness of the situation. I couldn’t care less who my brother sleeps with, so I wasn’t sure why he was keeping this a secret.
“Is this why you’ve been acting weird lately?”
He sighs. “The label didn’t want me to come out.”
My amusement fades. “Why the f**k not?”
Better yet, how did the label know before I did?
He shrugs and looks at his partner, or whoever the other man was. “They want the screaming fans I guess, I don’t know. And they found out because a picture of me surfaced but they somehow contained it.”
“So we’ll find new management then. You shouldn’t have to hide who you are. That’s not who we are— you should be proud.”
Kidd groans. “Tee has turned you into a f**king sap.”
“I wanted to see if you wanted to head to the gym with me, but I can see that you’re busy. And clearly you’ve already exercised,” I smirk.
Shit Tee must really be rubbing off on me.
I sigh—too many good jokes for that one.
“I’ll see you later bro,” I say.
I turn to leave but Kidd calls my name.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks,” he says, flashing me a small smile.
“For what?”
He shrugs. “Just… thanks.”
“If you want to thank me you could tell your boyfriend to cover up his junk right now,” I reply.
Kidd laughs. “His name is Darren.”
I smile at Darren and say hello.
Then I head home with a smile on my face.
Chapter Nineteen
Tenielle
“Holy f**k you scared me!” I call out as Layla’s intense husband Chase walks into the house.
His eyes widen. “What are you doing in my kitchen?”
“Layla said I can move in here for a few weeks,” I lie—just to annoy him.
The look on his face is priceless. “What’s wrong with your place?”
“It has rats,” I lie once more with a straight face.
“I’ll pay for an exterminator. Hell I’ll buy you a new f**king house but you’re not staying here,” he growls.
He’s a charmer isn’t he?
“How much money are we talking for this new house?” I ask, genuinely interested now.
He opens his mouth but then closes it. “Hey wait a minute, your new boyfriend is even richer than me. I’m sure he could sort you out.”
“I know,” I reply, nodding sagely. “But those rats scared me, and I really need to be with my sister right now. Maybe she will let me sleep in her bed with her?”
His eyes narrow on me. “You want something don’t you?”
I grin. “Layla’s birthday is coming up and I wanted to buy her a puppy. She’s always wanted a husky ever since we were kids. So... I thought I’d do the responsible thing and ask you first, since you’re like her damn bodyguard.”
He thinks it over.
“Come on Cole would love to have a pet too,” I coax.
He groans. “They would both love it, so fine.”
“Awesome,” I say through a smug grin.
Layla walks in with the dress of hers that I wanted to borrow. “I finally found it, here.”
I take it off her and sigh. “It’s so f**king pretty.”
“Is this one of those things where you borrow something and never return it?” she asks good-naturedly.
I nod my head. “Yep.”
“I thought so. So how’s things with Saxon. He’s seriously good looking,” Layla says.
We both ignore Chase’s growl.
“Good actually,” I say vaguely. “I think he may be my Chase. But hotter. And richer. With nipple rings and a bigger p…”
“Layla control your sister!” Chase calls out as he leaves the room.
She slaps me on the arm. “You scare him you know.”
I cup her cheeks in my palms. “He’s a smart man. Do you want to go shopping?”
“Yeah! Mum has Cole until this evening so I’m free.”
Sometimes there’s nothing better than a day out shopping with your sister.
*****
Returning home with my hands full of bags, my eyes widen when I see Saxon sitting by my door, waiting for me.
“How long have you been waiting?” I ask, feeling bad.
His eyes light up as they land on me. “Ten minutes.”
He kisses me and takes the bags out of my hands. “What the hell did you buy?”
I pull out my key and unlock the door. “Everything.”
“I can see that,” he says as he walks inside and puts my bags on the kitchen table. I sigh and open my kitchen drawer, pulling out my spare key.
“Here,” I say a little shyly, placing the key in his hand. “No more waiting for me. I should have given you one earlier.”
Especially since he gave me one to his. I thought it was kind of rushing things, but we’re at this point now, and I need to stop second guessing the permanence of this relationship.