Chapter 8 - Hunter

I t's been a few days since the pool incident, and my teammates are still talking shit about Ollie. How weird he is. How he was definitely looking at them.

I've explained a million times he's not like that, and he's not trying to make anyone uncomfortable. But they're undoubtedly homophobes with nothing better to do with their time except talk shit. The more they say though, the more I want to punch something. Ollie is mine, and I'll be damned if anyone disrespects him.

"Shut the fuck up," I growl, putting my burger down. "I won't hear any more of your bullshit about my brother."

"Bro—"

"I'm not your bro ." I look Matthew in the eyes. " He is."

Matthew gulps. "You're right." I nod once. "Sorry."

I go back to eating my burger, trying to calm down. But then Matthew and Cannon look past me and start smirking. I look behind me, curious about what's taking their attention, just to see three girls walking in our direction. I gulp, putting my burger down. I hope Cam doesn't ask me out; I definitely don't have it in me to go out with her. The older I get, the more I realize I'm not into girls. Nothing about them appeals to me. Nothing about anyone appeals to me. Why can't I be fucking normal? What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I like anyone? Except for one person, and I can't have?—

"Bro." My nostrils flare when Matthew calls me that. "Cam is coming. I heard she likes you."

I look over at my friends, trying to ignore how my stomach sinks at the thought of her asking me out in front of them. I'll be forced to say yes.

"I heard she has a tight pussy," says Cannon.

Great.

The one thing I want nothing to do with.

I cough, and Cam slides into the booth right beside me. Her hand lands on my inner thigh, giving it a firm squeeze. I raise my eyebrow, but give her my most charming smile, as if the thought of kissing her doesn't make me want to throw up in my mouth.

"Hey, Hunt."

I inhale sharply.

I hate it when other people call me that. The only person allowed to call me that is Ollie. "Hunter." I smile, and her voice drops.

"Hunter." My smile widens, and she looks up at me through thick lashes. But it does nothing for me. My dick doesn't stir. Nothing happens. "Wanna catch a movie and dinner on Saturday?"

My hands begin to shake, and I put them on my lap, away from prying eyes. Nodding slowly, I say, "Sure, Cam."

She's blonde with blue eyes, but they're dim. Nothing like the brightness of Ollie's. Why the fuck am I thinking about him right now? But it's true. Her eyes are ugly in comparison. She's not attractive to me at all. This is gonna suck.

"Yay!" She claps, and I do my best not to cringe. "I'm sooo excited!"

And since my friends are watching me, I ask, "What movie are we going to watch?"

She spends the rest of dinner talking about a new chick flick she's been dying to watch, and I pretend to listen as I finish my fries. The last thing I want to do is talk to her, but I have to keep up appearances. After another hour of listening to her whiny voice, I dip out. But not before she grabs my face and kisses my cheek. I look at her, stunned, and she takes the opportunity to kiss my lips, shoving her tongue down my throat.

Gross.

I feel nothing, no butterflies, no spark.

At least it's over quickly.

I nod and smile at her. "See you Saturday."

"See ya."

My dad picks me up from the burger joint, and as soon as I sit in the passenger side, he smiles at me. Sometimes, I wish he was like this with Ollie, too. I know the way Dad rejects him hurts him. I know their personalities are vastly different, but it also feels like Dad doesn't accept him only because he's gay.

"How was dinner?" he asks me while facing the road.

"Good." I smirk, even though it's forced. "Cam asked me out."

"It's about fucking time." He chuckles. "You're gonna get so many girls. I know I shouldn't tell you this as your dad, but enjoy it before you get married. Sample all the flavors."

I laugh at that, but again, it's forced.

The last thing I want to do is sample all the flavors. I couldn't even enjoy a kiss. Unfortunately, at sixteen years old, it would look weird if I didn't at least attempt to get girls. So, I have to make an effort—only to keep up appearances. I'm straight. I just —I don't know. I haven't found the right girl. So I'll just have to keep looking.

The first thing I do when I get home is tell my parents good night and that I don't feel so good. Dad gives me a sympathetic look, and Mom smirks like she knows something I don't. I head upstairs, taking them two at a time, and lock myself in my room. I walk across the Jack-N-Jill bathroom, pulling Ollie's door open to find him curled up into a tiny ball in his bed. My stomach sinks at the sight, like he's unhappy. And if he's unhappy, then so am I.

I crawl into bed with him, facing him. His thick black lashes rest on his cheekbones. I never knew eyelashes could be so pretty on a boy. I wish he'd open his eyes and look at me with those baby blues. I don't even know exactly what color blue they are—they're just simply beautiful. Just like him .

However, it's because we're brothers that I notice these things. Because I love him. Otherwise, I couldn't tell that he was pretty at all. I've never been attracted to other guys. Though it's different with Ollie. I've always thought he was pretty. With that thought in mind, I kiss his forehead and cuddle up to him until our noses are touching.

Then, and only then, do I let myself fall asleep.