14. Chapter 14

Chapter fourteen

Felix

I itched to get out of the city.

Aria was supposed to drop by to grab the last of her shit from my place though, so I had to wait. Marco had texted me to come to his game night tonight, and I’d agreed before Cor had asked what I was up to. The idea of passing up a chance to spend time with my latest obsession was preposterous, so I invited him to game night.

My brother could deal with my…whatever Cor and I were. He didn’t feel fake anymore, but I also didn’t want to pull a Luke on him and rush in hot and heavy. A pattern I’d noticed with Cor was that he needed time to adjust, and he’d stated his shock multiple times over the quick way I’d accepted my bisexuality. Was I excited about my discovery? Fuck yeah. I’d started to see things from my past in a different light, and that was cool as shit. But there was no need to angst. My folks were queer-friendly, my brother was bi, and I didn’t keep friends in my circle with shitty views.

I checked my phone again as if that would make Aria appear at the door. Skulking next to it like a creep probably wasn’t healthy either, but I wanted to get on the road to Kennett Square. The work traffic would’ve finally cleared up, and the need to be around Cor was stronger than ever.

A knock sounded, and I leaped up from my slouch against the wall.

I opened the door a little too fast, but I didn’t care. Aria stood in the doorway, looking the same as when we broke up, what, a month ago? Her black hair was pulled into an efficient ponytail, her deep-set blue eyes wide and framed by dark lashes. She was a stunner, no two ways about it, but I didn’t feel a spark of attraction. My attention had diverted to Cor. If we hadn’t already been so close, I might’ve been alarmed, but we’d hung out constantly.

“How’re you doing, Fee?” She slipped past me, since I awkwardly stood sentinel by the door.

“Oh, you know, the usual.” I shoved a hand into my back pocket.

Having sexuality revelations. Making out with Cor. Fucking into his tight hole. The usual.

“This my box of stuff?” She pointed to the cardboard box on the couch.

“Yeah,” I said, striding past her to grab it. We’d lived together for a year, but already, we’d become strangers. That was the only thing that made me hesitate when it came to Cor—the idea of our friendship, that closeness dissolving in the blink of a breakup. When I handed the box over, she nodded at my neck.

“Pretty sure you’re up to a bit more than the usual,” she said with a wan grin.

I clapped a hand on my neck. Shit. A flush raced through me. When Cor and I had been making out, he’d sucked a hickey there.

“Who’s the lucky person?” she asked, tilting her head.

“You’re not mad? Upset?” I asked, though truth be told, I wouldn’t be upset if she’d also moved on.

Aria lifted her brow. “We broke up for a reason.”

The other part of her statement slammed in. “Wait…did you know?”

Her lips quirked. “That you’re smitten with Cor? Obviously.”

The realizations tumbled toward me like an avalanche. My brows drew together. “How did you know I was bi if I didn’t?”

“Game recognizes game,” she said. “I’m not mad, because it was clear you had no idea. I know you weren’t cheating on me, but you weren’t present in our relationship. At least, not since you met him. Your focus shifted, even if you didn’t realize it.” Aria plucked the box from my hands, an amused grin on her lips.

I clutched my nape. “Shit. I’m sorry I did that to you.”

Aria shook her head. “Honestly, watching your na?ve ass believe it was all just friendship entertained me a bit. At least tell me you’re seeing him now.”

I opened my mouth and shut it again. My ex-girlfriend had been aware of my crush on Cor before I’d been, and that was something that would take time to process. “Uh, we went on a fake date?”

Aria gave me a flat look. “Stop being an idiot and lock that shit down, Ruiz, okay?” She stepped toward the door but paused by the frame. “I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I murmured, my mind churning in overload. Hesitation still tugged at me, and I couldn’t figure out what kept me from going for him. As much as I’d claimed friendship, I’d jumped into relationships with friends, so that wasn’t the issue. It wasn’t even the “it’s a guy” thing either.

The truth burrowed in my gut, an ever-present part of my life.

No, it was the fact that while I’d told Cor about my seizures, he’d never been with me through one. They weren’t common—pretty damn infrequent due to my meds—but a few ex-girlfriends had witnessed them. And things had always changed afterward. Either they hovered more, became more like my parents, or grew more distant, like they hadn’t signed up for that. Newsflash: I hadn’t either. And the idea of Cor shifting on me? Fuck. Ice slithered down my spine.

I spurred myself to motion and grabbed my keys and wallet.

Labels could be future-me’s problem.

Tonight, I would enjoy every second I got with Cor.

When I rolled up to Marco’s house, Cor’s truck was already parked along the street, but based on the silhouette in the driver’s seat, he hadn’t gone in yet. My heart thudded hard as I approached, more of a signal than anything that feelings had entered the field. We were going to the hockey game together this weekend, and maybe that would be enough for me to get out of my head and take the leap.

I rapped my knuckles on the window of his car, and he popped up from a slouch. He opened the door, and I stepped back to give him space. The second he got in my proximity, the scent of him, all vetiver and sandalwood, dosed me with lust. I wanted to lick and suck his neck until he was marked, just like he’d done to me.

“Hey.” I leaned in and pressed my lips to his. Were we pretending to be boyfriends here? It didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to kiss him. He opened for me so damn sweetly as I crowded into his space. His back thumped against the car, and he spread his legs so I could slide up between them until our torsos were aligned. His mouth was hot and eager, and he kissed with a voraciousness as if months had passed, not mere days. I echoed his hunger with my movements, resting my palms against the side of his truck to devour him. Sparks coursed through my body like someone had lit sparklers.

When we broke apart, we both heaved for breath.

“Aren’t we at your brother’s house?” He tugged on his beard. It was a habit I’d seen him do when he was unsure, and it charmed me every time.

“That we are,” I said, trailing off to let him continue. “Look, your family already thinks we’re dating. Turnabout’s fair play.”

He blinked, then shook his head, a crooked grin on his lips. “Tempting.” My insides fluttered.

“Your family might already be here anyway. Liam and Ollie come to game night a lot, according to Marco.” I hooked my finger in the waistband of his jeans and gave a tug. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

“Yeah, Liam’s car is the one two up,” he pointed out. We started toward Marco’s front door, the cute little brick house with the blue shutters and all charm. Sometimes I got jealous over Marco and his cozy setup. He could be independent, lived close to Mom and Dad, and had the loves of his life as company, including Kelsey’s son he doted on.

Meanwhile, I remained in the city on stubbornness alone. I didn’t mind it, but the more I came to visit Cor, the more I envied the familiarity here. The close friends, all the people I knew from Marco’s or Cor’s massive family. Compared to that, the city felt a little lonely sometimes, just the cold wind swirling around me as I stood on my balcony, staring at the looming skyscrapers.

It was so easy to feel small then, and I was so, so tired of feeling small.

“You okay?” Cor asked. “You’re rarely this quiet.”

I shook my head, a rueful grin rising to my lips. “A little contemplative today. Handed off the last bit of stuff to the ex-girlfriend earlier.”

Cor let out a grunt.

“Jealous?” I lifted a brow. Amusement percolated inside me. “You shouldn’t be.”

Because he’d been the sole thing on my mind from the moment we met. I’d just been too far up my ass to realize it.

Before he could respond, the door opened.

Maeve stood in the doorway, barely over five foot and yet somehow one of the most intimidating people I’d ever encountered. “I wondered who was loitering out here. I could hear voices.”

“Sure you’re not just hearing voices anyway?” I teased.

She flipped me off. “Come on, Little Ruiz. And…your boyfriend?”

“Yep.” I looped an arm through Cor’s and all but dragged him in with me. Her brows drew together as she processed for a moment, but then she shrugged and beckoned us inside.

Adrenaline coursed through me a little faster upon approach. Coming out to friends and family didn’t bother me, but a bit of nerves and euphoria arrived along with the process of being seen. And I tended to prefer not to be in the spotlight after my seizures stealing it my whole life.

The living room was filled with familiar faces. Only Marco was here tonight out of his triad—Ruby and Kelsey were at an exhibition in the city—and Sammy was with Rhys and Cole. However, Theo, Ollie, and Liam all sat at the table. And the moment we entered the room, everyone stared at Cor and me.

My brother’s eyes glued to where my arm was looped through Cor’s, and he looked me in the eye and lifted a brow. I offered a shit-eating grin back.

“Holy shit, you’re here.” Ollie pushed up from his seat and stormed over to his brother. “You fucker. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“Felix invited me last minute.” Cor extricated himself from my arm since Ollie was crashing into him for a hug.

Marco hopped up from the table. “Going to introduce me to your guest?” he asked, his voice loaded with intention. “Clearly, Ollie already knows him.”

“Shit, I should’ve mentioned that our brothers are dating.” Ollie wrinkled his nose.

Marco crossed his arms over his chest, drilling me with a look. “And when were you planning on telling me?”

Guilt flickered through me. While I’d kind of tumbled into pretending to be Cor’s boyfriend with the Brannons, this lie felt more deliberate. Except even if Cor and I were in…whatever limbo we floated in, one thing that wasn’t a lie was my newly realized attraction to men.

“I don’t think they make ‘Surprise, I’m Bi’ greeting cards,” I said.

“Well, they fucking should.” Maeve plunked down between Liam and Theo. “I could’ve definitely used those.”

“It was no surprise you were bi, babe,” Liam said, and Theo snorted.

Marco swung his gaze over to Cor, and I resisted the urge to reach out and tug him against me, just to make sure he didn’t get spooked away. “And where did you guys meet?”

“Sword fighting.” I placed a hand on my hip, daring him.

“Fee, sword fighting? Out of all the sports you could do…” Marco shook his head.

Irritation percolated within me. This was why I’d moved farther away and didn’t tell my family shit. Because to them, everything I did came with a big seizure risk sticker. It wasn’t like I was scaling mountains or doing dangerous sports, and when I’d started the sword fighting classes, I’d informed our instructor about my condition. But no, I needed to swaddle myself in bubble wrap and forever avoid everything fun.

“He’s really good,” Cor said, and I swallowed hard. Fuck. This man was amazing.

“Forget game night,” Maeve said. “I want to see a sword fight.”

“You always do,” Liam muttered.

“I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed to watching a match,” Theo said. “Like jousting style?”

Marco scrubbed his face. “You guys are proposing a match in my living room?”

I shrugged and met Cor’s eyes. “I’m game if you are.”

He shook his head, a world-weary sigh escaping him.

“This needs to happen,” Ollie announced as he plunked into his seat at the table beside Liam. “Payback for keeping your awesome hobby secret from your family for so long.”

“You’re not fighting with anything dangerous,” Marco muttered. My brother already realized the tide had turned against him. “I’ll be right back.”

“Lex is going to be so mad he missed out on this.” Theo leaned back in the seat. The handsome bear wore black slacks and a light blue button-down.

“Where’s he at?” I asked.

“Over at Cole and Rhys’s, watching the Eagles game. I had zero interest in joining.” Theo tapped the copy of Splendor in front of him. “If I’m paying attention to a game, it’s this kind.”

Marco returned with…spatulas. Metal spatulas, but…what?

“We’re sword fighting with those?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I’m not taking down our demo swords in the basement for you to play around with. You guys can’t hurt yourselves with these.”

Cor snorted. “It’s not going to be much of a sword demo with a spatula, but I’ll give it a go.”

I snagged the spatula from my brother a little harder than intended. I loved him to pieces, but the constant worries about my health and safety dug under my skin.

“Woo, sword fight,” Maeve called out, and I couldn’t help the bubble of amusement mingling with the irritation. Nice and spicy.

Since Cor was the only person I sparred with during classes, getting into a rhythm with him was easy. Almost as easy as the way our bodies had moved together when I’d fucked him the other night.

“Ready for this?” I asked Cor, waggling my brows.

He smirked. “Always.”

The surety in his tone struck me square in the chest, but my body moved on automatic, relaxing into the stance. Even though we were in my brother’s living room and wielding fucking spatulas, we’d practiced the same drills over and over again for the past six months. Cor shifted as well, and it was clear he settled into the same buzzy state of preparedness before a strike.

We both started to circle around as much as space permitted, spatulas wielded, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Had I been in odder situations? Probably, but right now, giddiness bubbled up, washing away the irritation that had been brewing. Cor’s shoulders were braced, but he always gave a tell before he was about to move.

His shoulders twitched.

I launched forward with my spatula.

Cor was quick to bat it away. We stepped back to circle again, the tension percolating in the air. Maeve shouted something, but all the noise dissolved in the background, my focus on Cor and his movements alone.

He darted forward, and I brought my spatula up to defend. The clang echoed through the room.

We parried—him with an up strike, defended, me with a sneak in from the side, defended.

Except his defense left him open.

I sliced in with the spatula, aiming for his chest.

However, he moved just as fast.

Neither of us relented, but the pressure from Cor was as strong as if we wielded practice swords, and I lost my grip on the spatula.

One second, the spatula was in my hand. The next second, it slipped out of my grip and hit the wall with a thunk.

I cringed.

That was before I saw where it had landed.

It was lying on the floor, next to a chunk out of Marco’s wall. Panic rushed through me.

Everyone stared at the result of our spatula fight.

“Oh, shit,” Ollie said.

“Uh.” I scratched the back of my head as I slow approached. “I’ll pay to get this fixed, of course.”

Marco tilted his head to the ceiling. “ Madre de Dios .”

Cor clapped a hand on my shoulder. “No need. Marco, do you still have the paint for these walls?”

“Yeah. In the garage.”

“I’ve got plaster in my truck. I can get this patched up before we leave here tonight.” Cor emanated this cool calm that was so goddamn hot right now. I wanted to bend him over and fuck him again, though preferably not in front of family.

“I can help you,” Ollie said. “It’ll take, like, ten minutes.”

“In the meanwhile, let’s veer into board games. A much safer, less violent route.” Theo nudged forward Splendor.

“Speak for yourself,” Maeve said. “Board games definitely incite me to violence. I’m a sore loser.”

Before Cor could head off to save the day, I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. I grew all too aware of the eyes on us, that this gesture was intimate in a way that hooking up wasn’t. However, my heart was tumbling forward faster than my mind could follow.

Cor’s cheeks pinked, and my chest soared.

Yeah, I was falling hard.