Chapter Twelve

Andy

I stepped inside the backdoor of my parents' house and listened to the sound of soft giggling as it trailed through the air. I knew that laugh anywhere. I figured that Leo had gone home. High-tailed it as far away from me as fast as possible. I followed the sound to find him sitting at the kitchen table while Ford painted his nails a bright lavender. I casually leaned against the doorway as I watched them. Ford had his head bent as he concentrated on his work while Leo spoke in a hushed voice. I caught a few words here and there, but the only one that stuck to me was RJ. I gritted my teeth as I moved farther into the room, and both of their heads shot up to stare at me.

"It's good to see you two talking again." I slid into the seat next to Leo.

Ford smiled. "I mean, we were always friends." His face split when he looked at Leo. "Right?"

"Yeah, boo, always." Leo nodded.

Ford hummed happily as he went back to painting Leo's nails. "You need something, Andy?"

"Do mine next." I placed both my palms face down on the table. The remnants of the black polish I had on was nearly chipped away. "Please."

Ford huffed. "You want purple, too? There are other colors if you want to take a look." With his free hand, he grabbed his box of polishes to place it on the table.

"What do you think, Ricky?" I held up a bright orange. "Is it me?"

Leo didn't even look at me. "I guess."

"Don't be like that." I bit my lip before the same thing tumbled out of my mouth but that didn't stop me. "I'm sorry."

Leo's lips curled as his eyes welled with tears. Then he sighed loudly, his blues meeting my gaze. "This one." Leo pointed to the dark maroon color.

I sat quietly as Ford finished painting Leo's nails and then silently began to clean my old polish off. I kept glancing at Leo, trying to catch him watching me, but instead he was patiently waiting for his nails to dry. Blowing on them occasionally, admiring how nice they looked. They had both stopped talking, and I knew that was because of me.

"You can continue your gossip." I hated that it was like this. That Leo wouldn't say anything in front of me. "Really, it's fine."

Ford smirked. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? To hear all the dirty details about what I want to do to RJ."

"Or what you already did." Leo wiggled his brows suggestively. "I mean, not that you did anything. Sorry, ignore me."

Ford and RJ? Is that what they had talked about? I knew Felix had a small crush on RJ, but RJ wasn't single and also straight. But then, maybe not so much. "You and RJ?"

"Yeah, me and RJ." Ford blushed as he turned away to cap the polish remover. "And Felix." He reached for the one Leo had picked out for me. "We've only kissed, but it was nice. Sweet." He brushed the color over my thumb.

Wait, Felix, Ford, and RJ? My brows shot up. Now I had so many questions.

Leo sighed dreamily as he smiled at my bass player, and I caught the way he looked at me before he glanced away. "RJ is a good guy. He'll treat you right. Don't you worry."

"Are you sure about that?" It came out as a growl.

Leo stood up. "I can't...I need to leave."

"Wait." I jumped to my feet, Ford protesting as polish smeared over my finger and onto the table. Dad was going to be pissed about that, but at this moment, I didn't care. "Ricky, I just...I can't stand the thought of someone else touching you."

He turned to glare at me, tears glistening in his eyes. "Maybe you should have thought of that before you broke up with me, Andy. I loved you; I would have done anything for you, and that included claiming we could be friends after you broke up with me. Spoiler alert, I can't. I wanted forever with you, but all you wanted was your freedom ."

"Bravo, boo!" Loud clapping caused the three of us to turn to the doorway. Ezra was standing outside on the porch, his dark eyes narrowed on me. "Come on, let's go."

Leo frowned. "Go? Go where?"

"Home. Yours or mine. It doesn't matter. I want to get you as far away from him as possible." Ezra stepped into the house, and I found myself moving away from him.

I'd lied when I'd said I wasn't afraid of him. He was furious and terrifying when he was angry. Like a smaller version of the hulk with claws.

Leo shook his head. "Ez, I'm fine." Only his voice trembled enough to give him away.

"What did you do now, Andrew? What did you say? I will end you!" Ezra started toward me just as my dad came rushing into the room.

"Ezra!" he exclaimed, placing a hand on his chest. "Boo, listen to me. While I appreciate your loyalty, like I said earlier, you need to let them figure this out themselves. Jax and I did. So did you and Carson. We can't meddle; as much as we want to."

Ezra's lip turned into a snarl. "You've been meddling without me, boo, and I don't like it. You know what he did to Leo. You saw the tears he cried. The way he crumbled into pieces. I can't bear the thought of him going through that pain again. He's a good kid."

"I know," Dad murmured and wrapped Ezra in a hug. "Andy is a good kid, too. He's just made a few mistakes. We've all been there."

I felt sick. I knew I had hurt Leo, but the fact that everyone else saw it, had helped pick him up and had breathed life back into him, made me feel even worse than I already did. I let out a low moan, then hurried up to my room and dropping face down on the bed. I screamed into the mattress, over and over again. I didn't care if I blew out my voice or ruined my career. I was a horrible person who didn't deserve all this happiness. Never mind someone as amazing as Leo.

The sound of my door locking had me twisting onto my back. Leo gave me a shy smile, and I stared at him as he moved to lie down next to me. He carded his fingers through my hair, his touch soft and calming.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I whispered. The itch to touch him was nearly overwhelming.

Leo shrugged. "Thought you could use a friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah, hon, a friend."

I started to sit up, but when Leo placed his head on my chest, right over my heart, I stopped and wrapped my arms around him instead. The sweet scent of him was everywhere, and I couldn't stop the tears that began to slip down my cheeks and into my ears.

"Your dad is talking some sense into Ezra while Ford cleans up the mess from the polish," Leo murmured against my chest. He glanced up to meet my gaze. "Want to talk about it now?"

I didn't. "No."

"Want me to go?" he asked.

I tightened my grip around him. "Stay, please, Ricky."

"Of course." He didn't say anything else as he placed his cheek against my chest. "RJ and I are only friends. He's never even shown any interest in me at all."

I grunted at the thought of RJ touching Leo at all. I had always liked RJ, but it pissed me off to think Leo had confided in him and not me. "Can we talk about something else?"

"He's very bi-curious."

"Leo, I mean it. Stop it."

He sat up. "How do you think I feel, huh? All the people who threw themselves at you. Mister Fucking Rockstar can have his pick of anyone he wants. Was it worth it, hon? Breaking up with me, ruining what we had, just so you could get your dick wet. A different person in your bed every night?"

I shoved away from him and nearly tumbled on the floor. "I never wanted to touch anyone else. You're the only one I've wanted to be with. The only one I've loved."

"Liar." Leo started toward the door and let out a squeal when I pushed him back onto the bed. "Andy, what are you doing?" He gasped when I climbed up over his body to blanket him.

My nostrils flared angrily. "You want to know why I broke up with you?" When he nodded, I tipped his head up and forced him to keep his blue eyes on me. "Words, baby, use them."

"Yes, I want to know. If I'm the one you wanted, then why did you do it? Why did you ruin everything we had worked for? I..." Leo's chin quivered as he stared up at me. "Let me up."

I leaned down to press my face against his neck. "Just trust me for once, Leo. Trust that I know I made a fucking huge mistake, and I have regretted it ever since. That I still love you and will do anything to get you back."

"Tell me."

Leo struggled beneath me but sucked in a sharp breath when I canted my hips and rubbed my cock against his. We were both hard, and I wanted nothing more than to strip off his clothes, kiss every single inch of his perfect, creamy skin, and finally sink my dick into his tight, pink hole.

I dragged my tongue over his Adam's apple, and Leo trembled beneath me. The urge to kiss him, taste those plump lips again, had me surging forward only for Leo to turn his head away. My mouth landed on his cheek. I quickly scrambled off the bed and tugged on my hair.

"I'm sorry. I know I've said that over and over again, but it's the truth. I'm so fucking sorry." I dropped to my knees and screamed so loud that I was sure that my parents could hear me.

Leo was next to me in a second, his arms wrapped around me and his mouth against my ear. "I'm right here, hon. Let it out."

"Please," I whimpered, clinging to him for dear life. "I need you."

Leo didn't say anything as he untangled himself from me. He went back to the bed, sat down, and patted his lap. "Come on."

"You want me to, what exactly?" I asked.

"Put your head on my lap and talk to me." He pointed to his crotch, and my dick twitched in my jeans. Now was not the time.

I rubbed at the wetness on my cheeks, then did as he asked, placing my head over his thighs. Leo's fingers found their way back into my hair, and I felt the sting of tears burn my eyes.

"I'm so sorry." I couldn't seem to stop saying those words. It was like I thought if I kept saying them, Leo would finally believe me.

"I know you are," Leo assured me, his nails scarping over my scalp. "Tell me what upset you so much that you came to find me at the race."

That was the last thing I wanted to talk about. "I can't."

"Okay." He hummed. "Then tell me why you broke up with me instead."

I didn't want to talk about that either. But I had to give Leo something. Against my better judgment, I opened my mouth and began to talk.