Chapter Twenty-Seven

Leo

I left my fire suit unzipped as I headed out the door of my RV, only to come face to face with my brother. The one person I was hoping to avoid. I didn't want to argue with him or fight about Andy. Especially when everyone could hear us. Family drama was our business and no one else's. Sometimes the gossip around the track was worse than the WAGs chat.

"You look tired," was the first thing out of Noel's mouth.

I rolled my eyes and pushed past him. "I had a late night."

After Andy had fallen asleep, I had stayed up for quite some time, just watching him and making sure he didn't have any nightmares. It had only happened once before, the night of his eighteenth birthday, and I was able to calm him down. We never told either of his parents. Maybe we should have. It might have changed things. Helped him before things went the way they did.

"Don't let him ruin your future, Leopold." Noel caught me by the arm, and I came to a stop.

I shrugged out of his grip. "Is that what you think is going to happen? That Andy is going to ruin my career? That's rich coming from you." I folded my arms over my chest as I glared at him.

"What? No, I just... Last time... You almost lost your ride. Just because we're friends with Watts and Killian doesn't mean they're going to hold your job for you. There are plenty of other drivers out there who want a chance at the big time who don't have extra baggage."

I closed my eyes and tried not to explode. "My job is the least of my concerns right now," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Leo, I know you think that I'm being an asshole about this, which I am, but I love you. That's why I'm doing this."

I took a step back. "I know you love me. And I appreciate everything you've done for me since the day Mom and Dad left. But guess what? Despite how you might feel about it, I love Andy, and he loves me. I don't know if that means we're going to have some epic conclusion to our love story, but I want to try. He needs me." I patted the left side of my chest, right over my heart. "And I need him. You have your forever with two amazing guys. I never once judged your or gave you shit for dating two men. Why am I different?"

"Because you're my baby brother. I love you, and I want you to achieve everything I couldn't." Noel's voice cracked.

I stared at my brother. "I don't understand what you mean."

"I just... I struggled for a bit. With you. I was a kid, trying to raise another one, and okay, Grandma helped, but I didn't know the first thing about taking care of myself, never mind a child. I struggled to be a father, a brother, and your friend. I just want you to be the best." He dropped his gaze to his feet.

I closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms tightly around Noel. "Thank you," I whispered. "For taking care of me and being the best brother that I could have asked for. I know I was a bit of a drama queen, but you took it all in stride."

"And then we met Ezra." Noel chuckled. When he pulled back, he brushed the hair from my forehead, his two different colored eyes searching my face.

I grinned. "And then we met Ezra," I echoed his words.

"I am so damn proud of you." Noel cupped my head between his hands.

I felt tears sting my eyes. "Thank you." I hugged him again before we broke apart. We had practice and qualifying to get to for Sunday's race.

We walked toward the track together, Noel filling me in on a few things that Seth, Wyatt, and he wanted to do to around the house. There would be a few contractors around when I got home.

"I think I'm going to move in with Andy, so whatever you want to do with my room is fine." I got myself ready for him to freak out and yell again. When he didn't, I glanced over to find him chewing on his bottom lip.

"That's your room. I'm not going to change anything about it. I shouldn't have gotten so upset. You're right, you're an adult now, and it's none of my business who you date. If you want to be with Andy, I'm not going to try to stop you. And"—Noel gripped my shoulder—"if it doesn't work out, I'll be there to pick up all the broken pieces. You're my little brother, and I love you. No matter what."

I hugged him again, not caring that half the field of drivers was watching. "Thank you, Noel," I whispered.

***

It was raining. Wait, scratch that. It was absolutely pouring outside right now, and it wasn't expected to stop until Sunday night. There were talks of pushing the race to Monday afternoon, which meant I most likely wouldn't get home until late that night. And I was worried about how Andy would handle that. He seemed to be hanging on by a thread, and if I came home later than planned... I didn't want him to get upset.

"Sit." Seth knocked his knuckles on the table.

I grunted. "I'm not a dog." But I did as he asked.

We were playing Monopoly with Wyatt, Carson, and Holt. Noel was talking with Matthias, while RJ was deep in conversation with Killian and Watson. I could only imagine what that was about. I kept noticing how red my friend was, his ears and cheeks glowing brightly.

"You need to talk about it, babe?" Seth asked, his blue eyes glittered with mischief. He leaned toward me. "Was it everything you hoped it would be?"

I grinned. "Better. I mean, I've plenty of practice with that dildo you helped me—"

"Stop!" Noel clapped his hands over his ears. "I don't need to hear this conversation."

Wyatt snorted. "Please, he's such a dirty talker in the bedroom. Don't listen to him." He dropped the die on the board and moved his game piece. "Still proud of you for waiting. And for going with the boy you've been in love with for years."

"Really?" I beamed at Wyatt as Noel continued to cover his ears. "I always wanted it to be Andy."

Holt sighed dreamily. "It's perfect when it's the one you love, you know? You've waited and hoped and prayed for everything to go your way. And when it does, it just feels right."

"I agree," Matthias chimed in. He tugged Noel's arm from his ear. "Stop, we're not talking about that. Lighten up."

Seth winked at me. "I can't say I waited until the right time, but I found the right men, and that's really all that matters."

"Ah, angel, you're so sweet." Wyatt leaned over to kiss him.

Carson nudged my arm. "We're the only two without our guys. Kind of sucks."

"It royally sucks." I cast a glance over at RJ, whose eyes were wide as he listened to Killian and Watson. He looked more than a little nervous and a lot of terrified.

Carson stood up. "It's been fun, but I have a hot date with my husband. He should be calling me in twenty minutes, and I need to go get ready." He ruffled my hair playfully.

"You mean you're going to get naked and jerk off with him," Killian announced. "What? Don't look at me like that. We were all thinking it. I'd do the same thing if Matthias wasn't here. Babe, why are you so far away from me?" He pouted.

Carson rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you're just jealous."

"I mean, Ezra does think I'm hot. He wanted to marry me when he was in high school." Killian barked out a laugh when Carson gave him the finger. "Go talk to your man."

Carson was already at the door. "That's the plan."

"And tell him I said hi." Killian roared with laughter when Carson grabbed an empty bottle of water and tossed it at him. "I mean, it's been weird without the little dude running around. I kind of miss him."

Matthias dropped into his lap. "Do you?"

"Nah, it's just you I missed." Killian tugged him closer.

RJ tapped my arm. "I'm heading out."

"You sure? You can crash here tonight if you want." I stood up. He shook his head, and I wiggled my brows at him. "How about you? You got a hot date tonight, too?"

RJ flushed. "Not with my father in the next room. But, uh... I was going to call them."

"You have fun with that, boo." I hugged him and giggled as he left. "Wait, are you all leaving?" Seth had packed up the board game. "That sucks."

Watson was already dragging Holt toward the door. "We have a long day or so ahead of us. Might want to get started. Sleeping, I mean."

"Yeah, us, too." Noel wrapped his arms around me. "Be good, Leo. I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

Once everyone was gone, and I had washed up and changed into my pajamas, I called Andy. I had texted him earlier about the weather, but I knew he was going to be disappointed. Only he didn't answer. Maybe he was busy with his parents or hanging out with his brothers. I scowled, thinking about him with Ford, but then, they had been together on tour for months.

Leo: Are you busy? I miss you.

I got no reply, and when my message went unread. I tried Felix next.

Leo: Are you home? I can't get hold of Andy. I just wanted to make sure he was okay.

Felix: Sort of busy, boo. Ford and I have a hot phone date with one of your friends.

Felix: It's RJ.

Leo: I figured as much. Have fun with that.

Felix: We're planning on it.

Leo: If you run into Andy, ask him to call me?

Felix: You got it. *heart emoji*

At some point I drifted off, and when I woke, the sun was coming up and the sound of the rain pouring down on the roof of my RV was relentless. I had no missed calls or messages from Andy. And he still hadn't read my text.