Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

When I saw Briar sitting on the couch next to the stranger in the executive lounge, he didn't even need to introduce us for me to know that this was his father. They were like peas in a pod, if one pea was about twenty years older and forty pounds heavier than the other. And dressed like an accountant. Also, when he turned around and saw me, he smiled.

They were very different peas, actually.

Briar introduced us, his voice soft and tentative. "Casey, this is my father, Alan. Alan, this is Casey. He's my boyfriend." He bit his lip.

My heart fluttered in my chest at hearing him call me his boyfriend, followed by a flush of pride on his behalf. Introducing your parents to the person you were dating could be nerve-wracking at the best of times, let alone on the heels of a shitshow like today, but Briar was doing it anyway.

What Briar didn't know was that I was an expert at meeting parents. Like, I had good grades, excellent prospects, I dressed neatly, and I was respectful. Even dads who posted Facebook selfies with guns and trucks and flags loved me.

"Nice to meet you, sir," I said and held out my hand.

"Casey, call me Alan," he said, shaking. "From what Briar says, I need to thank you for standing up for him today."

Briar darted a glance at me, his cheeks pink.

"It was Briar who did the standing up," I said, sitting on the couch opposite them. "Me and the other guys were just there with him."

Briar got a little pinker, but he didn't deny it.

"Well, I'm glad you were there," Alan said. "Real glad." He looked around the executive lounge. "It sounds like Alpha Tau was the right choice for you, Briar."

"I'm probably not staying," Briar said. "I might be quitting the fraternity."

Alan's brow creased. "Quitting? Why?"

Briar hunched over, just like he had when Mr. Pendelton had been here. "It's just not for me, maybe."

"Oh." Alan sounded confused. "Last we talked, you said how much you liked it."

Briar caught my gaze and then looked back at his dad. "I lied. Not about that but about other stuff. I told these guys I already did the LSAT so they'd take me in. But I didn't do it."

Alan's expression did something complicated, and it held an echo of Briar's when he was about to argue the point. "I mean I could be wrong, my source material is watching Legally Blonde, but isn't the LSAT something you can do any time?"

"Um, yeah," I said when Briar remained silent.

"So what's the big deal? You can always take it later."

Briar tipped his head back, staring at the ceiling. "I might have lied about the whole ‘wanting to be a lawyer' thing as well. And Alpha Tau is prelaw."

"I don't understand," Alan said in the wary tone of someone who'd dealt with Briar before.

Briar looked at him, his face screwed up. "I don't want to be a lawyer. I never did. You wanted that. I didn't!"

"Hold up," Alan said, showing Briar the palms of his hands. "Just hold up a second there, kiddo. Where's all this coming from? I never said I wanted you to be a lawyer."

"Not in so many words, no." Briar jutted out his chin. "But we were talking about jobs that time, and you said law would be a good career, and then later you told me you'd found a frat that could be a good fit for me and offered to pay my fraternity fees if I got accepted. And that frat turned out to be prelaw, so what was I meant to think?"

Alan stared at Briar with wide eyes and then threw back his head and began to laugh. I got the feeling it was more from disbelief than anything else.

Briar scowled at him.

"Oh, Jesus, kiddo. I'm sorry. Just give me a second." He rubbed his face. "Briar, that time we talked about jobs, I said law would be good. I also said architecture was a good choice. And so was nursing. I meant anything, Briar. Anything you wanted to do, I'd support you."

"But you didn't offer to pay for my housing at nursing college," Briar said, sounding uncertain. "I thought you would only pay if I went to Lassiter and got into Alpha Tau. You only mentioned Alpha Tau."

"No, that was never... you didn't bring up nursing again. I thought you'd settled on law." All traces of Alan's laughter had vanished now. "Shit. They really did a number on you, didn't they?"

I didn't have to ask who he meant.

"I'm sorry for laughing." Alan let out a long breath. "Briar, you could tell me you wanted to go study the kazoo or train marmosets to ride bicycles, and I'd look after you in any way you needed. God knows, I didn't get the chance when you were younger."

"You didn't even know I existed," Briar murmured.

"That doesn't make me feel like less of a failure here," Alan said. "But you need to hear this, Briar. My support of you? It's not conditional, okay? I don't care what you study. I just want you to be safe while you do it. And I didn't want you to be alone. That's the only reason I mentioned Alpha Tau, because Mel said her boss's son is the chapter president, and she figured any fraternity that's run by a Black guy with a boyfriend was more likely to be accepting of someone who doesn't tick all the conventional boxes. I didn't mean to make you feel like I was pushing you into something you didn't want. And if you're unhappy here, we can find you somewhere else that isn't a dormitory, okay?"

Briar's shoulders uncurled, and he let out a long breath. "Really?"

"Really." Alan reached across and ruffled Briar's hair. "Hell, we can get you an apartment off campus. I meant it when I said whatever you need, Mel and I are here for you."

Briar looked over at me. "I do like it here, and I'd like to stay, but it's not up to me. I lied to get in." He chewed on a fingernail. "And these guys are all prelaw."

The prelaw thing was only mostly true. That was our focus at Alpha Tau, certainly, just like across the road at Theta Phi it was medicine. But sometimes guys changed their focus when they'd been at college for a while. Sometimes they decided not to go to law school. Sometimes they were a legacy who was studying something completely different but still wanted to pledge. It wasn't the kind of thing you put in the rules because circumstances might change. And besides, the most popular brother in Alpha Tau wasn't even a little interested in the law. He was busy majoring in sniffing butts and stealing pretzels. If Squirrel was a brother, there was no way Briar would be out of consideration for changing his major or his postgrad plans.

If he was out, it was because of the lying.

"It's not up to me," I said. "It's something the chapter executive has to discuss, and it might even go to a vote with the rest of the brothers. But I told you, I'll do what I can to help you stay."

"Even if I don't want to be a lawyer?" Briar asked.

"Of course."

"I've messed everything up," he whispered. "Haven't I?"

"Not everything," I said. "I mean, if I count for something."

"You do," he said softly.

He held my gaze for the longest moment, and I wondered if, like me, he was hoping that was enough.

It wasa weird night at Alpha Tau. Trey ordered in a shitload of pizzas, which we paid for out of the social fund account. The impromptu pizza party spanned the length of the house, but Briar and I, and most of the chapter executive, claimed the smaller living room. Knox managed to put a smile on his resting bitch face and gave Alan and his wife, Mel, a tour of the house. Marty and Squirrel were a total hit with Alan and Mel's daughters, two little girls who'd thought they were on a trip to Grandma's house before Alan had got the text from Briar but were now happily running up and down the stairs with my roommate and his dog. They were five and seven or something, so Marty was like a god to them.

"It's complicated," Briar told me over a slice of pepperoni. "My dad always treated me like—not like shit, not exactly, but it was clear I wasn't good enough compared to Ricky. I was about fifteen when my uncle got drunk one Thanksgiving and spilled the beans about Alan. Apparently, my mom met him on a work trip." He did air quotes. "Anyhow, as soon as he told me, it made sense. Like, you've seen my dad, right? And Ricky looks just like him, all tall and blond and built like a tank. And then there was me, skinny and short and pale. I don't know how I didn't figure it out sooner."

"Shit. That's rough."

He shrugged. "In a weird way, it was almost a relief. Knowing there was a reason I'd never measure up, that he would never be proud of me, and it wasn't anything I could change. It meant I got to stop trying. And that's when I decided it was okay for me to be Briar and dye my hair black and do those things I'd always been afraid to try in case my dad didn't approve. Like, what did I have to lose?"

I winced.

"Yeah," he said with a rueful smile. "It didn't go down well. I got the whole ‘not under my roof' bullshit."

"What happened?"

Briar shrugged. "I took myself out from under his roof. I couch surfed for a while. Ended up staying with a friend from school whose parents were cool with it. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. And after a while, I finally got up the courage to message Alan on Facebook."

"You said he didn't know you existed?"

"Oh, man, can you imagine?" Briar laughed softly and shook his head. "He's just checking Facebook one day, and there's this message that's basically like, ‘Hi. Are you the Alan Sutton from Richmond who slept with Luanne Pendelton seventeen years ago? If you are, then I think I'm your son.' He said he almost had a heart attack."

I stared at him. "That's how you introduced yourself? What if it had been the wrong Alan?"

He grinned. "I sent it to seven Alan Suttons. I was immediately blocked on three accounts, had another three threaten lawsuits, and got one invitation to meet up for coffee. Like, from his profile pic I thought, yeah maybe... but when I walked into that coffee shop, I knew for sure, even before we did the test."

"That must've been something," I said.

"It was. Like, we share the same body language. We have the same laugh. You know that kids' movie where the last dinosaur of its kind comes over a hill and finds an entire herd of other dinosaurs just like them? That's what it was like. Finally, I'd found somewhere I fit."

"And you went to live with him?"

Briar shook his head. "He was a stranger. He still is, mostly. I don't want—I didn't want to mess it up."

I didn't miss the way he'd stumbled over his tenses there. "It's still new."

He nodded.

Still new, and he didn't trust it. Still new, and he was terrified of losing it. Just like he was with Alpha Tau. Alan was right. Briar's family had sure done a number on him.

Trey sat down on the couch opposite us.

Squirrel skittered into the room and then skittered out again. One of the little girls screamed with laughter.

Scout joined Trey on the couch, a paper napkin folded carefully under his pizza, because God forbid he get a grease stain anywhere on him.

"You good?" Trey asked.

Briar leaned against me and gave a jerky nod.

Trey tore the crust off his pizza and ate it first. The weirdo. "Just so you know, Archer and I have talked about it, and there's not going to be a vote or anything. You're our brother, Briar, and this house is your house as long as you're at Lassiter."

"But I lied," Briar said in a small voice.

"Yeah," Trey said. "So what?"

Briar blinked at him.

Scout leaned back. "If you had any interest in the law at all, Briar, which you obviously don't, you'd know that there's the letter of the law, and then there's the spirit of the law. And Trey is much more invested in the spirit of the law."

"And you?" I asked because I couldn't help myself.

"I'm a pedant," Scout said. "I believe the death penalty should be introduced for misplaced commas."

Trey snorted out a laugh. "You're lying."

"Am I?" Scout asked, giving him a cold, dead stare.

I was 80 percent sure it was a lie. Maybe 75.

"So, Briar, you're on social probation and extra chores for the rest of the semester, and you work on getting your grades up," Trey said. "And then, next semester, it's a clean slate. Does that work for you?"

"Yes," Briar said, blinking again. "What's social probation?"

"No fraternity parties or events for you," I said.

"What a shame," Scout deadpanned. "Because he's such an extroverted social butterfly. Remember the meet and greet? We could hardly get a word in edgewise. Everyone was like, ‘Briar, dude, just dial it down to eleven, please. You're too much fun.'"

"The downside to this deal is you'll have to deal with Scout until he graduates," I said, threading my fingers through Briar's.

He squeezed my hand. "A punishment worse than death, then?"

Scout hid a smirk behind a slice of pizza.

Archer wandered in with his boyfriend, Eli, and passed around a bunch of sodas. Knox and Alan and Mel returned soon after, Mel gushing about the bones of the house, and it didn't take long until Marty was drawn by the smell of pizza. Squirrel and the little girls came with him, and the girls squeezed onto the couch on either side of Briar, making me shift over a bit.

Trey and Scout gave up their couch for Alan and Mel. Trey sat on the floor with Archer, Eli, Connor, Knox, and Marty. Scout went and got himself a chair from the dining room.

One of the little girls plucked at the lace on Briar's sweater sleeve. "I like your shirt, Briar," she said shyly.

He looked a bit startled but smiled. "Thank you, Emily."

She beamed at him.

It was a strange night but a good one.

An hour later, when Marty and Knox were carrying the sleeping girls to the car with Mel leading the way, Alan hung back and shook all our hands. When he reached me, he followed the handshake up with a hug.

"Thanks," he said into my ear, "for looking out for him."

"Thanks for coming," Briar said when Alan hugged him. "On, like no notice and stuff. Please tell Mel's mom I'm sorry you had to cancel your plans."

"I will," Alan said. "But, Briar, anytime you need anything, you call me, okay?"

"Yeah, I know," he said, and I got the impression they'd had this conversation more than once before. He shrugged. "But you have a family, and?—"

"And you're a part of it," Alan said. "No take backs, kiddo."

I couldn't imagine there was anyone else in the world with the balls to call Briar "kiddo" and not get immediately eviscerated.

"No take backs," Briar said with a wobbly smile.

After they'd left, Briar leaned against my side smothering a yawn, which had me yawning in turn. The whole day had been an emotional roller coaster, and I was exhausted. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and guided him toward the staircase, and he didn't argue.

"Oh hey," Marty said, jogging past me. "Lemme grab my keys, and I'll head over to Dalton's and give you some privacy. I mean, you guys are gonna be getting it on, right? Like, comfort sex?"

Marty was far more observant than some people thought. He really could have used a filter sometimes, though.

"Uh..."

"Thanks, Marty," Briar said quietly and took my hand and led me up the stairs. When we got to my room, Briar draped his arms around my neck and leaned up and kissed me.

I kissed him back, slow and soft, and he melted into it, and then I said, "We're not just doing this because Marty said to, right?"

Briar laughed softly and leaned his forehead against my shoulder for a moment. When he looked up again, the customary glint in his eye was back. "I'm pretty sure I know what I want, Casey."

"Oh yeah?" I tilted my chin up. "And what's that?"

"I would like to aggressively..." He hummed. "Cuddle."

I let out a laugh. "That sounds good to me."

I kissed him again, then untangled myself from his arms and kicked my shoes off. I paused. "This is naked cuddling, right?"

Briar sat on the side of the bed and peeled his sweater off. "Obviously."

I paused with my jeans half down. How the fuck did I get someone as gorgeous as Briar? The light from the lamp on my nightstand made his pale skin glow golden, and his hair was as dark as ink.

Scrappy as an alley cat, but right now he was as soft and quiet and trusting as a kitten. I'd earned that, somehow. I'd earned Briar's trust.

He stared right back at me and then tilted his head. The corner of his mouth quirked. "Um, Casey, have you forgotten how to take your pants off? Because if you have, we might need to break up."

"Excuse you. I was savoring the moment!"

He laughed and looked the most beautiful I'd ever seen him. And probably would tomorrow too, and the day after that. Happiness suited him.

I stripped out of my jeans and shirt and joined him on the bed, and together we worked his skinny jeans off him and then slid under the comforter together. There was no urgency, just me and Briar. We lay facing each other, and he ran his hands over every inch of bare skin he could reach, and I did the same. It was like we were reassuring each other that this was real, and we got to keep each other.

"What a fucking day, huh?" I murmured.

"Yeah." His eyes fluttered closed as I kissed his collarbones. "Crazy."

"It ended up okay though. You and me, right here."

He opened his eyes. "I'm hoping it ends up better than okay."

I knew how to take a hint.

My arousal had been growing with every sweep of Briar's hands over my naked body, and my dick was rock-hard. I tugged at Briar's waist until he was on top of me, and grabbed his ass to pull him close so I could grind up against him. A breathless laugh escaped him and he buried his head against the dip of my shoulder, rolling his hips, working with me as our dicks rubbed against each other in a choppy, desperate rhythm. Heat built between us, and I was soon on the edge, and Briar was letting out ragged pants against my shoulder. He thrust forward and groaned; then he dug his fingers into my hip and shuddered against me as he came. That was all it took to send me flying right along with him.

We floated back to Earth slowly, catching our breath and kissing. Catching our breath again when our kisses drew out too long.

It was warm and messy and sweet, and it felt like coming had sapped every last bit of energy I had. I could barely roll over and reach for the wet wipes on the nightstand to clean us up.

"Thank you for everything today," Briar murmured around a yawn as I fished for the wipes. "You're the best boyfriend, Casey."

"Lucky," I said, grunting as I finally snagged the packet. "Because no take backs."

When I rolled back over to face him and to wipe up our mess, he'd already fallen asleep with a smile on his face.

I was pretty sure I was wearing one that matched.