3. Leo

CHAPTER 3

leo

PRESENT DAY

"Uncle Leo!" Hikaru shouted, dropping his duffel to run over to me. I'd gotten to Sawyer and Hen's a few minutes earlier and was helping to welcome new arrivals.

"Damn, dude. You're almost as tall as me," I said, holding out my fist to the gangly teenager. He bumped it, and we both blew it up because we were cool like that.

Ru had been a little kid when I first met him. His fathers, Beckett and Holden, adopted him after he was rescued by the same folks who'd rescued me, and he and Ren—Holden's dad and Major's husband—were as tight as two people could be.

I followed him out to the swimming pool, then grabbed him and jumped into the water.

Ru sputtered when we broke the surface, laughing his ass off before starting a splash war. That continued until we saw Sawyer making his way to the pool area carrying a pitcher full of iced Kool-Aid, baby Holly on his hip.

Ru and I exchanged a look. Time to act normal. We smiled innocently as Sawyer set the pitcher on the table.

"Leo, how can I tell the kids no running or splashing in the pool area when you're the biggest instigator?"

Busted. Still, I wasn't going down without a fight. "How am I supposed to take you seriously when you're wearing board shorts? I mean, you look like such a dad ."

He tried to pull one of his classic stern glares, but any mention of him being a dad made him go soft all over. "Fine," he said, shifting the sleepy baby so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. "But Dexter skinned his knee the other day running around, and I'd like to set a good example for my own kids, you know?"

I grimaced. Even when I felt like a loser for being the only one in our group of friends unable to get into a relationship, being an honorary uncle to the kids of the original Lost Boys made me smile, and there was nothing I wouldn't do to keep every one of them safe. "Sorry, Sawyer-man. I'll do better."

"Thanks."

After he went back into the house, Ren, Major, Beckett, and Ru took turns teasing me for getting into trouble, and I dunked an innocent-slash-unsuspecting Holden for not taking my side. After they were done chirping at me, we started a game of water volleyball—with increasingly hilarious handicaps because I was, by all measures, the superior player.

The kids tied one of my hands behind my back for one set, and I had to stand-slash-hop on one foot for the next. Dexter, who'd racked up a few injuries in the name of science, made me put on the tiny eye patch he'd had to wear after a kitchen experiment gone wrong. Even though it barely fit over my eye, it hadn't been much of a handicap.

The most challenging one was playing while eating a burger. That didn't end well for the burger. Or the pool, come to think of it.

Whatever, I still won.

Major handed me the pool scoop, and I removed all the debris before Sawyer could see the mess. Unfortunately, Major had an ulterior motive, and he met me at the pool house when I went to return the scoop.

"What's up, boss?" I asked, even though I knew what was coming. My good friends had decided at the beginning of the summer that they were going to find me a boyfriend, come hell or high water.

They meant well, but… Oy.

"Did you try out the app?"

I let my chin drop to my chest as the kids—along with some adults—took noisy turns on the water slide. "It was a meat market. I deleted it the same day I signed up after getting, like, the fifth unsolicited dick pic."

He gestured at me. "All those hours of fixing people's plumbing issues look good on you, man. I know you don't like that kind of attention, but I'm sure there's plenty of non-dick-pic guys on that app."

I was used to being treated with a certain amount of disdain by the community outside of my circle of friends—customers appreciated my work ethic, but that was about the extent of it.

"Major, I know you mean well, but you forget that I'm the weird Lupe kid, and no one's ever gonna see me as anything different. And it would be really gross if a few extra muscles somehow make me more acceptable."

Major deflated a little. "Sorry, dude. I didn't mean it like that. I just…" He stopped to look me in my eyes. "You have so much love to give. Not everyone needs or wants a relationship, but you've told me how much you want the white picket fence and the kids and the partner."

"I do," I admitted freely. "But it's not just any partner, it's Love. And I'd rather die single than have to fucking deal with ‘lemme see your cock' DMs."

"I'm sorry about Love, and fuck, I'm really sorry about the unwanted dick pics. But… you can't just give up, Leo."

I laughed right in his face. "Watch me."

Major thought I needed to get over Love, but he didn't get it. I didn't know if I was demisexual or just Love-sexual, but I couldn't imagine falling in love with—let alone sleeping with—anyone else.

Ren, probably noticing my discomfort, called Major over, and I got a much-needed reprieve.

Being pressured into intimacy or commitment—even with the best of intentions—wasn't great for my gray matter. It was as if I'd done such a good job of moving on from my childhood that my closest friends forgot some scars wouldn't ever heal. It was hard to explain to them, knowing how much they had helped me in every other way.

My therapist had suggested working on boundary setting for our next few sessions, and she might have been on to something. I just hoped the Lost Boys would understand.

Not wanting to think about it any longer, I toweled off and left the Paige-Beckett family to play while I went inside.

"Don't drip in the kitchen!"

That was Ginger, with baby Camila strapped to her back, fussing at me while chopping up jalape?os for the pico de gallo.

"I'm not, you nag," I complained, hip-checking her as I dropped a kiss on Camila's head. "I'm just trying to get away from Major and his well-meaning relationship advice."

Ginger grimaced as she slid the knife along the pith of the jalape?o. She was the one person who never forgot that I couldn't date like most people. "You have told him you're somewhere on the ace spectrum, right?"

I shook my head. "Didn't want to get into it with him. I'm tired of telling people and then having them look at me with that sad little head tilt."

Sawyer's friend Odd joined us in the kitchen. It had been a long time since I'd seen him. "Odd, buddy. Your hair is getting long."

Odd chuckled like he was imitating Matthew McConaughey. Which… Unexpected. "I'm Anders, the more handsome twin."

Oh. Anders . I'd heard about him and seen him here and there, but I'd never really talked to him. To be honest, his reputation preceded him, and I didn't exactly feel like getting chatty with him.

A handsome man sidled up next to him, along with two children, a boy and a girl that were maybe preschool age. All three of them had the most amazing blue-green eyes.

The man stuck out his hand. "Hello. You're Leo, right?" I nodded and shook his hand. "I'm Omar. These are our twins, Maya and Rami."

I smiled at the two adorable kids, who smiled back. It was interesting how the girl favored Anders while the boy favored Omar.

A few minutes later, Odd—the real one this time—joined us with his husband, DB, and their twin sons, who were maybe a little younger than Anders and Omar's kids. Unlike their cousins, Rune and Holmes were identical and a perfect mix of their dads. They had deeply suntanned skin and coily hair that'd been bleached by the sun and pool. Their amber-hazel eyes were otherworldly.

The four cousins came together with loud shouts and rambunctious hugs, and soon they bolted out the door.

Sawyer walked in, frowning at the mayhem through the window over the sink with baby Holly still drooling on his shoulder.

"Wasn't me," I cracked, but he didn't seem convinced.

I followed his line of sight, grinning as the pairs of twins gang-tackled Ru. He acted like they'd knocked him off balance and pulled them all into the pool with him. The kids screamed with laughter and an epic water war ensued.

Even though Ru was the oldest, he was so good with the little ones. It reminded me of the deal I'd tried to make with Ginger years ago. I'd suggested that we get married and use a turkey baster to have kids, but she'd brushed me off.

She'd joked that if she turned thirty with no good prospects, we could do it. She hadn't realized that I'd been serious as a heart attack. I might not like the idea of sex with anyone other than Love, but Major was right. I loved the idea of having children. I wanted nothing more than to have an entire minivan full of kids.

Unfortunately for me, she and Jules got their shit together just as she turned thirty, and now they were living out their happily ever after. They'd promised I could live with them forever, but Ginger had recently told me that she was pregnant with her second baby.

She would never hint or imply anything, but I didn't want to crowd them. When they didn't object to my suggestion that I move out, I knew I'd overstayed my welcome.

Kind of a familiar feeling.

No. They love you. It's just time to move on.

That shouldn't have stung as much as it did, but that was how it was with me. Shit hurt more than I thought it should, and I had to keep rolling. Therapy had helped me through the worst of my rejection sensitivity, but unfortunately, there were times when things cut me deep and people didn't even realize it.

Watching the kids play outside made me wonder what the future had in store for me. I'd looked into being a foster parent. Given that I'd recently secured my master plumber's license and had been saving most of my paychecks, I was feeling pretty good about my chances.

But first I needed to find a home.

I blinked and remembered that I was at a get-together with other people, and I should probably act more sociable.

I went over to where Odd and Anders were. It was easier to tell them apart when they stood side by side. Basically, Odd looked like he had his shit together, and Anders looked like he might start the next world war if given half a chance.

Just as I was approaching them, Anders elbowed his brother. "Did you hear? Lovett is back in town."

"Yep. Started their internship with Lynn last month, and she says they've got a real way with the animals, especially the horses."

"He's based out of Rebel Sky, right?" Anders asked rather loudly. "Staying at one of the bunkhouses?"

" They're ," Odd corrected, tilting his head at his brother as my ears started ringing. "And yeah, they live out at Rebel Sky and have been shadowing Lynn throughout the week."

Anders nudged me, jarring me out of my frozen state. "The Underwood kids sure have come a long way since that rollover incident."

Love had told me the story about the night they'd taken the family's Dodge Caravan for a joyride. It had ended with all three of them mucking out stalls at Rebel Sky for an entire summer.

Ginger must have noticed my expression and walked over to take my arm and drag me away from the conversation. I tried to focus on Camila's pretty dark-red hair, but it wasn't working.

"It's okay, Leo. It'll be okay."

Ginger's normally soothing voice grated on my freshly exposed nerves. I didn't bother contradicting her, but… No. It wasn't anything close to okay. And I'd bet my pay raise that Anders's loud comments had been intentional.

The kids started another game of water volleyball, and the shouting and splashing made my skin crawl. I couldn't stand another second of it. I wrenched myself away from Ginger's grasp and went to the guest bedroom, where I'd left my duffel. I found a clean T-shirt, yanked it on, and headed for the door with my bag, not bothering to change out of my swim shorts.

Ginger may have called after me, but I couldn't hear a damned thing save for how hard I was breathing. I tossed my duffel into my truck and climbed in, cranked the engine, and headed west.

By the time I hit the highway that would take me to Rebel Sky, my shorts had more or less dried, but I still had no idea what I was doing. The only thought in my head was Love.