Up in Arms

Olivia stayed on Reed’s arm as they worked their way through the crowd. After his little outburst of a laugh, all he could do was to shrug his shoulders when she looked up at him questioningly. It took some time for them to wind across the room, and through scores of well-wishers to get to the couple. Once they reached the front of the line, they congratulated his beaming brother and his beautiful fiancé. Reed spoke briefly to Rylie, giving him a quick, hard hug. His brother didn’t let go, and he could feel the emotion pouring from him.

“Have a good night, brother. Let the stress go. Worry again tomorrow. Tonight’s for you and your lovely bride to be,” Reed whispered, giving him another good hard pat on the back before moving aside. Rylie kept eye contact with Reed, the moment still storming in his eyes as he nodded. Reed allowed himself to be pushed away and when his brother was absorbed in the next group of people, Reed turned, searching for Rylie’s friends. He wanted to introduce himself, but they vanished into the sea of people converging on the happy couple.

As the evening wore on, Reed suffered through too many hugs and congratulations on his brother’s behalf. His relatives drove him crazy. Their questions never stopped coming and were always the same. “When are you going to settle down, Reed?” “Are you seeing anyone, Reed?” “Can you believe your little brother’s going to beat you to the altar, Reed?” Needing a few minutes to escape, he spotted a bar in the very back of the room, away from all the festivities. Reed dodged a few more nosy relatives as he made his getaway.

Chapter Two

Perched on a barstool, Trevor purposefully ignored the stares directed toward his best friend Brody. Everyone always watched the man, no matter where they were. Trevor got it. He didn’t begrudge Brody the attention. The guy was by far the best looking man he knew. Blessed with devilish good looks, a hot, hard body, and a cocky grin that made his body burn... Yeah, he got it. But Trevor’s heart stayed locked in a constant state of pain as his best friend flirted shamelessly, hitting on everyone in sight. Well, everyone except for him.

Brody charmed both men and women alike, taking them to the restrooms, dark corners, or even the always available midnight stroll. It didn’t take much for Trevor to imagine exactly what they were doing. He knew it was all nothing more than a big game to Brody. The entire time Brody played, Trevor sat back and watched. Watched and hurt, and the hurt changed nothing. Brody never knew his feelings, and Trevor could never tell him.

He'd been infatuated with his best friend for some time now, but being in love with Brody and being a gay man in the military didn’t fit well together. Trevor hid it all from everyone in his life, but just in the last few months, the strain of secrecy started to catch up to him. Even though he'd climbed the ranks quickly, there felt like something vital was missing from his life. Only now did it become clearly obvious what that something vital might be. Trevor wanted a relationship, and apparently he wanted it with his whore of a best friend.

This entire ballroom felt alive tonight. The murmur of guests mingling and music from the band filled the air. The feelings of happiness, excitement, and love poured out to Rylie and Elise from their friends on both sides of their huge families. From what Trevor could see, everyone in attendance seemed genuinely thrilled about the pending marriage. He watched Brody navigate the love fest, congratulating everyone. Trevor knew Brody was sizing up the crowd, watching all the women and many of the men. If things weren’t so emotional where the guy was concerned, he might have been impressed with the quick work Brody made of snaring his prey.

Lifting the longneck bottle, Trevor took the last swig of his beer. He lifted his heels to the bottom rail of the stool, getting more comfortable in his stay at this bar. Trevor and Brody were as opposite as two people could be. Trevor sat quietly, actually happy with the lack of attention, while Brody not only found the attention but jumped right in the middle, creating a stir until he made it all about him.

With a glance over his shoulder, Trevor shook his empty beer bottle, signaling to the bartender that he needed another. As Trevor turned back to the crowd, his gaze collided with Rylie's older brother, who took a seat at the opposite side of the small L-shaped bar. Trevor’s heart gave a quick thump in his chest, butterflies filled his stomach, and all he could manage was a slight nod in Reed’s direction. For the second time this evening and the first in five years, Trevor realized there may be someone on the planet better looking than Brody. Outside of the pictures in Rylie’s apartment where he and Brody stayed this weekend, Trevor had only seen Reed once before, many years ago at their graduation from basic training.

Reed stood slightly taller than Rylie. His blond hair, emerald green eyes, sun tanned skin, and broad shoulders were impressive all on their own, even before throwing in all those movie star good looks. Reed could easily be a cross between a young Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Rylie looked a lot like his brother, but more serious, with harder edges where Reed was just smooth and captivating. Now, seeing the guy in person, Trevor realized he missed Reed’s best feature: the most perfectly formed lips he ever saw. Reed’s lips were actually the sexiest part about him, which seemed an odd thing to say since the guy was so very good looking. But those lips were full and thick, spreading easily into a wide, sexy, crooked grin. Knowing Reed wouldn’t remember him, Trevor forced his eyes away and turned fully back in his seat.