Jagged Edge

I flip him the bird and finish my beer. There are perks to sitting in Ocean’s spacious living room. Free food, free booze, and a glimpse of my little niece before she was whisked away by her mom to be fed, de-crapped and put to bed.

I love being with my brother and his little family. These good times are our reward for having survived our shitty childhood and adolescence to a happy ending, managing not to slip into drugs and abuse.

A fucking miracle. And it makes me wonder how Jason made it so far without a brother like mine.

But I’m not gonna think about him.

“Tell me it was Gary,” Ocean is saying.

Oh Christ. “Would you finally stop talking about fucking Gary!”

In the silence that follows, you could hear a damn pin drop.

Kayla, Ocean’s girl, pops her head inside, takes a wide-eyed look at us. She has her dark hair pulled into funny little pigtails and dark circles under her blue eyes.

Oh man. I rub a hand over my face. “Sorry. Did I wake up the baby girl?”

“Nah, it’s okay, she hasn’t budged. I wish I could sleep like her. Everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

She flicks Ocean one last questioning look that makes me feel like an asshole, nods and vanishes back into the private end of their apartment.

I lean back on the soft leather sofa and try not to think of Jason sprawled on mine, his dark head on my shoulder, and then naked and hard, moaning in pleasure as I—

“Look, R…” Ocean sighs and folds his arms behind his head, stretching, watching me all the while. “Sorry, okay? I thought you and Gary would hit it off. I guess I should’ve taken a hint when you said it didn’t work out between you.”

Yeah, he should have. But he’s my brother, and the look he’s giving me… I know that look. He’s worried. About me.

And it has to stop.

“Look, I’m fine, I swear. Just... trust me, okay? I’ve got this.”

Good thing the event is coming up next week. Lots to do, lots to think about.

Not that it will help much. I’m kidding myself, and yeah, I can’t lie for shit. Not to myself.

And as it turns out, to my brother neither.

“Listen, R…” Ocean shakes his head. “Will you bite my head off if I ask who the guy is? Do I know him?”

“No.”

“It’s not Jason, is it?”

Ah fuck. “And what if it is? You like the guy.”

“Jesus Christ, Raine. Are you out of your fucking mind?”

I jump to my feet. “Know what? This discussion was over ten minutes ago. Thanks for the great evening.”

“R. Wait.”

No fucking way. Can’t stay here for a second longer. I head to the entrance, grab my jacket off the coat rack. “It’s getting late. I need my beauty sleep.”

“Come on, man. Wait up.”

I shove my arms into the sleeves so violently it’s a miracle they don’t rip. “Is this the part where you tell me again not to hurt Jason?”