“It really threw Dallas for a loop, and I felt terrible for him, because Evan is just amazing,” he said sadly, “but what could I do?”
Evan was a cheater. I had no idea how that equaled amazing. And I got that the heart wanted what it wanted, but just break up. Why cheat when you could be upfront and honest?
“So, the first family dinner after Evan and I got together, Dallas brought this guy over, and it was gross and embarrassing. Dallas was drunk, and my father ended up asking him to take his date and leave.”
I could only imagine how that had gone over, Jackie on one side, Thad on the other. It had to have been difficult for everyone.
“After that, he brought some friends with him, women and men, and they were nice, forgettable but pleasant, but then he stopped showing up completely,” he explained, looking like revisiting the story was painful for him. “This is the first time I’ve seen him in probably four months. I mean, he sees Jackie, he sees Cate, of course, but not me, not Callum, which did not make me popular with my brother or Gina, because they both love him.”
“Get to the point. Please.”
“Yes, I—I just thought that you were another in a long line of––”
“Fuck buddies,” I offered.
“Yes,” he admitted, smiling sheepishly. “And I wanted to say how sorry I was.”
I waited, realizing I was scowling at him.
“I just—we used to do things together, he and I,” he told me, crossing his arms, appearing pained. “Not often, but enough, and he fit in so well with my friends, and then––”
“You slept with his boyfriend behind his back.”
“Yes,” he said contritely.
“All right, so you’re talking to me, why?”
He gestured at me. “Well, I see that he can’t keep his hands off you, and he’s sitting there, relaxed, talking to my father like they never have before, and he’s being charming and engaging with everyone, and Cal and Gina are ready to go on vacation with you two. My hope is that if you could perhaps be an intermediary between me and him, then maybe I can work on getting our relationship back.”
It was not at all what I was expecting. It was obvious Dallas meant a lot to everyone, and the way it had initially come across was that there was friction between the Whitney brothers and the Bauer siblings, but they were actually a functioning family that could do Sunday dinners and holidays and trips together if Lawrence and Dallas could find their middle ground.
“Well, I think it’s a bit too early for me to wade into anything on your behalf, but whatever is best for Dallas, I will, of course, do.”
“Yes. Yes, of course,” he agreed readily, as Evan joined us.
“You two need to come get some food,” he informed us. “Jackie wants everyone eating.”
Lawrence put his hand on his boyfriend’s back, and the three of us got in line at the table, where Jackie had laid out an amazing-looking spread. Cate had told me that everyone usually ate outside by the pool, under the fairy lights out there, but today, the temperature was going to keep us all inside. Anywhere we wanted to sit was fair game.
“I need to talk to you a sec,” Dallas growled as he walked up beside me, taking hold of my hand and tugging me after him to the glass doors that looked out on the patio. When he turned to me, opening his hand to release mine, I held on instead, which surprised him enough to lift his head and meet my gaze.
“I got the story on Evan and Lawrence.”
“Oh, okay,” he said, his voice high and thready, clearly embarrassed. “Then you know I’m apparently the guy who gets cheated on, and then is the schmuck who reacts badly and becomes the laughingstock of his family and their friends.”
“I don’t know about any of that,” I told him, leaning in, my hand on the side of his neck, my thumb sliding over his strong jawline, and then higher, to his mouth. I loved the feel of him, the rough stubble and his soft, full lips. “But I do know that everyone’s crazy about you, and they miss seeing you and spending time with you.”
His breath caught as I put my other hand on his hip.
“I would miss spending time with you,” I assured him, watching the tension dissipate, his stance relaxing as he exhaled. “So that’s why I’m going to make sure I don’t miss out on even a second whenever we’re together.”
He nodded quickly.
“Tell me, though, did you top when you were with Evan?”
More nodding.
“Did you enjoy that?”
All that beautiful storm-washed blue was on me. “I like to bottom, but most guys see me and expect…something else.”
Of course they did. He was all hot, sexy alpha male. They expected to be put over the kitchen table.