Rise & Fall (THIRDS 4)

Sloane looked around the room, filled with his teammates. His family. They’d all risked everything to help Dex. They never hesitated to do whatever it took to back each other up. They bickered and fought, drove each other crazy, made mistakes, and sometimes had to be put in line, but they never stopped being family. Sloane took hold of Dex’s face, his heart fluttering at his beautiful partner’s questioning smile. He pulled Dex close and brought their lips together, stifling Dex’s gasp. After a moment of hesitation, Dex threw his arms around Sloane and returned his kiss. Seconds later there was cheering and catcalls from everyone around them. Spurred on by their audience, Sloane deepened the kiss, and Dex got up to sit on his lap, their lips never losing contact.

“Well, it’s about fucking time,” Letty called out, making them both laugh.

Sloane pulled away with a breathy chuckle and turned his gaze on his team. “You all knew anyway.”

“We were wondering when you were going to finally tell us,” Rosa said, picking up her beer. She held it up for a toast. “To Sloane and Dex. May they have many years of amazing sex and driving each other batshit crazy.”

Dex picked up his beer. “I’ll drink to that!”

Sloane lifted his pineapple juice. “To Destructive Delta. The greatest family I could have ever hoped for.”

“Aw,” Letty said with a sniff. “Your meds make you so sappy.”

Dex let his head fall back as he laughed.

“Quiet, you.” Sloane nipped at Dex’s neck making him squirm. At least until his partner saw the huge platter of cheese snacks. He jumped off Sloane’s lap and bounced like a kid in a candy store. What was it with his partner’s weird obsession with cheese? As everyone munched away and chatted, Dex came to sit on Sloane’s lap with a tray of snacks.

“Sloane? I think there’s something wrong with me.”

“I know, sweetheart, but that doesn’t mean I like you any less,” Sloane said with a chuckle as he stole one of Dex’s cheese cubes and popped it in his mouth.

“Smartass. Seriously, I think I might be sick.”

“You’re not feeling well?” Were the previous weeks starting to catch up to his partner? He held a hand to Dex’s brow. Seemed normal. Then again “normal” was a relative term where Dex was concerned.

“I’m losing weight, but my clothes fit the same. How’s that possible?”

“Probably means you’re putting on muscle and losing fat.”

“But I’m not doing anything different with my workouts or in training.” Dex looked thoughtful as he held a Cheesy Doodle up in front of him. “I’m not eating any differently.”

“Um….” Uh-oh. The jig was up.

Dex’s eyes went wide. “What did you do?”

“Now, keep in mind I care about your health, and I only did what I thought was best for you.” If all else failed, Sloane was not above using his injuries to protect himself.

“What did you do?” Dex repeated.

Sloane cringed, and the table went quiet as everyone watched on in amusement. There was no way around it. He’d known his partner would find out sooner or later. “I’ve been swapping your junk food for healthy food.”

Dex let out an exaggerated gasp, and the table erupted into laughter. “Judas! How could you?”

Sloane braced himself. He might as well say the rest. “I’ve swapped your sugar for sugar substitute, your full fat milk with 2 percent, your milkshakes for protein shakes, white pasta with whole wheat, your white bread with multigrain—”

“Stop! I can’t listen to any more of this… this horror.” Dex shook his head, his hand going to his heart. A thought struck him, and he narrowed his eyes at Sloane. “My gummy bears?”

“They’re sugar free.”

Dex put the tray on the table, jumped off Sloane, and dropped to his knees, his arms raised to the heavens. “Nooo! Not the gummy bears! Is nothing sacred? Oh, the inhumanity!” He jumped to his feet and put his hand to his hips. “How?”

Sloane shrugged. “You don’t read labels. You just eat. Which is part of the reason I started doing it.”

“How long has this betrayal been going on?” Dex folded his arms over his chest and tapped his foot. “How long has this deception been going on?”

“Six months.”

“You, sir, are a fiend,” Dex declared, his finger poking Sloane in the chest. “A fiend, and a cad, and a… a… sugar thief! Thief!”