Page 67 of See My Words

“Yes.”

“And she supports trans women?”

“She supports women. Period.”

Satisfied, Rylan leaned toward Scott for a kiss. “Thanks.”

They had a few more glasses of wine, and when Minh and Chris started nuzzling and making out, Scott tossed Rylan his towel. “We can stay and watch if we want, but I’d rather not.”

Rylan gave a mock shudder. “Nope.”

They ambled up to their room, and as they showered the chlorine off together, Scott suddenly asked, “Are you still attracted to Chris?”

Rylan rinsed the shampoo from his hair, sputtering, buying himself a minute before deciding honesty was the best policy. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I be? He’s an attractive man.”

“He wants you bad.”

“I think he’s just teasing me at this point.” Rylan shut off the water and handed Scott a towel. “Not sexual teasing, but busting-my-balls teasing.” He dried off and moved to the sink to brush his teeth. “We talked about it a little bit yesterday when we were off hiking.”

“What, that he wants you?” Scott’s voice was tight as he grabbed his own toothbrush.

“Well, yeah,” Rylan said slowly. “You practically threw him in my face, man. Come on. What did you expect was going to happen? The subject…came up.”

Scott slumped against the counter for a moment. “Yeah, I imagine it did.”

Rylan hung up their wet towels, taking Scott’s hand to lead him to bed. They crawled under the sheets and light blanket, and Scott put his head on Rylan’s chest, sliding his leg in between his.

“How do you feel about exclusivity?” Rylan asked, sifting his fingers through Scott’s damp hair. “I guess we need to talk about that.”

“It’s never been on my radar before, ever. I never cared what people did when they weren’t with me. What about you?”

Rylan rubbed the back of Scott’s neck, feeling sleepy and utterly relaxed. “I’ve always considered myself a pretty sex-positive person, you know? Like Felipe and I, we were in a serious relationship, but once in a while we—I don’t know, mixed it up a little, brought someone home to join us.”

“So you wouldn’t have cared if I’d gone home with Dawn tonight?”

Rylan couldn’t help but tense. “I wouldn’t go that far. Felipe and I played together, but if he’d wanted to go off with someone by himself? I don’t know. We weren’t together long enough for that to come up.”

Scott drew lazy circles on Rylan’s abdomen with his fingertips. “So what, you two shared guys?”

“Yeah, sometimes.” Rylan slid his hand up and down Scott’s back, tracing the muscles. “Felipe preferred bottoming for me, and I have to say, it was really hot watching him top a guy every now and then. Those times I wouldn’t even participate, I’d just sit in a chair and watch.”

Scott considered that. “You loved him?”

“I did,” Rylan said softly. “The other men were just sex, and we were always on the same page before anything happened.” He paused. “Hey, look at me.”

Scott lifted his head from Rylan’s chest, his eyes wary. Rylan stroked his cheek. “I know how you feel about Chris. I’m not going to fuck him. It’s not okay with you, so it won’t happen.”

“Did you tell him that?”

“Yes, I did. I said I was in love with you.”

That earned Rylan a soft kiss before Scott put his head back down with a small sigh. Rylan stroked his hair again, wanting to ask him what he’d told Dawn, but deciding it was better not to put him on the spot like that. One thing at a time, and Rylan was just happy they were talking.

It wasn’t long before they drifted off to sleep, and when Rylan woke again, the early-morning sun was just peeking through the blinds. Scott was on his side facing away from him, and Rylan was spooned up to his back, his arm draped over Scott’s chest.

A memory welled up, of that long ago morning in that dingy, old trailer, waking up in much the same position, hard and aching, unable to give free rein to his desire for his stepbrother. But now Rylan could touch all he wanted, and he combed his fingers gently through that enticing strip of hair on Scott’s belly like he’d wanted to do back then, sliding his hand down to cup his balls, hefting their furry weight in his palm.

Scott gave a husky moan, lifting his top leg to give Rylan better access.