Page 100 of Loverboy

I looked away, my body shaking with a barely contained laugh, and my cheeks burning with embarrassment. I had a love-hate relationship with the way he looked at me, like he could see right past the excuses, straight to the insecure, obsessive, borderline unhinged reasons I’d really shown up for. Even worse, I was pretty sure he enjoyed it.

It was unnerving to have someone love the ugliest parts of me.

“Are you flirting with a customer?” The guy working with Jasper headed to us from the other side of the bar, a look of mock-surprise on his face. “And here I thought you just scared people into tipping.”

I straightened up, suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious.

“He’s not a customer,” Jasper said simply.

“Aw, he has friends!”

Friends.

Murder crossed my mind.

He hadn’t mentioned me before. Maybe I really was something to be ashamed of, too embarrassing to boast about to others. But then what had our mall date been? Dinner at Mom’s? I was being stupid. Irrational.

“This is Milo.” Jasper gestured to me. “Milo, this is Brandon.”

I found myself evaluating his threat level for no reason at all. His long hair was tied up into a messy bun, and his arms were covered in tattoos. He was moderately good-looking. And I was… me.

“Milo,” Brandon repeated slowly. “The one you said was your brother?”

Oh no.

“Something like that,” Jasper muttered.

Silence stretched for half a second before realization dawned, a wicked grin forming on Brandon’s face.

“I get it.” Brandon nodded solemnly, clasping a hand on Jasper’s shoulder. “You didn’t want me to know you had a boyfriend and weren’t actually emotionally constipated. Didn’t wanna ruin your vibe.”

Yeah, that thing. Not the incest thing.

“You got me,” Jasper said dryly, rolling his eyes.

Brandon laughed, raising his hands placatingly. “Relax, I’m happy for you.”

Maybe this guy wasn’t so bad.

I watched him slip away to help another customer, leaving me alone with Jasper. The jealousy and insecurity that had been coiling in my gut began to unwind, giving way to heat.

“Think you can behave for ten minutes while I finish up?” Jasper eyed me.

“Nope.” I fidgeted with a stack of coasters on the counter.

“Figures.” He sighed. “I’ll deal with you when we get home.”

I pursed my lips, trying not to smile.

I hoped he would.

44

Milo

JASPER DIDN’T LET me turn the lights on when we stepped into the apartment. The tension had dragged on for too long, and it was evident in the way he moved to help me take off my coat and shoes well before his own. We navigated each other’s bodies in the dark, stumbling through the hallway and into my bedroom until I was flat on my back, his hands pressing into the mattress next to my shoulders.

“Do you trust me?”