He also hates how chaotically beautiful I am—though he probably wouldn’t call it that. He can’t stop nagging about all the shit I leave lying around or the dishes in the bathroom—what? I had a snack while soaking in the Jacuzzi—or whenever I shake my wet head. I only do that so he’ll dry it for me. Some would argue I also fight so he’ll be so adorably worried about me.
Most importantly, he replies to my ridiculous texts that go the line of:
Me
Did you know there are like so MANY Greek Gods?
Bran
Is that so?
Yeah. How am I supposed to keep up? Why are there so many?
How dare they?
Right? Speak some sense into them, especially that dick Zeus. He needs to stop having so many children and raping women left and right. Father of gods, my ass.
I’ll have a very stern conversation with him.
Do you really think of me as him? I’m wounded.
My sincerest apologies. It was bad form to even make that comparison.
You’re going to have to repeat that apology with your lips wrapped around Kolya. You know, since he’s sulking and shit.
You could’ve said you wanted me to suck your cock instead of starting a whole drama.
No, no, it’s not about that. Kolya is REALLY hurt.
I’ll make it up to you.
Now?
I seriously can’t with you.
Is that a yes?
See you in an hour.
I jump down through the ropes after I’ve pummeled someone to near death, ignoring all the screams and the roaring crowd as I drink from a bottle of water Jeremy passes me.
“You okay?” he asks.
I pour water on my head and shake it, then smile—imagining Bran pinching the bridge of his nose and saying, “I seriously can’t with you.”
“Niko?” Jeremy watches me closely. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about another fight?”
“Nope. One is enough.” I shove the bottle against his chest. “Laters, Jer.”
“Wait.” He falls in step beside me as we walk down the tunnel and throws an arm over my shoulder. “What’s up with you lately? You barely come back to the mansion and you’re acting suspicious.”
“Busy, busy.”
“With what? Or more accurately, with whom?”
I pause, coming to a stop in front of the locker room, then face Jer. Hmm. He’s my best friend, and usually, I’d tell him all about the fuck fests and the weird adventures. Even though he couldn’t care less for the details, he listens without judging. Except for telling me that I’m crazy sometimes, which is true.
The point is, I’m starting to feel a little bit restless about this secret. I love having Bran all to myself, but I don’t like that no one knows. Sometimes, Kill looks at me weird as if he figured everything out, but he always has that psycho look and I definitely don’t trust him not to broadcast everything to the world if I tell him anything.
If there’s anyone I can trust with my secrets, it’s Jeremy. I was fourteen when I realized I really loved both dick and pussy. That young, yup. Jeremy is straighter than straight—no doubt about that—and he’s five years older, but I always bugged him. Everywhere he went, I was there, annoying the fuck out of him with my antics until he liked me. It’s my modus operandi, deal with it.
Anyway, he’s the first one I told that I thought I liked both girls and guys and he wasn’t surprised. Let’s just say he and Dad understood Kolya before I came to terms with his moody-prick era.
Jer kept it a secret for like a year, until my parents found out and I held a coming-out orgy party. Jeremy definitely left that one as early as he possibly could. Kill stayed.
So, the thing is, he’s like Secret Keeping 101.
I stroke my necklace and narrow my eyes on him. “How do you know it’s someone who’s keeping me busy?”
“The smiling at your phone like an idiot more often than not. Also…” He taps his nape. “You usually have a hickey here. You can’t see it, but whenever you pull your hair up, it’s visible.”
I touch the back of my neck. That sly fucking bastard. He’s been leaving hickeys all this time? And here I thought he just loved kissing me there.
“Jer.”
“What?”
“I can’t take this, he’s so fucking adorable.”
“For leaving a hickey?”
“For staking a claim and being sneaky about it while complaining that I leave too many.”
“Okay,” he says slowly. “It’s a guy?”
Ah, fuck. I didn’t plan to disclose the gender, but hey, as long as he doesn’t know the name, all is good. No one would suspect it’s Bran. He’s such an uptight dickhead and anyone with two brain cells would think I’m nowhere near his type.
I nod with a grin. “The most beautiful guy ever.”
“You like him?”
“Sure as fuck.”
“How much do you like him?”
“Enough to be exclusive.”
“Wow. A first.”
“I know, right? I’m all for monogamy now.”
“And you still haven’t introduced him to me?” He raises an eyebrow. “And here I thought I was your bro.”
“Well…thing is. He’s still all chained in the closet and shit, so that’s a no for now.”
“I won’t tell. I didn’t when you wanted to keep your sexuality a secret.”
“This is different.”
I was never ashamed of my sexuality. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t an experimentation phase before telling my family. Bran seems to struggle with how much he loves sucking dick and being fucked in the ass. Like he really, really gets all panicky whenever we’re close in public or when I go to watch his games and try to see him after. So I stopped that altogether so as not to stress him out.
I’m not sure why he’s so scared about admitting it out loud.
I wonder if it has to do with his long showers and the damn locked bathroom door.
Sometimes, I catch him looking at his feet, completely zoned out until it turns a bit freaky. Other times, he’ll have these random nicks of the razor against his neck and even his thighs and balls. He shaves down there—of course. He’s so groomed and loves being spotless. He also started shaving my face for me because, apparently, I don’t do it well enough. It feels so fucking hot whenever he sits on the counter and traps me between his muscular thighs to shave my face.
He’s never cut me, not once, but he seems clumsy with himself.
I bought him a new electric shaver that doesn’t cause cuts, but he says he prefers the razor.
It’s starting to give me the creeps for real whenever he has those, as small as they are.
Jeremy watches me for a beat, arms crossed and brow furrowed. “You’re okay with that?”
“With what?”
“Being in the closet with him. You already came out, so you’re under no obligation to be shoved in the dark with him.”
“He’ll come out one day.”
“And you’re happy to wait? As long as it takes?”
“If it’s him, yeah. I guess.”
“Okay.” He clutches my shoulders. “I just want you to know that you deserve to be loved in the light, Niko. Just like everyone else.”
“Pfft. He doesn’t love me.”
“I don’t like this guy.” Jeremy narrows his eyes. “You’re being exclusive for the first time in your life and keeping it a secret for his sake and he doesn’t love you? What is he? An idiot?”
“Hey, don’t call him that.”
“You’re defending him? Wow. Where’s my brutish friend Niko and what have you done to him?”