Twin Ties 2: Twin Affairs (16 page)

Evan figured maybe it was the novel fact that he was the one with the most level head and taking charge for once, but they listened to him. Luka stormed out of the bedroom and Evan followed behind.

“Are you okay? Are you upset? Maybe you should sit down,” Luka suggested distractedly, as if he suddenly remembered Evan’s condition.

“Maybe
you
should sit down, because clearly you’re more upset than me,” Evan countered.

They waited a few minutes in tense silence in the living room before Brennan and Alek came out to join them.

Luka was pacing at the far end of the room. Evan was perched on the edge of the couch. When Brennan walked in, Evan rose to his feet, locking eyes with him while Alek hung back. Somehow the weight of knowing Jimmy was aware, at least on some level, of what was going on between the four of them, and he was in regular contact with Charlie, was much more worrisome than finding Alek and Brennan post-coitus. Brennan looked nervous and whispered Evan’s name in question.

“I’m a terrible person,” Brennan said to his brother. “You’ve already got so much to deal with and I just made it worse.”

“We’ll fix this, okay?” Alek added from over Brennan’s shoulder. “You look pale. Maybe you should sit—”

“Enough,” Evan said loudly, cutting him off. “Like I’ve said
many
times before, I am not a child, nor am I going to break if scary things happen. Knock it the fuck off with the coddling. Bren? C’mere.”

Looking worried as ever, Brennan bit his lip, twisted his fingers and took two steps forward. Evan met him, opening his arms. They fell into a hug filled with relief. Evan needed the comfort of Brennan’s love and Brennan just seemed glad Evan wasn’t trying to strangle him, too.

“Jimmy knows,” Evan murmured to him fearfully. “What the fuck do we do? What if he tells Dad?”

“Wait, what?” Brennan pulled away to look at Evan in the eye. “What do you mean, he knows?”

“I mean, he
knows
. About all of it. That I’ve been screwing both Alek and Luka. And he… he asked me about us.
Us
, Bren.”

With wide eyes, Evan searched Brennan’s face which clouded over fast.

“What?”

“Charlie’s coming home,” Brennan confessed quietly. “He asked me not to say anything to you. He was finally granted leave.”

An icy shiver raced down Evan’s back. Brennan stretched up to kiss Evan on the forehead. “Don’t freak out. We can handle it.”

“When?” Evan croaked.

“In a few days.”

Alek stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Evan who was growing more forlorn. Mentally, he drew away from them just as he’d done so many times before. It was easy, a reflex. Disconnecting was better than facing truth.

But, of Evan’s three lovers, it was only Alek to whom Evan was able to confess his darkest secrets, by torchlight and starlight in the back of an old truck. It was Alek who was there to keep him from getting lost in the terrible blackness of what could have been, and it was Alek who had shown passion, devotion, love, and selfless patience.

Evan looked up as Alek moved closer, approaching slowly while Brennan backed away. Fragile and strengthened all at once, a portrait in contradictions, Evan was as laid bare as he’d ever been; surrounded by the three men he loved so intensely.

“What can we do?” Alek asked gently. “How do we help with this? You want me to clear my stuff out? Would that be easier?”

Shaking his head back and forth in response, Evan closed his eyes. He pressed himself, suddenly, to Alek’s chest, embracing him without warning. Evan sensed Alek’s surprise in his stiffened posture and hesitation. If he’d expected another punch to the face or more yelling, he wasn’t going to get it from Evan. Hugging Evan back extremely cautiously, Alek wound one arm to clasp behind Evan’s head, and the other circled his lower back. Then, Alek exhaled a deep breath and finally seemed to relax.

“Please don’t leave me?” Evan asked, without pride or shame. “I need you here. He’s gonna know either way, and…. Look, I don’t care about you and Bren getting off on each other, literally or metaphorically. It’s like Luka said; we’re a family. Each one of you is family to me now and I don’t know how I’d get through this without you, Alek. But if you don’t want to be here with me, then that’s—”

The rest was cut off when Alek, frowning, tilted Evan’s chin up and kissed him softly. Tasting minty toothpaste and feeling every ounce of Alek’s love for him, Evan surrendered to it, moaning softly. He grabbed on to Alek’s waist and gave him as much as he wanted to take.

Brennan and Luka stared at each other from across the room, wary and hurt. Both of them had their arms crossed over their chests, clinging to the last shred of hope. Luka saw Brennan’s eyebrows tilt in a wordless, heartfelt plea and that was it. His gorgeous, sweet blond Cupcake slipped under his defenses and broke Luka down.

“Bren, c’mere you crazy little fucker.”

Brennan smiled helplessly even as a sob choked him. Luka went to him, scooping him up into an all-encompassing embrace. While clutching to Luka, Brennan sighed and didn’t let go. There was so much to say and so many complex issues lingering between them, threatening to rip them apart again. But Brennan said everything Luka needed to hear with the words, “I love you, Luka. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too. I never wanted to hurt you. I love you,” Luka replied. “God, I’ve missed you
so much
and it’s only been a
day
.”

“I know. Me too,” Brennan groaned, grabbing Luka’s face with both hands and kissing his lips. “Can we never fight again? Please?”

Wanting it to be true, Luka swore, “Deal.”

Ten minutes later, Brennan and Luka were sitting side-by-side across from Evan and Alek, with the ottoman pulled up across from the couch. There was still one more hurdle before peace could reign again in the household. It was the elephant in the room and it was right next to Luka, scowling and exuding stubbornness. Brennan looked between Luka and Alek, demanding, “Apologize to each other.”

Alek glared at Luka with eyes like daggers, at first it seemed doubtful it would happen, but Luka broke first, as usual. “Sorry.”

Alek rolled his eyes, but was nudged by Evan. “Yeah, me too. Sorry.”

“That was amazingly pathetic,” Evan said.

“Now kiss and make up,” Brennan instructed.

“Are you kidding?” Luka laughed. “You are kidding, right?”

“Does it look like I’m kidding, Popovic? Go on, we’re waiting,” Brennan retorted, gesturing to Alek.

“I don’t want to.”

“How old are you?” Alek sighed.

“Old enough to kick your ass around the block.”

“Stop it,” Evan growled. “You two have to figure out how to share with each other, or else this isn’t going to work. Just because you’re scared or angry about something doesn’t mean you get to beat the piss out of each other. Use your damn words like grownups.”

“We understand you’re not exactly used to this, you’re only used to loving and sharing each other, not your partners, but this is it. Either you get over it, or we’re done. You can’t each have both of us if it makes you want to strangle each other. So fucking kiss and make up and make it believable or get the hell out,” Brennan commanded.

“God
damn,
you’re bossy,” Luka gaped.

“You’re telling me,” Alek muttered. “I don’t know how you put up with that crap. No wonder you spank his ass so often.”

Brennan’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t respond. He only looked at them expectantly while Evan masked a smirk.

“I still don’t want to,” Luka said simply.

“Jesus H. Christ,” Alek sighed. He got up from the ottoman and came right at Luka, pushing him back into the couch and bearing down on him. He twisted a hand in Luka’s shirt, grabbed him by the jaw and claimed his mouth with a growl, biting Luka’s bottom lip, provoking a small, sharp sound of complaint. Then Alek’s tongue pushed into Luka’s mouth when Luka opened with a gasp. They kissed angrily for a long moment.

Alek let him go and slumped back down onto his seat. “Happy?”

“Fucking toppy bastard.”

“What, you think you can do better?”

“I do, actually.”

“Okay. Bring it, smartass.”

Luka saw Evan and Brennan glance at each other with amusement and wonder. Standing, Luka grabbed Alek, hoisted him to his feet and shoved him back roughly against the wall behind him. Using his considerable strength from regular work-outs, Luka easily pinned Alek’s wrists to the wall on either side of his head and closed his mouth over Alek’s pulse point, sucking hard. Drawing a knee up between Alek’s thighs, Luka parted his brother’s legs and, grinding the muscle of his thigh against Alek’s balls, elicited a low, rolling moan.

The moan became a breathless chuckle. Luka followed the sound, trailing the tip of his tongue up the side of Alek’s throat, scraping his teeth over the ridge of his brother’s jaw, brushed his lips over heated skin. Eyes glinting, Alek dared Luka without saying a word. He was ready for it when Alek tried to break free of Luka’s hold, trying to pry his wrists from the wall. Arms flexing, Luka renewed his grip and Alek didn’t even budge.

The expression on Alek’s face said to Luka clearly,
Evan is mine
.

Calm, unprovoked, but easily overpowering his slightly older brother, Luka responded in kind, lifting an eyebrow as he radiated the message,
Brennan is mine
.

“I could do this all day, you know,” Luka warned, speaking softly, only for Alek.

“If you hurt him, I’ll kill you.” It was barely sound, but Luka heard. The laughter was gone, from Alek’s gaze and the curl of his lips, leaving only what the bitter amusement tried to hide—wounded fear.

“Hurt who?” Luka retorted, adding with nothing as crude as words,
you’re the one who hurts people, Aleksy.

Stepping back, letting go, Luka gave the identical pair of innocent, beautiful, vulnerable young men behind him a glance over his shoulder, then said to his twin, “I love them. I don’t need to fight you for them.”

Alek took a moment to absorb this. He nodded. “Okay. Truce.”

“Truce,” Luka agreed.

In the hall outside of Evan’s room, Alek avidly watched Evan eat a banana while Evan pretended Alek wasn’t watching him eat a banana. Brennan was changing the sheets on his bed and Luka was debating whether or not to stay the night, and with whom.

“So what, specifically, does Jimmy know?” Alek asked as Evan closed his lips in a wide circle around the column of fruit. His cheeks hollowed for the briefest second as he withdrew the banana and simultaneously took a bite.

Eyes twinkling, Evan repressed a triumphant grin at the rapt expression on Alek’s face. After he swallowed, Evan answered, “That you live here now. That Luka and I are fuck buddies. That something troubling is going on with me and Bren. Yeah, I think that covers it.”

“Do you think he just assumes Luka and I are screwing around with both of you, or do you think he really suspects you and Bren are fooling around with each other, too?”

Evan shrugged. “Who knows? Either way, I’m in deep shit. And now, officially, a dirty whore.”

“Well, that goes without saying,” Brennan smirked as he walked by, getting an extra blanket from the linen closet before returning to his room with it.

“Did I ask for commentary? Huh?!” Evan called back. He took one last, large bite. The hand holding the now-empty banana peel fell to his side. Evan’s other hand was wrapped around his middle, clasped to the ribs of his bad side, rubbing idly over the spot. Walking a few steps, he tossed the peel overhand into the wastebasket near the door to his and Alek’s bedroom. “I’ve gotta get to bed if I’m going to work tomorrow.”

“If you’re not up for it, don’t go. I make enough to cover the bills anyway,” Alek told him.

“It’s not about the money. I have to go. And besides, I’d never ask that of you—to pay for me like that.”

“That’s what people who love each other do. They take care of each other. The last thing I want right now is for you to be crawling under cars and leaning over engines all day when you’re still in pain.”

“I’ll be fine,” Evan assured him.

“What if you’re not?”

“Then I come home early and reevaluate. Okay?”

Luka was hovering nearby, eavesdropping. Alek, biting back a fresh wave of bitter resentment that Evan noticed anyway, asked Luka, “What’s your opinion of this?”

“Evan working?” Luka clarified. “I think we need to let him make the call and support his decision.”

“Of course you do,” Alek grumbled under his breath. Evan suspected the resentment stemmed from the fact that now they needed to consult Luka about Evan’s personal decisions, instead of things staying between the two of them. He could see why that would upset Alek, but it only made Evan feel more loved, and luckier. He hoped eventually Alek could let go of jealousy and appreciate how amazing their situation was, their newly formed commitments to one another.

Alek set his jaw and inhaled deeply.

“Hey,” Evan said tenderly to Alek, trying to soothe.

“It’s fine. Luka’s right. You should be able to decide this for yourself. Where do you want me tonight? If you’d rather sleep with Luka…?” he asked quietly, without looking Evan in the eye.