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room with all the excitement of a man headed down the long green mile toward his doom. He loved his brother, but Dante was the world s worst about pissing off the man he professed to love. It wasn t that he did it on purpose so much as his lack of communication skills that was usually at fault. No matter how clear it was that the two men were passionately in love with each other, Dante s gruff demeanor was not a match made in heaven for Cody s tender heart. Nevertheless, the two men seemed happy most of the time. On the odd days when they were fighting, Milo would either leave or try to be invisible. He didn t particularly want to get caught up in their petty arguments. Tonight, however, he was too exhausted to go somewhere else, and yet he didn t want to hang out in his room and stare at the ceiling until he fell asleep. He couldn t ignore Cody s presence and turn in for the night. His conscience wouldn t allow it. Cody had always been nice to him; the least he could do was return the favor. He just hoped he could cheer Cody up before he keeled over from exhaustion. Walking into the living room, Milo found Cody sitting on the sofa and staring at the music videos streaming over the flat-screen television on the wall across from the plush sectional. Although the temperature had dropped to near-freezing outside, Cody was dressed in a white crew-neck T-shirt and a threadbare pair of navy sweatpants that were cut off above his knees. His bare feet were propped on the glass-topped coffee table, something Milo did too, although Dante bitched about the heel prints they left behind on the slick surface. Cody looked up as Milo approached the sofa. He picked up the remote and turned down the volume. Hey. I didn t hear you come in. I imagine not. You had the speakers blaring, man. Cody shrugged. Music isn t any good unless it s loud. 72 Amanda Young The neighbors probably wouldn t agree with you. Shit. I didn t think of that. This place seems to have pretty thick walls, but I m surprised no one s complained yet. You all right? Yeah. I m just Cody s forehead wrinkled frustrated, I guess. Milo snorted. What has my brother done now? You really don t want to know. Sure I do. He s always lecturing me about one thing or another; it s nice being able to hear someone bitch about him on occasion. Well, if you insist. Cody sat up and folded his legs underneath him. Do you know what today is? Sunday? Judging by the blank expression on Cody s face, that certainly wasn t the answer the other man had been looking for. Uh no, I guess not. Neither does Dante, apparently. Oh. That was about as clear as mud. So what s so special about today? It s our anniversary. We sealed the deal, if you know what I mean, one year ago today. I thought you started dating last Halloween? I remember you saying something about hooking up at a costume party. Nah. We fooled around that night, but it wasn t until the following weekend when we reached an understanding. And now he s forgotten, huh? That s gotta suck. However, Milo still felt that a forgetful boyfriend was better than no boyfriend at all not that he had any intention of saying as much to Cody. Mm-hmm. Cody picked at a loose thread hanging off the end of his sweatpants. To say the least. I d like to say I m surprised, but that would be a lie. Dante may be my brother and I love him but he s still a man. He s an asshole just like all the rest. Reckless Heart 73 All most men want is to get their rocks off. Once they do, they could care less about who was there with them. Oh, honey. Cody got up and moved to sit beside Milo. Do you want to talk about it? What? Whoever has you all wound up. What makes you think that? Gee, I don t know. It could be the all men are assholes comment. Yeah, well& they are. With a frown, Milo decided to alter his statement a tad. Most of them are, anyway. Present company excluded, of course. Thanks a lot. Don t mention it. Dante would skin him alive if he heard Milo had insulted Cody, and pissing off his brother was the last thing he needed right now. Strangely enough, the urge to flee and get his own place had all but disappeared lately. The very thought of living alone left him cold and more than a little homesick for a taste of the acceptance he d never be able to reclaim now that his bridges were burned with the rest of his family. Tell you what& How about we cut through the bullshit and you go ahead and spill your guts already. We both know you re going to eventually anyway, and this way we can save the drama of me having to torment the truth out of you. Fine. Although Milo would never admit it, not even under threat of torture, part of him was grateful for the opportunity to talk about Cam. There isn t much to tell. Let me be the judge of that. Do you remember the guy I asked about after Beau and Adam s commitment ceremony? Sure. Campbell Brooks, right? 74 Amanda Young Yeah. That s him. Cam s image floated through Milo s mind and then dissipated like an elusive mist. He was in town that week. We met the night I stayed out late. Dante popped a gasket, remember? Then we ran into each other again at Beau and Adam s wedding. We spent the weekend together and really clicked, you know? I really liked him. Milo sighed. We exchanged numbers before he left, but I haven t heard from him. Ouch. Sorry, buddy. Yeah. That about summed it up. He d gone and fallen for the one man who didn t want him as anything more than a trick, and now he was suffering the consequences. Did he promise to stay in touch? No. Have you tried to contact him? No. All right. Then, not to play devil s advocate or anything, but how can you fault him for doing or not doing the same thing as you? Milo frowned. Why should I be the one to contact him? Someone has to make the first move. I know that. Well& Well, what? Milo liked Cody he really did but the man was starting to get on his nerves. Do you like him enough to put yourself out there and face rejection, or are you just going to give up? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |