It rattled him.
At first he’d managed to push the post-kiss analysis off to the side. To see it as a wakeup call. The punch in the face he’d needed to start making a few changes to the life everyone swore was charmed and blessed because it never hit a single bump in the road.
He was lucky. He had parents who loved and supported him, a sister who was one of his closest friends and he’d never been without a job or a girlfriend for long enough to cause concern. He was, as Essie often teased him, “The golden child foretold in the Mills family prophecy.” He’d had it all. And then his perfectly calibrated, deathly boring train had gone off its tracks and sent him in a new, messy direction.
He’d never felt so alive.
But despite his new successes and personal revelations, the most important relationship in his life had been damaged—maybe beyond repair.
Rory.
It had taken David a few months before he felt like he could be around him without responding to what that kiss evoked. But he’d taken too long, because when he was finally ready to talk about everything, Rory refused. They ended up in this current hellish limbo. Rig’s word. Limbo. Friends but not friends. Speaking but not talking. Wanting… It wasn’t fair to blame it all on Rory. If he were being honest with himself, David still wasn’t sure what he wanted to happen next.
Be more honest. It’s what Rory wants that you’re not sure of. And you’re afraid it won’t be what you’re hoping for.
“We lost him.” He heard Janice say. “And from his expression I bet I can guess why.”
“Everyone can guess why,” Essie responded dryly. “My mother could guess why. And my brother should never play poker.”
David made a face. “Thanks for the advice. Anyway, you have no idea what I was thinking.”
Janice narrowed her eyes and studied him. “Well it used to always be, How do I raise the money to reboot Firefly with the original cast? But now I’d say it’s more along the lines of, How do I get my two friends naked and when I do, where do all the pieces go? Am I warm?”
Essie laughed with her entire body and Janice ducked to get away from her flailing arms. “Why do people think you’re the innocent one in this marriage?”
David sent his sister-in-law a fond smile. “She’s like me. We excel at blending in. Now about this card game…”
“You’ll get them to play?”
He shrugged noncommittally. “Maybe. We might need an icebreaker. But even if they both agreed to do it I don’t think it’s what your—our viewers are expecting. They want Middle Earth and superheroes, not an X-rated Cosmo quiz. And neither of them know a damn thing about sci-fi and fantasy shows or fans.”
“Oh, that’s not true,” Janice disagreed after swallowing a sip of wine. “Rig always dresses as The Hulk for Halloween, and we all know how much Rory enjoys The Vampire Diaries and True Blood.”
“We do all know. We could do a whole series on why Mr. Finn is obsessed with bitey, angsty love triangles. Plus he gets all my Pride and Prejudice references. Our fans would go insane.” Essie set down the box of cards and put her hands on her generous hips. “Look, David, hot bodies sell. Since I handle the majority of the fan mail, I can tell you that ninety percent of the men and women who watch us are hot for my younger brother and have no problems sharing topless selfies with me to prove their interest. You, Rig and Rory Finn? The reaction to that much manliness in one video could be legendary.”
He raised curious eyebrows and she snorted. “I call you manly and you give me that look? No, you can’t see the selfies, you pervert. What you can do is be grateful for all the trouble I’m going through to get you out of this holding pattern.”
He frowned. “I’m not in a holding pattern.”
“Yes, you are. And that’s why once Rig called to tell me about Rory’s vacation, the first thing I did was give you time off to join them. We’ve seen the same movie for a year and we’re ready for the sequel.”
“You’re such a giver.” Essie sent a sour look at his dry response. “But entertaining you is not the only reason Rig rescheduled.”
“Then why?”
David felt the heat climbing up his neck and sighed, knowing she’d get it out of him eventually. She always did. “Last week Rig and I kissed and…I might have let him—” David gestured to his lap and bit his lip, waiting for the outburst.
“Hot damn!” Janice shouted, holding up her hand for a high five no one was willing to return. “Oh, come on. Tweedlehotter gave our little David his first gay BJ and no one goes high? Where’s the celebration?” She paused and studied her wife’s furrowed eyebrows. “We’re happy about this right? We love Rig.”