“Tristan, grab another six-pack from the fridge,” Zach called out from across the room.
“Do I look like a delivery boy?” Tristan said, the sneer he directed at James turning into a smile when he looked at Zach.
Zach smiled back. “You look like my boyfriend. Go fetch it.”
“I’m injured,” Tristan pointed out.
“That’s why James will go with you, you baby,” Zach said.
Tristan pouted. Zach laughed.
They had a strange dynamic, the two of them. They couldn’t be more different: Zach, responsible and mature, and Tristan, who often behaved like an unashamed brat. But somehow they worked. They fit.
Tristan headed to the kitchen and James followed him reluctantly.
“It would screw up our friendship,” he said.
“Bullshit,” Tristan said. “I’ve never seen anyone more attached at the hip than you and Ryan—actually, no, I have. You know Jared and my adoptive brother, Gabriel?”
James frowned. “Sure. What do they have to do with anything? I know they’re good friends. Everyone knows it.” Their friendship was well-documented in the media.
“They’re not just friends anymore,” Tristan said, opening the fridge. “Gabe never thought of Jared that way, but when he found out that Jared had been carrying a torch for him for years, it didn’t change things much. There was some drama, because Gabe is an idiot, but now they’re happily fucking.”
“Ryan is straight,” James said.
“Everyone’s straight until they’re not,” Tristan said, looking bored. “Zach isn’t exactly gay, either. Attraction is either there or not, and labels have little to do with it.”
“Ryan isn’t attracted to me.” James was proud of how calm his voice sounded. “I know that for sure.”
Tristan looked at him. “Yeah, maybe. He truly seems to see you as a brother.”
James didn’t know why the words hurt: it was nothing he didn’t know. Maybe a part of him had hoped Tristan would disagree.
God, Tristan was right: he really was stupid. He may not remember much from the night he kissed Ryan, but he did remember Ryan laughing it off and making fun of him good-naturedly. Ryan wasn’t attracted to him at all. There was no doubt about it.
“So there’s no point in telling him,” James managed. “He loves her, he’s happy with her, and if he finds out, he’d only feel sorry for me.”
Tristan had the strangest expression on his face.
“What?”
Shaking his head, Tristan pointed at the six-pack in the fridge. “Grab this and let’s go.”
James did as he was told and followed Tristan out of the kitchen. The six-pack felt far heavier than it should have as he watched Tristan stride toward Zach and kiss him. After a moment’s surprise, Zach pulled him down into his lap and kissed back. His brothers wolf-whistled. Grinning, Hannah said something and kissed her boyfriend, too.
James dragged his eyes away. His gaze landed on Tristan again, who looked flushed, well-snogged, and happy as he gazed at Zach. An acidic feeling burned in the back of James’s throat.
Tristan looked at him, and, to James’s surprise, he could see something like understanding and pity in Tristan’s eyes.
His throat uncomfortably thick, James walked forward and put the six-pack at Zach’s feet.
“Life is a funny thing, isn’t?” Tristan said quietly from his sprawl in Zach’s lap. “It gives you some and takes some.”
Zach looked at his boyfriend with a faint crease between his brows before smiling. “You’re growing wiser by the minute.”
Smirking, Tristan said, “The wisdom of your advanced age must be rubbing off on me.”
“Must be,” Zach said before biting Tristan’s bottom lip. Tristan sighed and immediately parted his lips for Zach’s tongue.
“Get a room, you two,” Ryan said with a laugh.
“Coming from you, that’s pretty rich, Romeo,” Nick said.
“At least I’m not a sad sod like you,” Ryan said, kissing Hannah on the temple.
James had never thought it was possible to feel so lonely in a room full of people he liked.
“Jamie?” Ryan said suddenly. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” James said, without looking at him. “I just have to go. I remembered something important Dad told me to do.”
He felt Tristan’s gaze on him.
After bidding everyone goodbyes, James made his way to the door. He wasn’t surprised when Tristan followed him.
“Don’t tell him anything,” James said, putting on his jacket. “Please.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Tristan leaned against the wall and eyed him. “You know what?” he said mildly. “You want my opinion?”
Did he have a choice?
“Shoot.”
“Are you really planning to suck it up and suffer in silence all your life, watching him get married and have kids with her? Really? That’s just sad. Walk away or tell him you want him. Worst-case scenario, your friendship becomes strained and dies sooner rather than later. You have nothing to lose.” Tristan sneered. “And don’t kid yourself. You’ll lose him anyway when you eventually get sick of watching him with someone else.” Cocking his head, Tristan said softly, “You already feel it, don’t you? The bitterness, the jealousy, the ugliness.”