“Jet. He’s gone.”
“Gone where?” He sits up, scanning the dim room. “He left the apartment?”
“I don’t know. He’s not with us here, on the couch.”
“Shit.” He slumps back, lies down beside me. “Jet doesn’t sleep much. He’s probably drawing, or playing games on his phone or something.”
“Why?”
Joel shrugs, brows pulling together in a frown. “Nightmares. Stress. Anxiety.”
“Oh.” I worry my lip between my teeth. “Can I help?”
Joel shakes his head in the negative. “I don’t know.”
It’s way too early in the morning to think straight. The sky is still dark outside the windows, and it’s chilly. I burrow closer to Joel for warmth, and he throws an arm over me, drawing me closer to his chest. He’s sporting some morning wood, but he doesn’t seem to be thinking of anything sexual as he lies there, gaze distant as if thinking, his arm heavy over my ribs.
“Does it have to do with what he started saying earlier, in the kitchen?” Joel gives me a hooded look, but I forge on. “About his parents. You told me once that he’s been through a lot. What did you mean?”
He stares at me, a strange sadness in his pretty eyes. “That’s not my story to tell.”
“Joel…” I’m frustrated. They’re my boys, especially now, in the dark hours of dawn when I can pretend we have something more than wild sex. “If he’s in pain, I need to know, so that I can help him.”
He’s studying my face, seeking something. I’m not sure what it is, but after a long moment, he seems to find it, and he nods. “You like him. You’re starting to care for him.”
For both of you, I want to say. I want to grab Joel and kiss the hell out of him, shake him and shout in his face that he’s winning me over every day with his sweet concern for both Jet and myself, but I just nod.
“Jet’s mom is from Australia, but they moved to the States, East Coast, when he was ten. Then he moved here to Madison when he turned seventeen. That’s when I met him. He was my classmate at school.” Joel draws a long breath. “Something happened to him when he was younger, here or earlier in Australia. He won’t talk about it. But he told me once that his father was a violent man, and fuck, I don’t even want to imagine what he might have been through.”
I lift a hand to his face, stroke his cheekbone. “You took care of him, didn’t you?”
“We’ve been friends since we met. We have each other’s backs. He doesn’t open up easily, but he’s honest and true. He’s like a brother to me.” He opens his mouth, closes it.
It’s obvious Jet is much more to him than a brother. The way he looks at him is so hot, it could burn tracks in the air, but it’s not my place to point that out.
“So he has been living here? With his parents?”
“Never met his parents. He came here to live with his cousins, and I’m damn glad he did. He used to have very bad nightmares when we first moved in together. They got better over time, but lately… Lately they’ve come back.”
“Maybe the phone call from his cousin has something to do with it?”
“What phone call?” He’s suddenly wide awake, gaze boring into mine. “The hell? Did he say that to you?”
“No, but I overheard him talking and he seemed upset. Why, is there a problem with his cousin?”
“I don’t know. Dammit.” He closes his eyes briefly. “But I’ll find out.”
PART III
Honey Fuck or Bunny Fuck? That is the Question
Chapter Twenty
JOEL
“I live with my cousin,” he says. “Can’t afford a place of my own yet.”
I consider his frown. “Well, I’m looking for a roommate. I can cover the rent for now. You can start paying your part when you get a job.” When he hesitates, I press on. “It’d be fun. And we can play videogames all night.”