Sem thinks on that a minute before moving to the sofa and settling down, shifting me on his lap, so I’m facing forward. I glance up at Luke, who looks all too pleased with what he’s witnessing.
“I knew you were eventually going to end up together, with how he watched you,” Luke says. “He was like half in love the minute he saw you standing in the hospital in your flower pajamas. Talked about you fordaysafter that.”
“Shut up, Luke. What the hell do you want?” Sem says, cutting him off.
“Oh no, please do go on,” I say, eyeing Luke. “I’d love to know what he said.”
Sem squeezes me against him, and I giggle.
“Ah, Mags, the things I could tell you…” Luke eyes his brother and then says, “I’ll tell you later, yeah? When Sem’s not around.”
Sem grumbles, and I bite my lips to keep myself from laughing.
“Just tell us what you want, Luke,” Sem says.
“Ah, well, you’d know why I’m here if you ever looked at that phone of yours.”
“I did look. And I ignored your messages.”
“Asshole. I should just leave you here and go on by myself then.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Sem grunts.
“Monster Jam! I’ve been bugging you about buying tickets for days, but you never responded. So, I had to go ahead without you.”
“Shit,” Sem says, looking genuinely disappointed. “Did I miss out?”
“What the hell is Monster Jam?” I ask, but they both ignore me.
“Nah, bro. You got lucky. Liam and Anne had to cancel last minute, so I have two extra tickets to Monster Jam if you want to join.”
Sem tenses beneath me, and then his face breaks out in a wide smile. “Fuck yeah. We’re in.”
I glance at the two smiling brothers and arch an eyebrow, “Um, seriously, guys, what the hell is Monster Jam?”
“Oh, tiny, just you wait,” Luke replies. “You are going toloveit.”
* * *
“Oh my god,” I say, looking around the crowded stadium. “Why did you say I could wear this, Sem? Why did you let me out of the house looking like this?”
Sem glances down at my tight black shorts and sequined pink half-shirt and then bites his lip. “Because you look good like that.”
“Yes, I know I do, but Sem, I donotfit in here. You could have warned me so I could have toned it down a little. I’m not dressed appropriately and some people are staring,” I whisper, tugging my shirt down over my belly button. This is like my worst nightmare. I stand out like a sore thumb. A dainty rose in a sea of flannel and mullets. It’s all I can see for miles.
“Fuck ‘em,” Sem says, reaching out and drawing me into his side. “You can wear what you want, whenever you want. If anyone looks at you the wrong way, I’ll take care of it.”
Luke steps up, wrapping an arm around his brother’s neck and glancing down at me. “Don’t worry, little dude. We’ve got your back. No one will say a thing. Most of these people don’t care about you. They’re too busy thinking about themselves. Truth.”
I look up at these two big men that I’ve gotten to know and grown to care about and feel lucky that I have people on my side. It’s nice to finally feel accepted for who I am. I smile at Sem and bump his hip with mine. “Thanks for being awesome.”
He grins back down at me, his eyes warm and bright. Fuck, he’s just so damn beautiful.
In the distance, I catch a glimpse Caleb and Whit approaching, their fingers linked together as they stop in front of us. Caleb’s wearing a pair of torn jeans and a loose tank that shows off his arms and part of his chest, while Whit is dressed in his usual fitted black pants and long-sleeved Henley.
These two could not be any different if they tried. But somehow, they just work.
“I’ve been waiting for this all year,” Caleb says excitedly and then turns to Whit, “You ready for this, babe? You are going to have so much fun.”