I remember the day Shawn came out of the closet. He invited me, Logan, and Nico and sat us down in his dorm room, chewing his fingernails the whole time we chatted about classes, sports and chicks until he suddenly blurted out,I’m gay.
No shit wasmy reaction.
Even Mom knew Shawn was gay before he realized it.
The news came as no surprise to the family. I still don’t understand why he was so nervous to tell us. We’re brothers—always there for each other no matter what happens. No matter how crazy life gets. Sure, we have different dynamics with one another, but regardless of our day-to-day relationships, we’re there when it matters.
I could call the six of them in the middle of the night to say I killed someone, and they’d raid my house within minutes, ready to dispose of the evidence and fabricate an alibi. Shawn would dig a makeshift grave blindfolded because he’s a cop, but he’d dig, no questions asked.
We met Jack that very evening and immediately took a liking to him. Whenever they broke up over the years, we hated every other guy in Shawn’s life on principle because Jack is the guy for Shawn, and that’s the end of fucking story.
“Now, explain why no one can know,” Nico says, throwing himself back against the leather chair, drumming whatever melody currently plays in his left ear from the AirPod he’s got there.
“Because I had to tell someone, or I’d explode!” Shawn booms, still grinning. “Jack’s away on business in New York all week. I want to take him over to Mom and Dad’s next weekend so we can tell them together. That means you three need to keep quiet until next weekend.”
We spend the next half an hour coming up with the bachelor party plan. I’m willing to bet my ass it’ll be a night we won’t remember if the ideas tossed around pan out. At some point, it’s basically a rendition of “The Hangover” when Logan googles where to hire a tiger. Too bad Tyson no longer has any.
“There you are.” Jared interrupts us halfway through the conversation. Wearing a sleazy grin, he stops by the table, not much more than a half-assed nod our way before he zeroes in on Nico. “Come on, man, we need to talk.” He squeezes his shoulder, veering him away toward the bar.
“What’s that about?” Shawn clips, burning a hole in the back of Jared’s head with a hard edge to his narrowed eyes. “You know he’s supposed to be taking over the Country Club at the end of summer? His father’s retiring and the son-of-a-bitch willownthis fucking place now.”
“In that case, I bet he wants Nico to be a silent partner.” Logan slams an empty bottle of Bud on the table, starting his usual ritual of peeling the label. The triplets always take the piss when he does, saying he’s sexually frustrated and should get laid. “All he ever does is ask Nico for cash,” he continues. What’s going on with that restaurant they were opening?The Olive Tree,wasn’t it?”
“Last time I checked, that’s still happening,” I say. “They’re almost done with the remodeling. I’ve no idea why Nico wants a restaurant. He knows nothing about running a restaurant.”
“He doesn’t have to. He’ll hire a professional and count the cash,” Shawn chuckles. “It’s capital investment.”
“Like he needs to invest any more fucking capital. I bet he just wants to have a world-class chef at his disposal, cooking for him whatever the fuck he wants.”
“I could just get a live-in maid for that.” Nico comes back with three beers and another bottle of water for me. “You’re both wrong. I’m diversifying my income in case the market crashes, or I stop seeing what others miss. And while we’re on the subject, I could also use a fucking holiday, so I’m looking for a decent stock broker if you know anyone.”
“Yeah, you,” Logan smirks, patting his back. “And you really don’t need to diversify your income. If you ever lose your mojo, you own a house worth north of twenty million. I think you’ll be just fucking fine, bro.” He gets up, leaving a pile of label scraps behind. “Let’s go, boys. It’s almost noon.”
We head out to the fairway, and the topic immediately changes to our youngest brothers—Cody, Colt, and Conor. They took to bugging Nico to let them move in with him now that they’re turning eighteen and starting college in September.
“You’ve got six bedrooms,” Shawn points out. “That’s more than enough room for the triplets. They want to party, Nico. You know Mom treats them like they’re still ten.”
“Maybe because they act like they’re ten,” Nico clips, grabbing his driver. “I told them I’ll think about it, and I am, but they’ve got some serious growing up to do if they want me to agree.”
“How about a bet?” Logan asks, leaning against his golf bag. “If I win today, you let them move in with you for a one-month probation period while they’re off school.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“I doubt there’s anything you actually need, but how about a watch?”
“Nah. If I win,youtake the triplets in for a month.”
Logan laughs, shaking his head a firmno.“Yeah... forget I said anything.”
They bicker for a while, and three holes later, as always, I’m already losing big time. I never pegged myself for a golfer and never got the hang or appeal of it, but I enjoy spending a few hours with my brothers away from their friends, my friends, and our usual settings. We started golfing when Nico finished college. He’s the youngest out of the four of us—twenty-six. The youngest and the richest.
He’s also the one I get along with best. I’m a year older, while Logan and Shawn are twenty-eight and twenty-nine, respectively. And, obviously, our mom is Wonder Woman incarnated... four boys year after year. Boys like us—a hell-raising bunch, fighting, arguing and then blaming everything on the triplets when they started walking.
To this day, Mom thinks they were the ones who poured a bucket of red paint in the pool when it was actually me... and it wasn’t paint but fake blood. I wanted to prank Logan, pretending I was dead. I floated on the surface of the pool for an hour, eyes closed, but when he finally found me, he didn’t jump in to save my ass. He threw a sun-lounger at me. The bastard.
The sound of the approaching cart fills the warm afternoon air, and it’s an instantpauseonour game. The cart stops, prompting Logan and Shawn to exchange curious glances. Nico and I already expected Thalia out here today. Jared’s filthy mouth sang her praises when she enteredTortugolast night.
I knew her name, heritage, and a brief life story before I approached her at the bar, but I was curious how much she’d let on about herself. Not much, unfortunately.