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I swallow back the small burst of pain that those thoughts bring up.
“People can change,” I say, surprised by the defensiveness in my tone. “I can change.”
He raises his eyebrow at me. “Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
It’s always been like this with us. I’m the goofy charmer; Gage is the serious one. Yeah, I’m the oldest of my siblings and two years older than Gage, but he’s always been the one people take seriously. I’ve always been the clown, the showoff, the one who’s down for a good time. Gage is the reliable and responsible one, the one who gets stuff done, the one you call to get you out of a jam.
It’s never bothered me, especially when we were kids. Why would I care if people took me seriously when all I wanted was to have fun?
But now that we’re adults—now that I’m well into my thirties—it hits differently.
I hate that I’m thirty-three and my own siblings don’t think I’m mature enough to handle an actual relationship.
They’re right though. Have you seen your track record? Why would you expect them to think that you could be boyfriend material when you’ve only ever done hookups your entire life?
Gage pins me with a serious stare. “Tori is Becca’s best friend. She’s my friend too now.”
“I know that, Gage.”
“She likes you, Tyler. I know you two joke and flirt a lot, but it’s clear as day that she has a thing for you. If you play with her emotions just because you’re bored?—”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“All I’m saying is that if things go to hell between you two and you break up, it’s going to make things awkward as fuck within our entire friend group, especially with all this wedding stuff coming,” he says. “But also because Tori’s a sweet and genuine person who doesn’t deserve to have her emotions fucked with.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
My brother leans back at my hard tone. But I can’t help it. I may be a manwhore with the attention span of a fruit fly, but I’d never hurt Tori. Ever.
This is a fake setup. Gage doesn’t know that, of course. No one does. But fake or not, I would never, ever hurt Tori. And just knowing that Gage thinks I’m capable of that pisses me off.
“You can quit reading me the riot act, Gage. I’d never, ever screw with Tori’s emotions. I don’t care if you believe me or not, but I’m saying it anyway. I’d rather get hit by a car than do anything to hurt her.”
Gage’s brow hits his hairline. He looks…impressed at what I’ve said. And like he maybe even respects me for it.
He nods once at me. “Understood.”
A wave of determination surges through me. No way in hell am I going to hurt Tori. Yeah, our relationship isn’t even real, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to treat her like trash. I’d rather run head-first into a brick wall than hurt her.
Determination flashes through me. I’m more than just a dumbass who fucks a lot. I can be a good boyfriend. I can be a good man for Tori.
“She’s a gem. I’m going to treat her like it,” I say, my tone firm and unyielding. “And we’re not breaking up.”
I surprise myself when those words come out. Because that’s a lie. This fake relationship with Tori has an expiration date. We said we’d call it quits after the weddings, whenever that is.
But the thought of calling things off makes me want to crawl out of my skin. And I’m not entirely sure why.
He looks at me for a long second. “Okay. I believe you.” He pats my shoulder before tugging on the sleeve of his dress shirt. “Now that that’s out of the way, I need to ask you something. Will you be my best man?”
The tension between us fades in an instant. It’s weird, but that’s how it’s always been between us. We’re brothers. We’ve spent our lives clashing one minute and laughing with each other the next. We may fight and argue, but underneath it all, we care about each other and do our best to support one another through everything.
I flash a gigantic grin before I pull him into a hug. He grunts, his arms stiff before he hugs me back.
“Aww, of course, little brother!”
He pushes me off of him, but I can tell he’s trying not to smile.
