He thought of the lake house and the facilities there. It was obvious that everything had been planned and built around Harrison’s recovery after the accident, but knowing that made it feel ominous.
His parents obviously loved him. He was their only remaining son, but Jett had found it strange that Harrison had been set up to live life so far away from them.
Hedidn’t know for sure, but judging by all the physio equipment, Harrison had come from the hospital straight to the lake house. It could have been for privacy reasons, but Jett knew what house the Killingers lived in and what street it was on. The fancy neighbourhood was filled with nosy neighbours who loved to gossip, and seeing Harrison limping around wouldn’t have been good for anyone’s image. Especially since the court of public opinion had pinned the blame on their oldest son despite the evidence.
Jettreallyneeded to talk to Harrison about their families. He needed to tell him about his past before he heard it from someone else. He also wanted to know how he was expected to feel about the Killingers because right now, he was angry.
Harrison nudged him gently with his leg, and Jett’s gaze flicked up to meet those intense blue eyes. A playful smile tugged at the corners of Harrison’s lips, silently daring him to lean in for a kiss. Jett’s heart hammered in his chest, craving the touch despite knowing Max would probably throw pillows their way if he caught them. But fuck—he wanted to.
“You guys are so cute together,” said Max suddenly, startling Jett. “You’re giving each other longing looks like actors do in romance movies. Ryan does that with Jason sometimes. It’s so ridiculous.”
Harrison pinched the bridge of his nose and tilted his head back, giving an exasperated sigh.
“You make it sound like they’re in love,” said Jett. “Ryan swears they’re not, and if he heard you saying otherwise, he would be pissed.”
“Theyarein love,” said Max indignantly. “My brother hasn’t had a girlfriend since Jason joined the Sunbursts. He broke up with his last one because he wanted to spend more time with Jason, and she kept bitching about it. They do weird couple things, and I’ve seen it with my own eyes. It’s love, they just don’t know it yet. Honestly, I don’t know if they’re smart enough to figure it out.”
“Jesus Christ,” said Harrison. “My brain can’t even comprehend this conversation. Are they a couple or not? It’s like Schrödinger's fucking closet.”
Jett and Max laughed, and Harrison joined in with them. The Bracken/Powers relationship was ridiculous, but Max made it sound so much worse.
Overall, the visit went even better than Jett had expected. He had worried that Max would be standoffish because he was so shy, but they were getting along well by the end of the night.
They had an early flight the next day, so Max only stayed until the end of the game before he started packing his art supplies and half the pizza.
“You could stay in your room if you want,” Jett offered.
Max scrunched his nose in disgust. “Sorry, I love you, but I’d rather not be kept up all night by the sounds of your lovemaking antics.”
“I mean, you never know. You might learn something.” Jett grinned and gestured to Max’s art bag. “You know, references for your webcomic. Weren’t you going to write something spicy about a vampire and his boytoy?”
Max’s cheeks were bright red as he scowled at him. “I can’t exactly put sounds onto paper, you pervert.”
“Sounds like you’re not trying hard enough,” said Harrison from the kitchen.
Max glared, staring at them for a solid minute before he shook his head and strode to the penthouse door. “Good luck with your game tomorrow, assholes. I hope Jason gets a shut-out.”
Harrison gasped, and Jett chuckled as he watched his friend flee his home. Arms wrapped around him from behind, and Jett gracefully accepted the kiss Harrison pressed to the top of his head.
“Did that go okay?”
Jett twisted in Harrison’s arms, tilting his face upward. “Better than okay,” he murmured, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I can tell Max likes you—he’s way too flustered to hide it—but honestly, I have no clue how this will change the whole... status of his crush.”
Harrison hummed, and if that sound wasn’t suspicious, the smirk definitely was.
“Oh no,” said Jett. “What did you do?”
Harrison broke their gaze to kiss his forehead. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Killinger.”
“Fraser.”
Jett was about to step on his foot, but Harrison laughed and said, “When he went to the bathroom, I slipped a napkin with my signature into his bag.”
“Harrison!”
Harrison covered his vulnerable parts and backed away before Jett could think about hitting him.
