“I’m the one celebrating,” said Arlo. “We’re watching one episode of Attack on Titan, and then we can do something manly like go swimming or shoot squirrels with BB guns.”
Fraser’s frown of disappointment was immediately turned on him. “You shoot squirrels? They’re so cute though.”
The cutting look Harrison gave his cousin would have normally shut him up, but the punk was acting all brave now that he had backup.
So, Harrison decided to be an adult and proceeded to ignore them. He kicked up his recliner and started scrolling on his phone while he ate, ignoring the annoying screaming coming from his TV. He hadn’t had a chance to check what the media was saying after the game today. Part of him hoped there would be nothing there, but he wasn’t surprised to see multiple shots of him standing behind the bench during the game.
Holy shit, he really did look like a mountain man.
None of the posts or articles said much about him other than he seemed to be coaching Arlo’s team to victory, but the focus was on Arlo and Fraser.
“Killinger’s Ghost: Returned to the Ice”was the worst one he found, but even then, his name was the only thing mentioned about him. People were commenting on how Arlo looked like him, and how Fraser had attempted his move during the game, so it was like having him back on the ice. All that shit was lighthearted and fine, but then there was the gossip about Arlo and Fraser being boyfriends since they were from the same province and both openly gay.
Really? Just because of those similarities, they were suddenly dating? Fucking media.
He couldn’t imagine his spazzy cousin shacked up with the equally spazzy Fraser. They would drive each other crazy.
“Why are you grimacing?” Arlo asked, startling Harrison badly enough that he dropped his phone. “You look like someone shoved a pinecone up your ass.”
Harrison left his phone to die and reluctantly dragged his eyes to the TV. “I’m just wondering when the wedding is.”
“Wedding?” Fraser smiled that annoying, cheerful smile at Arlo in full force. “You’re getting married? Who is he? Is he going with you to Montreal?”
“I mean,” Arlo held up his right hand. “He’s right here, so it would be hard to leave him behind.”
Harrison heard that joke so many times, he barely registered the words leaving Arlo’s mouth, but Fraser laughed and punched him playfully.
“Not the hand for once,” said Harrison, gesturing at them both. “You two have the rumour mill spinning. Congratulations; when can I expect my invite?”
Fraser and Arlo locked eyes, their expressions becoming too serious for Harrison’s comfort. This continued for a solid minute, and Harrison was about to ask them what the fuck they were doing, when they pointed at each other and said, “Bottom?”
“Yeah,” said Arlo. “And I’m a huge brat. You?”
Fraser nodded. “Bottom. I’ve hooked up a lot, but not enough to say if I’m into anything besides orgasms.”
“Thank god that’s sorted,” Arlo said, turning to Harrison. “Sorry, the wedding is off. We’re incompatible.”
Harrison shook his head in disbelief, suddenly thirsty for that beer. He couldn’t believe people were still using labels. He felt like he was back in high school again, awkwardly trying to figure out who he was inside, while trying to act like he knew who he was on the outside.
When Fraser turned those gold-brown doe eyes on him, as if waiting for his contribution to the conversation, Harrison was quick to shut that shit down.
“Fuck off.”
“You can’t just tell everyone to fuck off,” said Arlo, who was trying not to laugh when Fraser’s mouth fell open. “Seriously, you need to learn how topeopleagain without me here to translate.”
Everything inside Harrison went tense. Here it was, the elephant in the room charging right at him.
“Come with me,” said Arlo. “We can rent a place together and hang out in my downtime.”
Harrison couldn’t do that, even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. Arlo was an adult, and this was his chance to see how big the world was. If Harrison followed him, he would only hold him back.
“No.”
“I’m not leaving you in this cage you built around yourself.”
“No.”
Arlo’s mouth snapped shut, and Harrison saw the hurt and betrayal in his eyes.
