Heart racing, Trevor squirmed out of his grasp. “I’m not a softie. I’m super tough and manly. And now I want to watch people get chopped up.”
His joke came out forced, and god, Skyler could probably see right through him, couldn’t he?
But he needed to create some space between them and put on another movie. Something less emotional to clear the tension in the room before he did something stupid. Something he was fairly sure wouldn’t be unwelcomed, but that he shouldn’t do, nevertheless.
Right?
Because they were in the band together and lived together, and this could get messy really fast.
What would the other guys think? He didn’t want them to think he was here for the wrong reasons. He was here to work.
“All right, macho man,” Skyler teased. “Horror, it is. But you’ll have to hold me to protect me during the scary parts.”
Okay. Trevor could see now how this plan might backfire. But he was weak for this boy, so he ignored the warning voice in his head and slung his arm around Skyler’s shoulders, pulling him in closer. “I can do that.”
Halfway through the movie, he started to suspect Skyler was exaggerating how scared he was. He kept burying his face in Trevor’s side and wrapping an arm around his middle, but Trevor really didn’t mind at all.
He also didn’t mind it when the movie ended and Skyler claimed he was too tired to make itall the way across the hallto his own room, so they slipped under the covers together. Nope. Didn’t mind at all.
But maybe he should have.
Trevor couldn’t believe hewas shirtless and barefoot on the beach and getting paid for it. He was also surrounded by girls in bikinis, but weirdly, that part didn’t excite him as much. A month ago, he might have been interested, but now…
Now his eyes were more drawn to a certain wavy-haired, shirtless guy.
Oli, Jermaine, and Noah were living it up though, flirting with the models in between takes. Maggie and the video director were pretty exasperated with them by this point, but only Noah reined it in after getting reprimanded. Oli continued to try to show off by doing a cartwheel in the sand and ended up falling on his ass, but it worked out for him anyway, because the girls all crowded around him to see if he was okay.
Maggie decided to call for a fifteen-minute break then, instructing them all to grab some water and snacks from the catering table and then come back ready to get this done. The other boys quickly surrounded the table, the girls hovering by them. Trevor jogged over and snatched an orange for Skyler, a bag of chips for himself, and a bottle of water for them to share, and then he and Skyler wandered off on their own.
They ended up sitting on the ramp of a lifeguard hut a tiny bit down the beach. Skyler peeled his orange as he babbled excitedly about how much fun he was having. Trevor munched on his chips, the bag resting on his lap because he’d somehow found himself with a pile of stringy orange rind in one palm.
He’d just offered Skyler the water when he spotted Maggie only a few feet away coming toward them.
“We’re probably not supposed to be on here,” Skyler said nervously.
Trevor shrugged. Probably not.
“Hi, boys,” she greeted them with a bland smile.
“Sorry,” Skyler said immediately. “We were looking for a place to sit.”
She waved this off, but her smile tightened very briefly before her face relaxed. “It’s fine. I was only hoping to catch you two for a quick chat.”
Trevor grew suspicious. In the time they’d known her, she’d never just wanted to chat. The word even sounded foreign coming out of her mouth.
“You’re both doing good, right?” she asked. “There’s been so much going on, it must be a bit overwhelming.”
“Yeah, it’s been fun though,” Skyler answered. He took a sip of water and handed the bottle back to Trevor.
Trevor watched Maggie’s eyes track this before she smiled at them again. “I’m glad. And I know everyone’s been working so hard. So I wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page about things.”
“What things?” Trevor asked.
“Oh, well, I’ve heard the two of you have been sleeping in the same room a lot. And I’m sure that’s perfectly innocent, but we have to consider how it looks and what the other boys might think.”
Trevor’s heart lurched. Hehadbeen considering the guys. But it didn’t bother them that Skyler slept in his room, did it? They weren’t doing anything.
But wait.
