Page 37 of Pieces of Me

They shared a rueful smile, and Scott kissed the tip of Rylan’s nose. “Thank you, Ry,” he said, before moving a careful distance away. When Bob, Heather, and the kids burst in a few moments later, Bob smiled at the sight of them, plates once again on their laps.

“Well, don’t you two look cozy,” he exclaimed. “It looks like a good time was had by all tonight.”

“Oh, yeah,” Scott said, a smirk playing about his lips. “We had a very good time tonight, Bob. Didn’t we?”

Rylan kept his eyes down on his plate, knowing his face was red. “We did. Thanks, Dad.” Bob clapped him on the shoulder as he went by, and after everyone disappeared to get ready for bed, Rylan elbowed Scott in the side, hard, reveling in his pained “Oof.”

The heated words died in his throat, though, when he saw the gleam of laughter in Scott’s eyes, and he gave a rueful chuckle, shaking his head. “You asshole,” he contented himself with saying mildly, gasping when Scott grabbed him around the neck and gave him a daring kiss on the lips, hard and quick.

“Later, Ry,” he whispered. “’Cause practice makes perfect.”

CHAPTER 9

“Everything’s going great. No worries, Dad.”

Rylan spoke to Bob for a few more minutes before reaching to hang up the phone, juggling Cara on his lap as she and the younger boys dozed on the couch, their movie coming to an end. It was almost nine p.m., and Heather wasn’t home yet, but Rylan wasn’t too concerned. She’d been good as gold since Bob left on his long-haul gig more than two weeks ago. Still got drunk every night, but at least she kept close to home with it and hadn’t had any men over. Earlier that evening, she mentioned wanting to meet her friend Tanya for a few hours of “Friday-night girl time,” and Rylan offered to babysit the kids for her so she could go. Her gratitude seemed genuine, and she even got his name right when thanking him.

Besides, Scott was out with his own friends, and Rylan was at loose ends until he got home. His face flushed, and he couldn’t help but squirm a little as he thought of Scott. For the past couple of weeks, they hadn’t been able to get enough of each other, crawling into bed together every night to explore each other’s bodies with hands and mouths until they fell asleep…sticky, exhausted, and entwined.

Rylan loved waking up with him, loved the intimacy of it being just the two of them cocooned in their bed, the rest of the world hushed and still. A warm glow settled in his belly as he thought of their conversation the other morning.

“Did you ever go talk to that recruiter?” Rylan had asked sleepily, his head on Scott’s shoulder, their legs tangled up under the thin sheet covering them. He shivered as Scott drew lazy patterns across Rylan’s bare back with his fingertips.

“Mmm, I did. Found out that Navy pilots are officers, which I already knew, but in order to be accepted to Officer Training School, you have to have a college degree.”

“And?”

Scott’s voice suddenly grew bitter. “And where am I gonna get the money for college? That ain’t never been on the table for me.”

Rylan had propped himself up on his elbow, his eyebrows raised. “The military has college programs, though. I’ve seen the commercials for it, and the billboards. I’m surprised the recruiter didn’t mention that. You go in as enlisted, or whatever they call it, and let them pay for it in exchange for your service.”

Scott blew out a breath and stared up at the ceiling. “He did mention it,” he said quietly. “Said there were lots of online courses I could take, even if I was deployed on a ship somewhere. It might take a few years, but―”

“But it’s possible?”

At Scott’s silent nod, Rylan lay back down, his head on Scott’s chest. “You don’t think you’re smart enough.” It wasn’t a question but a statement, and Scott didn’t reply.

Rylan smoothed his fingers up until he was cupping Scott’s cheek, and he stroked the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “I won’t argue with you about that anymore because I know how hard it is to change your mindset when you’ve believed one way for so long. But I will say this: You can do anything you set your mind to, Scott. I have all the faith in you. All of it.”

Scott kissed Rylan’s palm. “I know you do, baby.” The endearment had seemed to catch them both by surprise, but all Rylan did was give Scott a slow smile before leaning in to kiss him.

Rylan heaved a happy inward sigh at the memory, hugging Cara closer and making her squeak. He bussed the top of her head, and she settled back down. The TV screen flickered in the darkness, giving the shabby living room a sort of dreamy quality.

To hear Scott tell it, he’d all but broken up with Lisa, although he still spent time with her as part of their larger group of friends. He would be graduating high school in a few months, and things were really on track for Scott to enlist in the Navy; all he needed was that diploma. Rylan hadn’t dared say anything yet, but more and more he dreamed about joining Scott on his travels around the world. No one would question stepbrothers as close, as “roommates.” They could live together, sleep together…fall in love.

Rylan sighed again. He’d already made that fall, tumbling head over heels, and he thought Scott was more than halfway there, too. The endearments were coming more and more frequently, the intimacy was increasing every day, the tenderness―all that was lacking were those three little words, and they echoed in Rylan’s mind every night as he fell asleep wrapped around Scott.

Caught up in his dreams, he was startled when headlights swept into the room, illuminating the sleeping faces of his little stepsiblings. Rylan eased Cara off his lap and covered her with her fuzzy princess blanket, checking on the three boys sprawled on the opposite edge of the couch and on the floor.

He clicked the TV off and grabbed Heather’s favorite quilt from the back of the battered recliner nearby before heading out to the porch to meet her.

“Bye!” Heather hollered to whoever was driving the car as she climbed unsteadily out of the passenger side. “Love ya long time, ya fuckin’ bitch!”

“Bye, baby girl,” came a female voice, presumably Tanya’s, and Heather slammed the car door shut and lurched toward the porch where Rylan was standing. The car whined as it was thrust in reverse, backing out of the yard and onto the road before accelerating off in a cloud of dust.

“Hey there,” Heather slurred when she caught sight of Rylan, and she staggered the tiniest bit. Rylan leaped down the stairs to grip her elbow and steady her, and she jerked away with the belligerence of the habitual drunk. “Get off me. Don’t need your fuckin’ help.”

Rylan backed away, but followed her closely as she took the porch stairs one slow step at a time, hauling herself up by the railing to collapse on the swing. He draped the quilt across her lap and leaned against the railing, studying her narrowly. Heather’s eyes were glassy, unfocused, her mouth slack. Jesus, she was plastered.