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It's my turn to laugh loudly, surprising myself. “Damn. What's a guy gotta do to get in between that sandwich?”

“Let me knock you out and you can have it in your dreams,” Tay scoffs, pulling out a loaf of bread. “My sharing days are over. Huck's mine.”

“And you're mine,” his boyfriend adds. “I don't want anyone else.”

A pinch of jealousy blooms in my chest. I'd been mostly joking—I don't want anyone but one guy either. And that one guy does, in fact, enjoy sharing. I just can't get on board with it anymore. Not like before, with Arya.

Exhibitionism? Jerking off together in front of his roommates? Sure, that stuff's hot. I'll suck him off in the middle of the grocery store if that's what he wants, but having other people touch him? Can't do it.

Speaking of him.

Christian pulls open the sliding glass door to join us in the kitchen. “So you all fucking ditched me?”

Taylor glances up from where he's rummaging through the fridge. “Did you bring me any of those little bags of chips?”

“Why the fuck would I bring you chips, cariño? I thought you left.”

“Because I'm hungry. You know I'm always hungry.”

“Am I supposed to keep snacks on hand at all times for you or some shit?”

“A real best friend would. You don't even love me.”

Christian snorts as he pulls a small bottle of liquor from his jacket pocket. “Tell your stepbro to find you a snack.”

“You're an asshole, man,” Huckslee mutters.

With my arms crossed, I watch them bicker, feeling like an outsider. Just as I make the conscious decision to slip away unnoticed, Carlos steps inside the house. I stop in my tracks at the stricken look on his face and follow his gaze over to Christian. Or, rather, at the vodka bottle in his brother's hand.

Christian notices a beat later, too, because his grin fades when he catches Carlos standing frozen in the entryway.

“Hey,” he says carefully, trying to hide the bottle behind his back.

“Why the hell do you have that?”

The teasing energy in the room evaporates instantly. Taylor stills mid-sandwich as Huck stiffens.

Christian glances down at the bottle, twisting the cap absently. “Had a long day, I guess.”

Carlos exhales sharply through his nose. “You promised.”

“I never said I'd stop drinking.”

“It's not the drinking,” Carlos snaps, then immediately lowers his voice. “It's what you're drinking. And around them? Seriously?”

Christian glances toward the backyard, where his mom and little sisters still dance. A hard swallow flexes his throat. “I’m not drinking it in front of them. They're not around.”

“He used to say that, too!”

A thick silence settles over the room.

Christian looks almost sick, but he tucks the bottle away before gently grabbing his brother's arm. “Not here. Let's go talk.”

The two disappear into a room down the hall, leaving Taylor, Huck, and me to stare at each other with wide eyes.

“What was that about?” Huckslee whispers, gazing after them.

Taylor shakes his head slowly. “I… I don't know.”