AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It's too precarious to hope there could ever be something other than friendship between them.
Rian sighs and distractedly starts perusing the sizable collection of photos of his crush he has amassed in the past few years.
Ty doesn’t have any childhood photographs on his socials, with the exclusion of one grainy image of himself and his dad, side by side, holding fishing rods, grinning. He couldn’t have been more than five or six years old. The rod pole is way too big for him, but he looks absolutely thrilled. The little boy with a bowl cut and two front teeth missing, grinning wide, is one of the cutest things Rian has ever seen.
The image has no captions, and comments are turned off. Rian wants to ask about it so badly, but he knows, he needs to be patient and, above all, accept the very real possibility that Ty might not be interested in getting to know him at all.
Rian’s “research” finally culminates in going on Ty’s social media.
There’s no need really, since he knows there are no new posts. Of course, he has checked already. Twice today alone. Sometimes he feels a tiny rush to see the other man online.
Of course, he isn’t going to talk to Tayida. He never does. What would he say anyway?
Do you wanna, maybe, be my boyfriend?
I think you’re hot. I can’t stop thinking about kissing you…
Definitely not that last one!
Ty is back in Jacksonville, and no matter how much Cy had insisted he spends more time with them during their leave, he had politely declined.
At first, Ri thought it was because of him. Perhaps Ty was avoiding him. Maybe he had figured out Ri was checking him out and that had made him uncomfortable. But the way Cy spoke about him slowly dispelled that notion. Cy had boldly declared that it was his mission to make Ty their brother – a part of their family.
“He thinks inviting him here is some grand gesture that would cause us inconvenience, when in fact, it’s no trouble at all to share this shitty little place with him. He doesn’t know how to let people love him. He thinks if he takes up a smaller space, it’s less likely he would be abandoned. Breaks my heart, he’s been hurt so much, that he genuinely believes that shit. I’m not giving up, though. I’ll bring him home one day. For good.”
Rian beams at his brother. Cyril is so kind, intuitive, and giving. Rian is proud they are a family, and although he knows his brother means well, he wishes Ty could become something entirely different to him. The way that he feels about him isn’t exactly brotherly.
He says nothing because if this is important to Cyril, he should support him. It’s for the best, right?
Cyril knows best. Always.
Ri gnaws on his lip for a while, waiting for the confidence in Cyril’s plan to come through. It doesn’t, but he won’t defy his brother. He goes back to work, sketching for his impending assignments, reluctantly closing all Ty’s socials.
But try as he might, to scrub the image of the young man away from his mind, Rian is helpless when his imagination betrays him, yet again, and he spends the rest of the afternoon daydreaming about Ty.
His latest Instagram post is from this cute little diner, enjoying a giant stack of waffles with a generous serving of melted caramel and thick cream. He is so cute, with his red beanie pulled back, and messy short strands of dark hair creeping beneath the edge of the fabric. His eyelids are at half-mast. He’s clearly in a food coma after annihilating his more-than-generously portioned breakfast.
The captions are hilarious – #foodbaby #bulkday #dontjudgeme #worthit #gobigorgohome #waffletime #foodporn.
Rian barely manages to suppress his laugh. Cyril has already been keeping a wary eye on him, asking him every now and then, why he’s been acting so giddy, secretive, and overall weird.
“Weirder than your usual weird,” he would tease Rian.
Ri shrugs it off, but he knows he isn’t fooling his brother in the least.
Rian wonders if Ty’s lips taste like coffee and caramel. For the fifth time today, he wonders what kissing Ty would feel like.
Rian’s belly is full of butterflies. He closes his eyes. The vivid vision of Tayida, looking back at him with those warm brown eyes, waiting patiently for Rian to kiss him, is right there. Ty wants him. He wants Rian to taste his sweet lips and feast on his delicious mouth.
Tayida. Tayida. Tayida.
Would you ever be mine?
My beloved.
CHAPTERFOUR
Tayida – Ty – Beloved One
