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“Life-changing?” Nero asked quickly shaking off whatever disappointment my gesture created.
“Yes, life-changing,” I conceded. If I wasn’t going to kiss him, the least I could do was make him feel good about himself.
“Thought so,” he said cockily. He stretched out his arms. “Hug?”
I hesitated, but only for a moment. Slipping my arms around him, I held him tightly. When he did the same, I didn’t want him to let me go. Even after he loosened his grip, it took me a moment to reciprocate. I was falling for Nero and I was falling hard. The only question remaining was what I was going to do about it.
Chapter 6
Nero
From the moment I released Kendall from my arms, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I had played out of my mind knowing he was watching me and that intensity followed me into my next practice.
“Keep up the hard work, Roman,” Coach said as I puked in a bucket after wind sprints.
“Thanks, Coach.”
Getting his acknowledgment felt good, but not as good as receiving one of Kendall’s texts. I was trying not to text him too much. I didn’t have much experience with this but my gut told me I should play it cool. But what the hell did I know other than it was crazy that I was choosing to go through this alone.
A year ago, my brother had gone through the exact thing after meeting Quin. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t come out to him yet. It wasn’t like he was going to judge me for it. Besides, after the display I put on when we got pizza, there was no way he didn’t know I was head-over-heels for Kendall.
‘Could you drive Quin to Snow Tip Falls this weekend? We have a house we want you to take a look at,’ Cage texted.
I stared at the text not sure how to respond. I was happy to drive Quin up and it would give me an excuse to see Mama. That wasn’t the problem. It was the part about the house.
Their plan made sense. There was no use in Quin paying to stay at Dr. Sonya’s bed and breakfast if he could buy something as easily. And, lord knows it would be good to have a little privacy when I came to visit. You couldn’t fart in the old place without everyone knowing about it.
But, as run down as it was, the old place was home. It was mine. Actually, it wasn’t. We paid too much to rent the shit hole. But — I don’t know — it was my home. It was somewhere no one could take from me — except the landlord who had threatened to kick us out a lot over the years.
I didn’t know why I gave a shit about that crap hole at all. But, I did. And the thought of losing it made me feel uneasy.
It’s not that I didn’t trust Quin’s hospitality. Hell, at this point, Quin felt as much like family as Cage did. There was no way those two weren’t getting married. Everyone knew that.
I just didn’t know if I was ready to be dependent on someone else. I had had to take care of myself for a long time. When you only have yourself to rely on, there’s only one person who could let you down.
Sitting on my bed in my dorm, the door opened.
“Hey, Cage said he texted you. Did you get it?” Titus asked before tossing his backpack to the foot of his bed.
“I got it. I’ve been busy. I haven’t gotten the chance to reply.”
I could feel Titus staring at me as I stared at the ceiling lost in thought.
“I can see that. Genius at work,” he joked. “Did you hear that Dr. Sonya’s organizing a festival?”
“A festival?”
“Yeah. The Moonshine Festival. Cage is helping. Dr. Sonya thinks it can bring in tourists. Considering the town’s history of running moonshine, I think it’s a good idea. And if there’s anything people are willing to drive for, it’s alcohol, right?”
“Maybe.”
“I don’t know. I think it’ll work.”
I watched Titus as he grabbed a cup of noodles and heated it in the microwave. “So, what’s up with you and Lou?”
“What do you mean?” He asked casually.
“I mean, do you like him or…”
