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Reed stopped at the end of the driveway, and we both focused on Elic.
He nervously chewed his bottom lip before speaking. “I talked to Slater that night after you put Cas to bed. How you two haven’t noticed it before, I’m not sure. I saw it, but it took that night to register.”
“You gonna tell us, or do we have to guess?” I asked.
Elic’s eyes flicked to Reed. “He’s in love with you.”
“What?” Reed shouted. “That’s not true.”
I went quiet and let what Elic said wash over me, sink inside, and put everything together. Holy. Shit. “It makes perfect sense.”
“What?” Reed yelled again. “How can you say that?”
“You’ve known him most of your life. Friends fall for each other all the time. We travel together, play together, even when we’re home. We record. The four of us are with each other a lot.”
“So? You don’t see me lusting after Dash.”
“Reed,” I growled. The thought of him with Dash, no. I wanted that and him with Slater out of my fucking head.
Reed turned to face forward again, eyes on the road, foot still on the brake, while the car rumbled in idle. “Slater loves me? How? Why?”
“Does it matter?” Elic asked softly from the back seat. Even if I couldn’t see him, I’d have heard the vulnerability in his voice.
“No,” Reed said, facing Elic again the best he could with the seatbelt on. “It doesn’t change a damn thing. I don’t want him. I have you and Cas. There’s no one else for me.”
Elic nodded, but his leg started bouncing.
“If Reed wanted Slay, he could have had him by now,” I said. “Not once had he tried to do anything with him, right?” I knew this, knew Reed so fucking well. Elic didn’t though. He hadn’t been there through the tours, the dinners, the late nights. Not once had I seen Reed look at Slater with more than friendship.
“Come here, El,” Reed said. Elic scooted forward until his ass was on the edge of the seat and he leaned toward Reed. Reed pressed a kiss to Elic’s cheek. It was the closest we’d come to kissing. We both wanted Elic to be comfortable, but I had to admit, it was hard not kissing him. Or Reed, for that matter. I wanted to, damn did I want to do that and more, but I refrained. I wouldn’t kiss Reed again until Elic was kissing us too.
“I don’t want him,” Reed whispered. “Please believe me.”
“I do. It’s just… I could understand if you did. He’s so much better looking than—”
I put my palm over his mouth. “If I can’t say the d word, you can’t criticize yourself.” He grinned beneath my hand, so I released him.
“That’s fair.” He sat back and blew out a breath. If he were like me, the thought of Reed with Slater wouldn’t easily leave his head. The words Reed spoke were the truth. They needed to edge out the vision of him with Slater that neither Elic nor I needed. “Okay. Can we leave now? I’d like to try some funnel cake.”
“Oh my god, yes,” Reed said excitedly. “I haven’t had that in forever.”
“I want to do everything. I want to have fun with just the three of us.”
Reed grinned, his eyes on Elic in the rearview. “Me too, El.”
He finally pulled onto the road while talking about the food he was going to eat and the freshly squeezed lemonade he was going to drink. No alcohol for us. I promised them I was done drinking. The hangover from hell helped me make that decision. Although, more than that, the looks on their faces, their concern, their care for me drove the point home. I was done with alcohol.
A full parking lot greeted us when we arrived at the fair. Reed had to park in the grass off to the side, next to a few pickup trucks that looked like they’d driven through mud to get here. Reed parked near the road, so if we wanted to leave, he could easily get us out of there. Stuff like this was iffy. If we got mobbed by people, we needed a quick getaway. If they were more respectful, which was usually the case around home, we could stay longer.
Happy screams from people on rides floated to us as we exited the car. Reed locked it, though I doubted anyone would bother it. We weren’t in the city.
Elic stopped in the middle of the lot as we were walking to the entrance. His eyes were on the Ferris wheel. It wasn’t huge since it was a smaller fair, but it was still a decent size. “I’ve never been on one.”
“A Ferris wheel?” Reed asked, coming up alongside him to hold his hand.
“We didn’t go to local events when I was a kid or amusement parks. My mom worked a lot and when she was home, she spent it with me but also, he…”
“El,” I said gently and took his other hand. “Let’s make memories. We’ll go on every ride you want to and play every game. We’ll eat until we feel sick.”
