Don't Read in the Closet: Volume Four (152 page)

against the wall. After all the lost sleep and worry, small wonder he

couldn’t stay awake.
I’ll just rest here for a minute.
His eyes drifted

closed.

The squawking of an intercom announced the latest bus arrivals,

and Max looked up to see Brandon bounding across the terminal,

backpack thrown over one shoulder and grinning like a loon.

“Maxxie!” He wrapped his arms around Max, pulling him to his feet.

“Damn but I missed you!” Right there in the middle of a crowded bus

station, Brandon slammed their mouths together and, for the first time

ever, Max didn’t give a rat’s ass who saw.

“What about Dave?” he drew away far enough to ask.

“Dave who?” Brandon murmured against his lips, resuming the

kiss. All around them the world disappeared, boiling down to the two

of them. It felt so right. So right. I haven’t lost him after all! Max

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wrapped his arms tighter around his lover, determined never to let go

again, for anything.

“Max! Maxxie? How could Brandon so thoroughly plunder his

mouth and talk at the same time? Something hit his shoulder.

Max shot upright, jerking himself awake. A troubled frown filled

his vision. “Dude! You okay? Wake up!” Brandon shook his shoulder

again. The frown twisted into an uneasy smile.

His heart leapt and, still disoriented from his nap, Max leaned in

for a kiss until recalling why they were there. “Uhm… where’s Dave?”

he asked, peering around Brandon and trying not to sound put out, or

like he already hated a man he’d never met.

Brandon’s smile faltered and fell. He stammered, “Um… oh…

The car should be fixed by tomorrow. He’s driving it down, but I

couldn’t wait to get home, so I took the bus.”

Some things never changed. Brandon always sucked at lying, and

though Max wanted to, he didn’t pry. Whatever the man was hiding

would be divulged in due time.
Maybe they’re fighting?
Max thought

hopefully, even knowing he should feel guilty for wishing such on his

friend. Still, he couldn’t help but hope “Dave” had royally screwed up

somehow and was well on his way to being permanently booted out of

Brandon’s life.

Unexpectedly, in a stirring reminder of Max’s dream, Brandon

swept him up into a bone crunching hug, whispering, “I’ve missed you

so damned bad.” Caught in the moment, reveling in the feel of those

safe, secure arms around him, Max indulged in the fantasy that they

were still together, living openly as a couple, greeting each other after

Bran returned from a business trip. Besides, all around them other

people were hugging and kissing, even the macho guy in an Army

uniform. No one would think anything of it.

All too soon the contact ended. Yawning, stretching, and feigning

nonchalance to hide disappointment, Max picked up the bag Brandon

had dropped by the bench. “C’mon,” he said, “let’s get you home. I’m

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sure your parents are dying to see you.” Secretly, he’d loved to have

kept Bran for himself for a few hours. Or days. Or weeks.

“Umm…” Brandon flashed that “I’m not being totally honest” look

again. “I’m staying at a hotel.” He averted his eyes. “Although they’ve

given up on me bringing home girls for them to meet, and we’re cool

now, the ‘rents aren’t ready to see me sharing a room with a guy.”

“I stayed over plenty of times,” Max replied before his brain

engaged.

“That’s different.” Brandon added under his breath, “And if it were

you this time I don’t think they’d have a problem with it.” An awkward

silent moment followed.

A rowdy group waving “Welcome Home” banners swooped by to

surround the soldier, squealing and squawking. Max and Brandon

stepped back to let them pass.

“Well, c’mon then. Let’s go find your hotel. We can order pizza

and maybe watch a game. It’ll be like old times.” Well, not quite like

old times, for now there’d be no making out during half time, and an

undercurrent of tension pulsed between them, so unlike the

comfortable camaraderie they’d always shared. Would that ever

return?

Still, this man meant too much not to want to spend every possible

moment together. And if one negative thing came out of Bran’s mouth

about Dave, Max wasn’t above using that to his advantage.

They bought a large pepperoni pizza and checked Brandon into a

motel not too far from the neighborhood in which they grew up. When

they stepped into the room and Max stared at the queen-sized bed,

images came to mind of Brandon and the faceless Dave, writhing in

the sheets. What did the guy look like? He’d have to be gorgeous to

win a catch like Brandon. And funny. And smart. And kind. Shit. If

the mystery man was all that, Max didn’t stand a chance in hell of

getting Brandon back. Not that he’d give up easily.

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The defeat of the last few days suddenly evaporated. That’s what

he’d do! Brandon had been Max’s for years, Dave’s for a few weeks.

Right and wrong didn’t figure into the equation. Max planned to steal

his man back!

Dropping Brandon’s bag to the floor, he turned to face his friend,

determined as hell to do this right. “Hey, they have free Internet,”

Brandon was saying, reading from a card by the dresser, “and…”

Max cut him off, shoving him bodily to the bed and diving on top.

“What the—?” Brandon fought for hardly a second, quickly giving in

and opening his mouth for Max’s eager invasion, a “Mmmmph?” of

surprise escaping. The kiss, a product of three months of pent up

frustration, curled Max’s toes and left his insides a jumbled mass of

mush. How had he ever survived without this?

For a brief second his conscience screamed at him for seducing

another guy’s boyfriend. He pushed that thought away.
Brandon is

mine! Always has been, always will be!
Then Brandon moaned,

bucking up from the bed to rub an impressive, denim-covered hard-on

against Max. Shielded from the world in a cheap motel room, parents,

college, Dave — none of it mattered. Just Max and Brandon and one

last chance to make things right.

They pushed, pulled, and shoved. Working as a team, they

managed to get their clothes off, denim and T-shirts piling on the floor

by the bed. When at last they were naked, Max stared down the man

that he now knew that he couldn’t live without. He’d fight dirty if he

had to, but no way in hell was that Dave guy gonna win!

“Oh God, how I’ve missed this.” Brandon wrapped a leg around

Max’s to pull him closer.

Max ground down, sliding their erections together. He wasn’t

going to last. It’d been too long. He sealed their lips together, hips

frantically thrusting against Brandon. “Oh damn!” he broke the kiss to

exclaim, tilting his head to give better access when gentle nibbles

descended on the “bite here” areas of his shoulder and neck.

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Brandon gave as good as he got, pushing up from beneath, breathy

little pants warming Max’s skin while his teeth worried the sensitive

spot beneath one ear. How well this man knew each and every way to

turn Max on.

“Ah, ah, ah…” Max bucked harder. So close, so close. Brandon

stiffened beneath him, that familiar, “I’m coming” whine drowning out

the traffic noises from outside. Once more, twice more, he jammed his

cock almost brutally against Brandon’s, letting loose the tension that’d

been steadily building.

Aftershocks coursed through him and he held tight, determined to

never, ever let Brandon go again. Tentative fingers stroked his back.

He sighed, easing off the man he’d just led down a cheating path, not

that he regretted it for a single second. A handful of tissues from a

convenient box on the nightstand removed the evidence of their

passion.

“I love you so damned much,” Brandon said, the two of them

lying side by side, staring up at the ceiling.

Max blinked hard, the reality of what he’d just done and why

crowding his throat, choking him. Now was not the time, he knew

that, but had to know. “I love you, too. But what about Dave?”

“Oh, Maxxie.” Brandon rolled onto his side, propping his head on

one arm to stare down at Max. “There isn’t any Dave. Or rather, there

is, but it’s not like you think.”

Confused, Max locked gazes with Brandon’s, whose expressive,

dark eyes couldn’t tell a lie, and weren’t even trying to now.

Brandon continued, “When we first broke up, I died inside each

day that you didn’t call. I died even more when you wouldn’t answer

my calls. I was so afraid I’d lost you forever. Then when you stared

talking to me again, it wasn’t the same. There was you and there was

me, but no us. So I thought that if I wasn’t a threat anymore, if I’d

moved on, that things could go back to how they were before we got

together.” Brandon cupped Max’s cheek in his palm. “I decided that if

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you wanted to live your life in the closet, it’d kill me not to have you

as my lover, but I didn’t want to lose you as my friend too.”

A beaming smile lit Brandon’s face. “For days I’ve been dreaming

of this, how it would go. I have to admit that you topped anything my

mind came up with. All my dreams and then some came true when

you attacked me coming in the door. I no longer care if we can never

be open. I don’t care if the world thinks we’re friends, roommates,

brothers, or cousins.” He added, “Although I don’t think they’ll buy the

‘brothers’ thing with your blond hair and blue eyes, when mine are

both so dark. Anyway, I’ll do whatever it takes to have whatever of

you you’re willing to give.”

If Max hadn’t already been blown away by this man years ago,

that impassioned speech would have done the trick. The dark clouds

that had been following him around for months lifted. He swallowed

hard, his heart threatening to burst wide open. “What about this Dave

guy?”

“My roommate. My
straight
roommate, and that’s all. His parents

are in the middle of a nasty divorce so he’s avoiding going home for

awhile. Rather than have him stay at the dorm by himself, I invited

him to come with me, ‘cause Mom wouldn’t want anyone being all

alone. You know how she is about taking in strays. She’s been fussing

over him like a lost puppy.”

Yeah, at last count the Rourkes had four dogs and two cats, all

having shown up on their doorstep, skinny and starving. The cats now

weighed well over fifteen pounds each. Anything or anyone that

found their way to that ranch house on the edge of town wouldn’t walk

away hungry or neglected.

Brandon flashed a bright, lopsided grin, one that had been making

Max’s heart flip-flop for yeas. “Cindy thinks ole Dave’s a present.

She’s been drooling over him ever since that day she helped moved

me into my dorm. I owe her big time for supporting me through all

this, and if it works out for them, I’ll count my debt paid in full.”

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Better her than you!
Max nearly crowed. “The bus? The hotel

room?”

A lovely crimson flush shaded Brandon’s olive complexion.

“Cindy and Dave dropped me off at the bus station. As we speak, she’s

tooling around town, showing him the sights. This room was wishful

thinking on my part — for me and you. You’ve been out of the loop,

but my folks kinda feel sorry for Dave’s home situation, and sorta

adopted him. Nobody has a problem with him staying at the house

while I’m not there. In fact, though I know my big sis adores me,

Cindy probably likes it better that way. Less competition for Dave’s

attention.”

Lies like that Max could live with. “How long do we have?”