Part 11 (1/2)
”Come on, Brad,” Ricky said, pouting and whining. ”It's Friday night!”
Bradley seemed ready to argue, but Bro put a quick stop to that. ”Just what kind of practice do you have on a Friday night?”
Ricky blushed, managing to look all of five years old instead of seventeen. ”I, um....” He glanced at Bradley, and Bro realized he was silently asking his twin's permission.
But the only emotion Bradley sported was pride. ”Go ahead. You can tell him.”
Ricky grinned, relieved. ”Cooking cla.s.s, twice a week. I usually have it on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but the teacher, Ms. Mills, couldn't make it yesterday.”
Bro was surprised; Bradley couldn't cook for s.h.i.+t. ”Wow. You can cook?”
Ricky laughed, his pitch a bit higher than his brother's. ”Yeah. I'm way better than that lunkhead.” He pointed at Bradley, who crossed his arms over his chest menacingly but rolled his eyes amusedly. ”At least I'm better at something than his majesty, Bradley the Bold, the golden boy of-” Ricky ducked lightning fast when Bradley tried to swipe his head with the palm of his hand.
Bro laughed with the brothers. ”So you're gonna play hooky tonight, is that it?” With a wink to Bradley, he said to Ricky, ”That's gonna cost you.”
Now Ricky appeared nervous, frowning. ”What does that mean?”
Bro shrugged nonchalantly. ”We could go back to my place-and you could cook for us. I'm tired of microwave dinners, candy, popcorn, and all that s.h.i.+t. What do you say, dude?”
All of a sudden Ricky chuckled. ”Is that all? I love to cook. Sure, it's a deal.”
Pumping fists with the guy, Bro was glad he had asked, even though it had been an unethical sort of extortion. But Ricky seemed fine with it. So the three of them headed to the girls, who were staring at new shoes on display at a store window, practically drooling over some velvety-looking high heels Bro would love to see Lacey wear-in and out of bed.
Five minutes later they were driving toward the Waters-Sumner-Thompson loft.
As they parked and got out, three men came tumbling out of the apartment building front door. One was a gorgeous, tall blond with a few faint facial scars from a fire, and another was a big, bulky bald man with several fire-themed tattoos. The third man, a grizzly-bear-like barrel of a man, watched the other two laughing away while he shook his head in mock reproach. Him they had seen at the football field earlier, taking Roger away.
”Oh, hey, Bro,” the cute blond called out and waved to him. The other two men did only the chin-lift greeting, trying to steady Jack's step, though he wasn't drunk, only eager.
”Hey Jack, Kev, Luke,” Bro replied. ”Off somewhere?”
”A couple of drinks at the local dive, and then we're off to shake this old booty on the dance floor,” Jack shouted back, s.h.i.+mmying his hips like a professional dancer-a go-go dancer.
”Have a good time.”
”Oh, we will.” Jack winked wickedly, leaving no room for misunderstandings, and the bald muscle-bound G.o.d next to him laughed out loud with a deep, guttural, rumbling noise.
The three men were busy climbing into a huge SUV when Bro heard Ricky ask in a quiet voice filled with awe, ”Who is that that?”
Bro followed Ricky's wide-eyed gaze to the bald, bulky man. ”That's Luke Kennard, Jack's best friend. He's a fireman for FEMS.” Jack Waters was Jordan's younger brother, a down-and-dirty party boy as well as an EMT. The quieter man with Jack and Luke was Kevin Thompson, Jack's boyfriend and Jordan's partner in the Force, a man they had seen before. Bro relayed this information to Ricky, too, but doubted he'd heard a word past ”fireman.”
”He's... amazing.” Bro turned back to Ricky and saw his instantly smitten look, nothing short of rapture in his brown eyes, a fire Bro had seen reflected back in the mirror more than once when he thought about Lacey. Luke was definitely an eye-catcher, a brawny hunk with a bad-boy image, and his very essence exuded masculinity and raw s.e.x appeal.
Wondering if Bradley was okay with his twin crus.h.i.+ng on a guy publicly, Bro took a cautious peek at his best friend-only to witness Bradley's half-worried, half-understanding gaze settle on his brother.
”You okay?” Bro whispered to his best friend, leaning closer.
Startled out his thoughts, Bradley blinked and then nodded. ”Yeah, fine. I've known about his orientation for a while. Ricky hasn't dated a guy yet, not to my knowledge anyway, but he can handle himself. And that fireman? Hot!” Shrugging, he added, ”Let's go inside.”
Bro touched Ricky's arm. He had been watching with rapt attention as the SUV drove off and jumped at the contact. Then he looked sheepish, glancing at his big brother warily. Bro guessed he wasn't sure of his brother's reaction either, which told Bro Ricky didn't habitually show such blatant interest in guys, especially not in front of his straight big brother.
Bradley chuckled and yanked Ricky into a playful chokehold, tousling his hair. Ricky laughed, and the tension was broken.
”You know, as long as you don't start f.u.c.king a guy in front of me or in public, you gotta know I'm cool with this, you being who you are, ogling hot guys,” Bradley chided his brother softly as he let go.
”I was scared. I didn't want you to think less of me for... um, ogling that guy.” Ricky sounded embarra.s.sed.
”Like I ever could.” Bradley winked, then grinned. ”Now who's the lunkhead?”
”You are,” Ricky shot back, twisted out of the hold, and ran for the front door of the building. Cussing, Bradley sprinted after him, spewing out loud threats of bodily harm if and when he caught the brat. More laughter followed. Audrey rolled her eyes and dashed after the twins.
Lacey giggled, slipping under Bro's arm, and they walked in too, though at a more leisurely pace.
Jordan and Sebastian greeted them inside the loft, but they soon went off toward their own bedroom, for which Bro was glad. He did love his big brother and his moody cop fiance, but this was a night to hang out with friends.
It took Ricky thirty seconds to rummage the kitchen for supplies and appliances, and then he started on teriyaki beef and noodles plus stovetop lasagna with such swift efficiency Bro found himself staring spellbound. The kid had moves and skill in the kitchen, absolutely. Still, regardless of his enthusiasm and talent, he didn't mind the girls helping him out.
Bro and Bradley went to sit on the couch overlooking the open kitchen, feeling useless yet somehow glad they didn't have to slice or dice anything, especially their fingers. Whatever finesse they had on the football field, it didn't extend to food preparation.
”How long's Ricky been into this?” Bro asked, curious.
Bradley smiled, his fond gaze aimed at his laughing brother in the kitchen. ”Forever. When we get to college, he's going to be a home economics major, or whatever it's called these days.”
”Wow. He's gonna get a lot of flak for that.” Bro regretted saying it the moment the words left his lips. ”Hey, man, I didn't mean-”
”I know.” Bradley sighed. ”I worry about him too. He's not girly, not like Lacey, and he can hold his own in a fight-”
”So can Lace,” Bro reminded, grinning.
”Yeah.” Bradley chuckled. ”That girl of yours. She's a spitfire.”
”Ricky's gonna do fine, too. He's gonna become a world famous chef, and everyone who's ever given him grief is gonna suck up to him to get even a whiff of what he's cooking.”
Bradley's warm eyes landed on Bro. ”You're such a romantic.”
Bro growled. ”I prefer idealist. Lacey's taught me to try and see the positive.” He took a quick gander at his girlfriend chopping up an onion, chuckling, teary-eyed. ”After everything that's gone down lately, I can at least try to count our blessings. Things could have gone a h.e.l.l of a lot worse.”
Bradley watched him intently; Bro could sense the speculative gaze. ”Have you and Lacey talked about colleges? You two don't exactly share the same interests....” It was a leading question, Bro thought, or was it even a question? No, it was more of a statement. Bro knew it was true: Bro was going to focus on football and whatever else came his way, but Lacey had her eye on music. And precious few colleges, if any, had programs for both. Especially since Lacey wasn't a beginner with the violin. She was on her way to the big leagues, to study under musical geniuses.
Where did that leave Bro and the two of them?
He shrugged, feigning casualness. ”We'll see. There's still time.”
”Uh-huh.” Bradley's noncommittal noise reminded Bro they weren't that far from graduation day, less than two months. Most of the student body, those who wanted to advance scholastically anyway, had already been accepted to colleges based on their strengths and preferences. Bro had received scholars.h.i.+p offers from a few schools in the area, and he did not have much time left before he had to make a choice.
At that moment Bro had a horrible epiphany, a shocking realization that his path might diverge from Lacey's significantly. She might go to a college in another town, or another state, or halfway across the country, or even the world.