Carrick

“I think you definitely need a smoke.” Zac was barely finished shutting the door behind me when I grabbed his bag of weed and dropped myself onto the couch.

“You just always wanna get me drugged up, don’t you?” Zac smirked weakly, but his usual humor wasn’t there. Not that I could blame him, after everything he’d been through, especially in the past twenty-four hours.

“If I remember correctly, the first time we smoked together it was your idea, not mine.” I smirked as I thought back to that day, how adorably awkward he’d been about it, like he thought I was going to judge him and call him a pothead. Instead I’d just handed him my lighter, and the rest, as they say, was history.

“Well, that’s true. You certainly didn’t say no, though.”

“Course not.” I handed the finished joint to Zac, and promptly started a second one; I had a feeling we’d need at least two before the night was over. We sat quietly for a few minutes, me rolling and Zac sparking. Finally I finished, sitting back against the couch and looking at him. I knew this conversation wasn’t going to be pleasant, but sometimes you have to go through the crap to get to the good stuff; if anyone knew that, it was Zac.

“You ready to talk about it?”

“Not much to say really.” Zac exhaled slowly, and I could practically see the weight on his shoulders. “I tried to apologize, tell him it wasn’t exactly what it looked like.”

“What, so I wasn’t dry-humping you against the mixing board?” I couldn’t help joking about it; I had to make Zac see the humor in it, or I knew he would dwell on the negative, just making his mood worse.

“No, you definitely were, you horny bastard.”

“Didn’t hear you complaining.” I let my eyes flicker up and down his body for a moment, slow enough for Zac to see, but quick enough not to interrupt him.

“But I mean… No offense, but we’re not, like…”

“I know,” I cut him off, nodding.

“That’s okay, right? I mean…” Zac trailed off, and I smiled. He was being so careful not to hurt my feelings, bless his confused little heart.

“I told you. This,” I motioned between us for a moment, “Means whatever you want it to mean.”

“You’d be crazy to date a closet case with brother issues like me, anyway.” Zac chuckled, taking another hit, but I just shrugged.

“Well we already know I’m crazy, so that’s nothing new,” I joked. Zac cracked up, losing the smoke he’d just inhaled.

“Damn it, man,” he coughed, both of us laughing lightly. The mood didn’t last though, and too soon Zac’s smile was gone.

“So, I don’t think he believed me anyway. He wouldn’t… listen to me. He said I would be happier with you.”

“Zac…” I tilted my head, going over everything Zac had told me. “The fight you guys had before, about if you could be with someone else…”

“Yeah?” Zac asked, a bit nervously.

“Was that just in general? Or…” I couldn’t hide the smirk, and neither could Zac, answering my question before he even opened his mouth.

“You narcissistic bastard. Yes, it was in general. Mostly.”

“Uh huh…” I wasn’t buying it, and Zac knew it.

“We… had talked about you before, though.”

“Oh really?”

“It’s not… the first time he’s told me to be with you.” Zac paused, and I looked at him curiously. It seemed a little strange, thinking of Zac’s boyfriend (not to mention brother) telling Zac he’d be better off with me.

“And I told him no then, too. And that you weren’t into dudes,” Zac added with a laugh. I just laughed and shook my head; I really couldn’t get enough of how adorably oblivious he could be.

“Hey, quit bogarting it,” I snapped playfully as Zac took yet another hit off the joint I had yet to receive. Zac’s microscopic attention span was cute and all, but didn’t anyone ever tell him sharing is caring?

“Sorry…” Zac grinned sheepishly and passed me the half-smoked joint; I took a couple of hits before returning it.

“Now what was that you were saying?”

“You’re gonna laugh at me again.” Zac whined, pouting a bit.

“Probably,” I agreed with a smirk.

“When I talked to Jordan, I eventually admitted to him that I’d thought about guys before. When I was younger, it was no one in particular. No one I knew personally. But I told him I had this one friend… One of the only ones I might be okay with coming out to… Who I had…” Zac took a breath, mumbling the last few words almost unintelligibly. “Hadsexdreamsabout.”

“What was that?” I asked, leaning closer, smirking gleefully. I knew exactly what he said, but he was just too much fun to tease.

“You fucking heard me.” Zac paused again, but I just shrugged. “So… After Taylor and I… He got curious and asked who the friend was. And that’s when he said I should… be with you instead.”

Zac fell quiet, taking a long hit and holding it. He stared at his feet, his face hidden by his hair. I wanted to comfort him, but the thought of him having sex dreams about me was just too distracting. Sometimes even I was surprised at how easily my brain could switch modes, from sentimental to horny.

“Nice to know it wasn’t just me,” I said softly. He slowly turned to look at me, surprise painted all over his beautiful face. Yeah, about those sentimental/horny moments… Heck, sometimes I was both. Especially when it came to Zac. In fact, I couldn’t think of a time when I didn’t feel a strong urge to bone him til we were both sore, and hold him and tell him things would be alright. At the same time.

 

Zac

“What?” I asked, blinking dumbly at Carrick.

Carrick just smiled. “You heard me.”

“What?!” I was pretty sure my brain had just shut down, because I couldn’t think of a single other word to say.

“Oh come on, Zac,” he replied. “You were gorgeous as hell, hilarious, we had everything in common… sounds pretty perfect to me.”

I blinked, willing my brain to start working again. “You… about me?!”

“Try to keep up,” Carrick said, rolling his eyes.

“You’re asking a blonde stoner to keep up. Wishful thinking, dude.”

Carrick laughed hard. “A shitty stoner at that. You’re letting a perfectly good jay go to waste there.”

“Oh… oops,” I replied, looking down at my hand and finding that he was right. I passed the joint to him and he stared into my eyes as he took a hit. The intensity of his stare made me a little nervous. “Excuse me for forgetting that after finding out my best friend had wet dreams about me.”

Carrick just smirked and shrugged. I had a feeling my reaction to this was really amusing him.

“I realize that shouldn’t come as a surprise,” I added, feeling my cheeks heating up. “I mean, not after we’ve…”

“Yeah…” Carrick replied with a grin, thankfully sparing me from finishing that sentence.

“But damn… I spent a whole tour washing my bunk sheets every damn day, when I could been…” I trailed off at the end of that too, embarrassed for even admitting that much.

Carrick laughed aloud, and I blushed deeper. That didn’t seem to bother him at all. “That shouldn’t be turning me on, right?” He asked, winking.

“Probably not, but I am in no position to judge what turns you on,” I replied, hoping he would get the subtle reference to Taylor. I still didn’t understand at all how Carrick could be so cool about that, but he was and I definitely wasn’t taking that for granted.

“Okay,” he said, sighing. “So Tay thinks we should date?”

“That’s what he said.”

“Did he say why?” Carrick asked. “I mean, why he thinks that?”

“Said it would make me happy,” I replied, shrugging it off. “I guess… I guess because we could maybe be public?”

“And that really matters to him? Or to you?”

“I think…” I considered my words carefully. I knew Carrick wouldn’t let me get away with some bullshit answer. “He thinks it matters to me?”

“Well, you did seem to care about the whole marriage deal,” Carrick pointed out.

I sighed. “I do really fucking wish I could be public with him. It’s been… so hard to believe that it’s real.”

“Why?” Carrick asked, blinking at me as though what I had just said made no sense at all. I didn’t think that was the case, but with me, it was always a possibility.

“Well, the whole… name thing. And I tried to explain it to him, but I don’t know if he got it.”

Carrick nodded slowly. “okay…”

“Even the second time we were together, he didn’t let me–” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized that I really didn’t want to tell Carrick about that. A pitiful little whimper escaped my mouth and I shut it quickly to avoid saying anything else.

“Didn’t let you what?” Carrick asked, his brow furrowing. Of course he wasn’t going to let me get away with not talking; who the hell did I think I was talking to, anyway?

“Say his name…”

Carrick blinked. “Why the hell not?”

“It was this… role playing thing,” I mumbled, hoping it was loud enough for Carrick to hear, because I really did not want to repeat myself.

“Huh,” he replied. “So even after you told him your issues with the name thing, he suggested that? That’s not cool…”

I frowned. That wasn’t what I meant for Carrick to take away from that. I tried to back up and begin again, hoping I could get the story right this time. “No, it was my idea. The role playing was, I mean.”

“But… wait,” Carrick said, blinking again. “I thought you said…”

“Well, I wanted it… rough,” I admitted.

“And so what, he made you call him master or something?”

“Umm… yes.” Seriously, how the hell did Carrick do that? Was he actually inside my brain? And if so, how was he not terrified and disgusted?

Carrick let out a breath. “Wow… okay, yeah. That’s pretty low.”

Maybe we still weren’t on the same page. I wasn’t mad at Taylor, exactly. It wasn’t his fault that all the name stuff fucked with my head so much. I shook my head and tried yet again, “Well… no. I mean, I kinda started it.”

“Okay, so wait,” Carrick said, confusion written all over his face. “So, you wanted it rough, started doing some roleplaying, and he followed through with what you wanted…. And, you’re upset about it?”

“Well, when you put it that way…” I frowned.

“Feel free to correct me, Zac. I’m just trying to understand.”

“No, you’re pretty much right,” I admitted. “And it was pretty hot at the time. It just bothered me later, when I thought about it.”

Carrick nodded slowly. ‘Well, did you guys talk about it? Like, did you tell him it upset you?”

“Yeah…”

“And what’d he say?”

“He was confused,” I replied. “Probably because, as you pointed out, I make no sense at all.”

Carrick smirked slightly, then said, “Umm, you said it, not me.”

“You were thinking it, don’t even deny it,” I replied.

He only smirked more and shrugged.

“I think he tried to understand, though,” I added, thinking back to that conversation.

“Well, did he try to make it right?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “We’ve only used our real names since then.”

“Okay,” he said, nodding. “So, that was it, until the big freak-out?”

“Mostly,” I replied, sighing. Taylor hadn’t really done anything wrong at all, I realized. “I mean, there’s me being an insecure bastard.”

“You?” Carrick asked, snorting. “Never…”

I laughed. “More like always.”

Carrick laughed and nodded in agreement. “So, anything specific?”

“Just… apparently there was another guy,” I replied. “I mean, in the past. And not just the distant past.”

“Okay…” he replied.

“I guess it was just sex to him. But not to Tay,” I continued. Why was I even telling him this? He was friends with Alex. I couldn’t seem to stop myself from talking, though. But I knew I had to be careful about how I said all of this.

“Ouch…” Carrick replied.

“And the way Taylor talked about him…” I paused there, collecting myself a bit. Carrick nodded knowingly. “It just doesn’t seem like it’s over for him. I mean, it was years ago, but then we ran into him at this thing last year… I never knew, but I always had a weird feeling about him. He just seemed like a douche.”

Carrick snorted. I hoped he hadn’t figured out who I was talking about, but I didn’t think I had said enough for him to put two and two together.

“So I guess they… hooked up or whatever, again. And then Al– umm, he told Tay it meant nothing.” Shit. So much for not saying who it was. Maybe I had caught myself in time, though. But the look on Carrick’s face said that I hadn’t.

“Not… not Alex?”

I cringed. “I shouldn’t have said anything…”

“Wow,” Carrick replied, his eyes narrowing. “Well, you were right. He is a douche.”

“So my gaydar is broken, but I know a douche when I see one.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Carrick replied, laughing.

“But god… the look in Taylor’s eyes when he talked about him…” I couldn’t even describe it. Well, I could. But I didn’t want to and I really didn’t like to think about it.

Carrick smirked. “Kinda like the look in your eyes when you talk about him?”

Probably. And that only made it worse to think about. I had to change the subject. “You know, when we talked online, he… Jordan… seemed so experienced.”

“Well, yeah. That’s online,” Carrick pointed out. “It’s easy to type stuff and sound like a pro.”

“But it was just Alex. And they didn’t even…”

“No?” Carrick asked.

“Not all the way…” I replied.

“Wow…” Carrick replied. “So, you and Tay… you were each others’ firsts?”

He smiled a little as he said it, and I nodded. I wasn’t really sure why that seemed to make him happy.

“That’s really sweet. Romantic.”

“I guess,” I replied. After the last few days, it was hard for me to even think about what had been good about our relationship. Not that there had really been that much bad, but it had all blown up in my face so horribly that it was hard to even remember being happy.

Carrick took a deep breath. “Okay, so remind me again why you two are fighting? I kinda lost it…”

I had to think about that for a second. It felt like Carrick was testing me, checking to see if I even knew the right answer. I wasn’t sure that I did, but I was sure that if I was wrong, he would tell me. “Because… I was using him as an excuse not to come out?”

He nodded slowly, trying not to smirk. “Right.”

“And he thinks I would be happier with someone I could come out with… like you.”

“Well, I hate to say it, but in his eyes, you just proved him right,” Carrick replied with a sad smile.

“I…” Nothing more than that little syllable would come out. I couldn’t disagree with him. He was right. I knew he was, and I hated it.

“Think about it from his point of view for a second, Zac. How would it look to you?”

“Like… like I was rubbing it in his face that I was with you,” I replied, hanging my head. “And I guess I did.”

Carrick winced, then nodded a bit. It occured to me that I hadn’t really taken his feelings into consideration at any point in all this, and that wasn’t fair at all. So I was a horrible boyfriend and a horrible best friend. Awesome.

“I’m really so fucking sorry I drug you into this. I just didn’t know who else to talk to and…”

He cut me off with a shake of his head. ‘Don’t worry about it.”

I looked away, biting my lip. I was going to worry about it, no matter what he said. It was just more proof that I could do nothing right.

“So, what’re you gonna do now?”

I sighed. That was the question, wasn’t it? And I had absolutely no clue. I had already proven Taylor right, in a way. How could I make him see that he was the one I loved and wanted to be with when he had seen me with Carrick? It seemed hopeless.

“I don’t know. How can I prove to him how I feel? Other than, obviously, not letting you dry hump me against the mixing board.”

Carrick gave me a little smirk. “Well, I think first you need to sort out exactly how it is you feel.”

“Well…” I began, already regretting letting myself start down that path before the words had even left my lips. “It’s possible that I had, uh… ulterior motives when I called you to come out here?”

“Oh?” Carrick replied, sounding absolutely not surprised at all.

“I wanted to see what it would be like…” I couldn’t believe I was saying it. Not quite meeting Carrick’s eyes, I mumbled, “With someone other than Taylor.”

He nodded. “And?”

I wasn’t sure how to say it and not hurt his feelings, but he did ask and I couldn’t lie to him. So, at the risk of offending him, I said, “Don’t get me wrong, it was damn good. But… something was different.”

Carrick gave a small smile and nodded. I wasn’t reassured, though. Shouldn’t he have seemed at least a little bit hurt by that?

“You’re pretty damn amazing, in like every way,” I said, and it was the truth. “But… you’re not Tay.”

“Nope…” he replied, still hardly seeming bothered at all by what I had said.

I was pretty sure we had gotten away from the point somewhere along the way. I thought back to his original question and pouted a little. “So… if I’m gonna convince him, I probably shouldn’t have sex with you again.”

“Probably,” Carrick said, giving me a sad smile.

“Too bad I didn’t man up on the tour, I guess,” I said with a smirk. It was a joke, in a way, but I did wonder just how different things might have turned out if I had let myself admit how I felt back then.

“Yeah, well,” Carrick replied, smirking a little, then sighing. “Honestly though? I think it’s about more than just me. And I think you know that.”

“What do you mean?”

He rolled his eyes. “Zac… think about your fights with him. What do they all boil down to?”

“Umm…” I stuttered out, feeling like I was few steps behind Carrick.

“Tell me something, Zac,” he said. “And don’t take this the wrong way. I’m just pointing this out. What all has he done in order to make you happy?”

I blinked. It seemed like such a simple, obvious question, but it wasn’t one I would have ever thought to ask myself if Carrick hadn’t asked. I didn’t even know how or where to begin to answer it. I struggled to find my voice again. “Well… he’s not leaving Natalie just to make me happy.”

Carrick only stared at me. I knew that had been the wrong answer, but it was the most obvious place to start.

“But… he did come out to her when I pushed him.”

He held up one finger. “Okay, what else?”

“And…” I paused to think. This wasn’t as easy as it should have been, and I didn’t know why. I thought back to the way I had explained the name thing to Carrick earlier, and realized that I had been far more in the wrong than Taylor. “Well, he got over the name thing.”

Carrick held up another finger.

Thinking about that sent my train of thought off in another direction. I remembered what Taylor had said about how he was usually the sub, and I felt my face heating up. “And umm… he kinda got outside his comfort zone with the whole… master thing…”

“That’s three,” Carrick replied, holding up a third finger. “Anything else?”

It actually gave me a headache to think about this. But more than that, it made my heart ache to think about all that Taylor had done for me. He had been so ridiculously good to me and what had I done? Taken it for granted and then thrown Carrick in his face? I felt absolutely horrible. Trying not to show how close I was to breaking down, I said, “Well… I was his first. That’s something, right?”

“I’d say so,” Carrick said with a nod. “When you tried to make up, did he say he didn’t want you back?”

“No…” I replied. He hadn’t, really, at least not those exact words.

“Or, just guessing, did he say you’d be happier with me?”

“Yeah, that’s what he said,” I replied, my voice breaking just a tiny bit.

Carrick held out a full hand. He might as well have slapped me with it. His face stern, he asked, “Now… what about you?”

“I…” I stuttered out, staring uselessly at him. I knew what he was asking, but I didn’t even have the words to say it. What had I done? Nothing, especially compared to Taylor.

“What have you put into the relationship?” He asked, his face and voice still stern.

“Apparently, not a whole hell of a lot,” I replied, frowning. There had to be something, though. I hadn’t been that awful, had I? “I mean, he was my first… and I tried to go along with calling him Jordan…”

“Okay… anything else?”

I shook my head. No. There was nothing. I really was that awful.

Carrick nodded sadly and sat back. He had proven his point. I wondered how he could even stand me, knowing that I had been that awful to Taylor. Not to mention how bad of a friend I had been to him…

“I’m a worthless asshole, aren’t I?” I asked, almost afraid to even meet Carrick’s eyes.

“You’re not worthless.”

“Just an asshole?”

“You said it, not me,” he replied, giving me a weak smile.

“You thought it,” I shot back.

He didn’t deny it. “Starting to see his side a bit better now?”

“Yeah,” I replied, nodding. With a weak grin, I asked, “Do you think I could hire you to be my Taylor translator? I mean, it could get awkward during sex…”

Carrick laughed, then smirked. Raising an eyebrow slightly, he replied, “Hmm… ya know…”

His smirked turned evil and I blinked at him, unsure if I even wanted to know what he was thinking. With Carrick, you never really knew just how twisted the next thing out of his mouth was going to be, but that was really just part of his charm.

“Could be a good way to…” He paused and cleared his throat. “Relieve some tension… Know what I’m saying?”

“Umm…” I stuttered, blushing. “You’re not… I was kidding…”

“Just a thought…” he replied, shrugging. How could he just shrug off the suggestion of a threesome like it was nothing? It wasn’t nothing to me. I could feel my whole body heating up just thinking about it.

In spite of myself, I mumbled, “A hell of a thought…”

Carrick’s eyes widened a little. “Yeah?”

“What?” I asked, attempting to hide my thoughts and look innocent. It didn’t matter if I succeeded, though; I knew Carrick would see right through me. He leaned forward and it made he shiver a little.

“I wouldn’t mind sharing,” he said, his voice a bit husky. I trembled again, and he only gave me a wink.

I gulped. “You’re not the one I’m worried about…”

“Yeah,” he replied, chuckling lightly. “But you gotta admit, it’d be hot… getting it from both of us?”

He inched closer to me as he said it, and I trembled harder. My eyes felt as wide as saucers at the thought of what he was suggesting, and I struggled to form even a single word. “I… I… both?!”

“Yeah,” he said, looking me up and down and licking his lips. His voice was barely above a whisper as he continued, “Us taking turns, one getting sucked, one getting fucked… or the other way around…”

“Jesus…” I whimpered. Just thinking about it was enough to make me go crazy; I couldn’t imagine actually doing that… with both of them…

Carrick laughed a little and sat back, adjusting himself none too subtly. I probably needed to do the same, but I wasn’t sure I even had the motor control left to move an inch. With a little smirk, Carrick said, “Yeah well, first we gotta get you two back on speaking terms, let alone screwing terms.”

“Yeah…” I said with a heavy sigh. “Although, there’s something to be said for angry sex…”

He laughed. “Yeah, I remember you got pretty… aggressive yesterday…”

“That was… different,” I replied. “I’m not like that with Taylor.”

With a tilt of his head, Carrick asked, “Not trying to pry, just curious, but… how are you with Taylor?”

“Umm… I seem to find myself saying ‘please’ all the time…” I admitted, noticing the way Carrick smiled. “I’m just… a lot more submissive.”

“Makes sense,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“How so?”

“Well, think about it,” Carrick said. “He’s your big brother. You look up to him. Hell, you practically worship him. So it makes perfect sense that you’d feel submissive to him, wanting his approval.”

“I really am in awe of your brain, you know,” I replied. I didn’t even care that I was shamelessly stroking Carrick’s ego; it was the truth. He grinned, and I added, “How many people could turn the statement of ‘obviously you want your big brother to dominate the fuck out of you’ into something logical?”

“It is logic, Zac,” Carrick replied, laughing. “Just not to you.”

“Well, I guess,” I said. It did make sense, after all. “I just admire your ability to say all that without being all… grossed out or whatever.”

He shrugged. “Love is love, man.”

It was such a typically Carrick reply, and it made me smile. At least some small part of my world still made sense. I still didn’t really get how he could be so understanding, but I was so grateful that he was, and so grateful that after everything that had happened that day, he was still… Carrick. My ridiculously smart, ridiculously perverted best friend. And speaking of perverted…

“In fact, it seems like it turns you on a little,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows. His guilty smirk said it all, and I smacked his arm playfully. “Eww, you totally wanna fuck my brother.”

“Who doesn’t…” He laughed, blushing just a little bit. That was new. Since when did he blush?

“Good point,” I replied. I tilted my head to the side a little as I thought back over our conversation that day and the day before. “So hey…”

“Yeah?”

“You know how you were, like, the exact opposite of surprised that Tay’s bi… and, what you said about him being a flirt…”

His blushed deepened, and he laughed nervously. “Yeah?”

“Is there… something you’re not telling me?”

“Not really…” He tried to smirk, but I wasn’t buying it.

“Only kind of?” I offered.

He sighed and looked away. Yeah, he was hiding something, and I wanted to know what. After all, Taylor had seemed so confused when I told him Carrick wasn’t into guys. I hadn’t quite figured it all out, but there was definitely something the two of them hadn’t told me.

“Carrick…”

He glanced my way and gave me a little smile. “It wasn’t anything, really… He was totally shit-faced.”

“Uh huh…” I replied, waiting for him to continue. He didn’t. Instead, he looked away from me again, his cheeks turning redder. “Okay, was it nothing nothing or nothing like Tay said Alex was nothing?”

He chuckled. “I think… somewhere in between.”

So it was something. I knew it. And somehow, it didn’t really bother me. After all that had happened – not to mention the fact that I now apparently had a threesome fantasy – it didn’t really seem like I had any right to be upset by what Carrick and Taylor might or might not have done.

“Just fucking tell me, dude. Whatever it is, I’ve done it to or with both of you,” I pointed out, laughing weakly.

“Okay, okay,” Carrick replied, returning my laugh, and letting out a deep breath.

 

Carrick

“It was a few years ago; we were at some party or something, I forget where.” I paused, trying to remember the slightly fuzzy details. I hadn’t thought about that night in a long time. “Like I said, he was gone. I was buzzed, but not that bad.”

“He does that,” Zac mused, smiling a bit. I could only imagine the things Zac must’ve seen, and I had to admit, it made me a little jealous.

“Anyway, he was laying it on thick; the eyes, the pout, the whole thing.”

“I’m familiar with that, yes.”

“And, um…” I looked down, smiling and – surprisingly – blushing. It was pretty rare, getting me to blush; but remembering how hard Tay had been working to win me over… Well the guy has a natural born talent for seduction. “Well, he kinda kissed me.”

“Oh,” Zac said after a moment. “Well, that explains why he was so sure you weren’t straight, I guess.”

“Yeah… Anyway, he wanted to go somewhere. But I didn’t,” I quickly added as Zac’s eyes bulged. “I told him I wouldn’t, not with him that wasted. He never mentioned it, so I don’t know if he even remembered it the next day.”

Zac sighed, leaning back against the couch. I wondered what was going on in his head, if he was feeling jealous, or relieved, or if it even bothered him. He seemed to be taking it just fine, though.

“So, I guess I’ve always been a little curious.” I wanted to get Zac talking again; it wasn’t that the silence was uncomfortable, but he was finally opening up, and I wanted to encourage it.

“About… Taylor.” It wasn’t a question, but at the same time, it was. Or a statement that needed confirmation.

“Can you blame me?”

“Not at all,” Zac laughed. I laughed along, glad that he didn’t seem too upset by it.

“Well alright then. Plus, watching you two… It’d be better than porn.” I winked at Zac, letting the raunchy images flow freely. They were both hot as hell, do the two of them together would be twice as hot, at least. Zac just blinked, tilting his head slightly; suddenly he burst out laughing.

“What?”

“You realize, you’ve had almost as many Hansons as Kate?” Zac snickered, and after letting that little observation sink in, I cracked up. It was a bizarre comparison, to say the least, but I couldn’t help laughing.

“You dirty slut,” Zac teased, giggling.

“You love it,” I shot back, smirking, and Zac laughed.

“Well you’re better at it than her, that’s for sure.”

“Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow at him; I wasn’t sure how I felt about being compared to his wife, but at least it was in my favor.

“It’s not really a huge accomplishment,” Zac answered, shrugging. “Then again, what do I know about whether or not a chick is good in bed?”

I snorted in response, and we fell silent for a moment. I was glad that Zac was coming to terms with everything, slowly but surely. It just blew that he was kind of making a mess of things. I took a deep breath, trying to keep the dirty thoughts at bay for the moment.

“Okay, so let’s get our minds out of the gutter for a sec.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Not really,” I admitted, chuckling. “But seriously though. How are we going to get you and Tay back together?”

“I have no fucking clue.”

“Well try looking at it from his view. If you were him, what would you want?”

“The one where I’m an asshole? Oh wait, that’s everyone’s view.”

I stared at Zac; I could understand his self-hating mood, but it wasn’t going to get anything fixed.

“Sorry,” he finally said, pouting.

“Besides that,” I smirked.

“Well… I need to show him I’m commited, right?” Zac paused, and I nodded, encouraging him to go on. “So, no more control board humping?” Zac actually pouted at that, and it melted my heart just a little, even though I rolled my eyes.

“Ya think?”

“Yeah…”

“Although…” The dirty thoughts were fighting back, in the form of a lusty smirk gracing my lips. “That was pretty hot.”

“Yeah,” Zac agreed again, nodding. I let my thoughts drift back to that morning, replaying the scene in my head, imagining how it would’ve gone if we hadn’t been interrupted.

“Anywho,” I started up again, shaking my head and smirking. Now wasn’t the time.

“Right… So I probably need to do something about the ‘Devil from Georgia’.” Zac motioned towards the door leading to the main house, and I nodded.

“That’d probably be a good start.”

“You better have my back when she tries to murder me; God, I sound like a wimp. I swear, I am not scared of my own wife.”

“It’s cool, man, I’d be scared of her too,” I joked, smirking. “Can I try to murder her back?” I watched as Zac’s eyes widened, almost fearfully.

“What is it with people threatening that?!”

“What?” I knew Kate wasn’t the most popular girl in the family, but just how many people wanted her not so alive?

“Taylor’s always making these weird comments about if she ever hurts me again,” Zac said quietly. I let his words sink in, a grin slowly creeping across my face.

“That. Is adorable.”

“I guess…” Zac said reluctantly, frowning a bit.

“It is. It’s like protective big brother and protective lover, at the same time. It’s sweet.” Not that I’d doubted Zac, but hearing about Taylor defending him so vehemently really struck home how deeply he cared about him; it was almost enough to make a guy jealous.

“Or it could be signs of a latent homicidal streak. Taylor can be very… intense.”

“Intense, huh?” I smirked, knowing what Zac meant, but also knowing what he was accidentally implying. Tay didn’t strike me as the ‘intense’ type when it came to relationships, but people can surprise you.

“Well, yeah…” Zac blushed again, adorably, and I smiled. Even when not saying anything, I could just tell how much Zac loved Taylor. I was happy for him, even if the situation wasn’t the best at the moment. So of course I’d do anything in my power to help him be happy.

“Anyway, moving on. So what are you going to do?”

“I guess I should talk to Kate,” Zac sighed. “I mean, I’ve been ignoring her forever, espescially since you got here.”

“She doesn’t know I’m here, does she?”

“No,” Zac admitted, shaking his head and looking away. I had to chuckle at that; Zac was usually the last person to be non-confrontational, except when it came to his wife. It really pissed me off way more than I let on, thinking about how she treated him.

“I guess… I should probably go talk to her soon, though. I can’t hide up here forever… unfortunately.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, smirking. “No tv.” That got Zac to laugh, a sound that I’d been sorely missing since I got here.

“Yeah, I’ve been missing my video games. Also, I am starving right now, and the only thing in that fridge over there is Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper.”

“Well you wanna go out and grab a bite?”

“How about we kill two birds with one stone?” Zac asked; I tilted my head, curious what he was thinking. “Let’s go get something from the main house; there’s plenty of food there.” So that was his plan. My eyes widened, a small smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth.

“You sure about that?” I was pretty sure Kate was home, but that was Zac’s point. I was a little afraid for him, but more excited about the show I was probably about to see.

“Absolutely,” Zac said firmly, nodding and standing up. “I ought to let Kate know about our house guest anyway.” Zac smirked mischevously, and I chuckled. It was good to see a spark of the Zac I knew again.

“This is gonna be good,” I laughed, standing and following Zac.

“Yeah, well. You’re probably safe from her wrath, so you can say that.”

“You’ll live, dude,” I chuckled, patting Zac on the back.

“You say that now,” he muttered under his breath as we headed into the kitchen. I just smiled; let the show begin.

 

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