“Where’s the girl?” Bobby poured a fresh mug and leaned against the counter, staring at his older brother, who didn’t look like he’d had a night of the best sex he’d ever had. As a matter of fact, Fitz looked as if he’d been sucker punched.
“I took her home before we ever got here.” Fitz snagged an apple from the fruit bowl and made himself comfortable at the island.
“Why?”
Fitz waved two fingers in front of his face. “Crazy fucking eyes. I don’t do that shit.”
“Really? She seemed nice enough. What did she do?”
“She wanted a threesome with you and then went into a little too much detail about how she wanted it to go down. Sexually.”
Bobby spit out his coffee and not because it was hot. “That’s a new one.”
“Not really. If I had a dollar for every chick who wanted to try to convert you, I’d have a good fifty bucks by now. But dude, you’re my brother. What the fuck was she thinking? And if I’m going to have a threesome, it isn’t going to be with a swinging dick. It’s going to be two vaginas. Period. No offense.” Fitz shook his head.
“None taken. If I’m going to have a threesome, no vaginas or boobs would be involved,” Bobby said with a slight chuckle.
“Why the hell did you have to write straight romance to start your career?”
“That’s a good question.” One that Bobby never had a good answer for other than the gay romance he’d read weren’t his cup of tea. And even his straight romance fell more under women’s fiction than the kind of romance novels that most people thought of when they saw the covers. Besides, heterosexual couples gave him more opportunities in the publishing world.
Until he got published.
“I do get that a lot of women read what I’ve written under Roberta Monroe and they all think I’m all sensitive and sweet and the perfect man to please a woman, like I have some kind of special power in that department, but they forget, I’m not interested.”
“You’re really starting to kink my style here, man.”
“Sorry.”
Fitz shrugged. “She wasn’t going to last more than the time I’m home visiting anyway. Too high-maintenance.” He hopped off the stool and strolled to the other side of the counter. “She had the bartender last night remake one of her drinks three times. Even I was mortified.”
“Does anyone ever last more than a month with you?” Bobby’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and smiled. Butterflies filled his gut and floated about as if they were in the rainforest enjoying their natural habitat.
Navy: Glad you got your words in. I’ll text you the address. I’ll see you at one.
Bobby: Perfect.
“What the hell are you smiling about?” Fitz reached for the cell.
Bobby quickly jerked away. “Nothing.” He fumbled, dropping his phone to the floor.
Fitz managed to pick it up before Bobby.
“So. Navy is texting you?” Fitz set the cell on the counter. “That’s an interesting turn of events.”
“Not really.” If Bobby was going to talk to anyone about his love life, or lack thereof, it wasn’t going to be Fitz. At least not at this stage of the game. And he never, ever took advice from Fitz. That would be the kiss of death. “He took an interest in my books. That’s all.”
“I don’t believe you. Are you going to see him? If you’re not planning on it, I think you should.”
Bobby let out a long breath. “Why?” He shouldn’t ask for his brother’s opinion, but what the hell.
“Besides that he’s hot?” Fitz held up his hand. “Just because I’m a hundred percent straight doesn’t mean I don’t know a good-looking man when I see one and you’re my kid brother. I’m always looking out for you.”
“Well, I appreciate that, but looks aren’t everything. As a matter of fact, looks fade.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think they will on that one and isn’t he already like forty?”
“There about.” Bobby had never dated anyone older than thirty-two. Not that he had an age limit on guys he’d be willing to fuck. Or go long term with. He just never thought he’d be interested in anyone that much older.
However, Navy made Bobby’s heart beat a little faster and if Bobby were being totally honest with himself, Navy was the kind of man that anyone could fall for no matter their age.
Fitz sipped his hot beverage with the same contemplative look their old man had when he was about to go into an inquisitive line of questioning that had only purpose: to make Bobby rethink his position.
Something he wasn’t about to do.
“When was the last time you had a boyfriend or even a one-night stand?”
“I’m not having this conversation with you.”
“Why not? Because I’m not one of our sisters? Or because I’m not in a relationship or have ever had one that wasn’t based on anything other than sex?”
“All of the above.”
“Fair enough.” Fitz lifted his mug. “But you know I love you and I only want you to be happy. You’re not the kind of man that’s meant to go through life alone and this dude Navy seems like a stand-up guy. Besides, isn’t Ethel trying to fix the two of you up?”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but she made the point of making the introduction and letting me know what team he batted for. But it’s too messy.”
“I will give you it has that potential because of who he works for, but you’ve never allowed yourself to let loose or to take a risk. Everything you do is safe, except maybe with your writing. I can see how you’ve taken some major risks there even with your straight romances.”
Bobby crinkled his forehead and tilted his head. “You’re right, I have, but how the hell do you know that?”
“Just because I’m a jock doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”
“I never said that.”
Growing up, Fitz struggled with grades, but not because he didn’t have what it took to get straight A’s. He did the bare minimum of what he needed to do in order to get what he wanted, and he always pulled through. If he had to up his game to get into a certain prep school, he did it. But having a good time always took precedence over studying.
And working out, staying in tip-top shape was more important than anything else.
But Fitz was also fundamentally selfish. Not really in a traditional sense, because he could step out of his own way, like last night. He didn’t have to fly home just for Ethel’s birthday party. He knew what it meant to their parents to have the family together for special occasions, but Fitz still did whatever it was that Fitz wanted when it suited himself.
“No, but you’re always so surprised when I take a deep interest in your life, and for the record, I’m insanely proud of you and what you’ve accomplished,” Fitz said.
“I know you are.”
“I brag about you all the time. Maybe too much.”
“Maybe that’s why that chick wanted to get into both our pants.”
Fitz shook his head and laughed. “She was literally giving me a hand job talking about sucking your dick and let’s just say, my cock went limp about as fast as a speeding bullet.”