I roll my eyes. “We were tied before we had to quit.”
“Why did you quit?” Royce asks.
“Some kids showed up and texted their friends that Merrick was there. Figured they’d be showing up, so we left.”
“Ah,” Royce says, inclining his head.
“Well, I’m glad you seem to be friends again.” He smiles like he’s privy to something I’m not.
I furrow my brows slightly and glance at Merrick who’s sitting next to me on the couch.
Merrick sighs. “I told them about us when I told them I was gay.”
“Oh.” My cheeks grow warm, and I’m not even sure why. They’ve known I was gay, but knowing I slept with their brother is totally different.
Royce smiles. “I think it’s great. I never would’ve guessed, but I suppose it makes sense. Where Merrick was, you were there, too.”
“We’re not together, Royce. You know that.”
“But you were. At least you can be friends. I can’t say I’d be able to be friends with an ex.”
“You never really dated anyone seriously until London,” Elijah adds.
Royce shrugs.
We end up hanging out for an hour before Merrick says he has to leave. After our goodbyes, we make our way to the cars, and I wonder if we’re still sticking to the plan we had before, or if the mood has been killed.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that they knew about us,” I say.
He chuckles. “Sorry, I guess I forgot.”
“Yeah right. What all did you tell them?”
“Honestly, it wasn’t much. I told them about our first kiss and how Elijah walked in on us. Turns out he saw more than I thought, but never brought it up. I said it was a long and complicated story and that I had a lot of making up to do.”
I cross my arms and lean against the trunk of my car. “I wondered if he suspected anything.”
“He was waiting for me to come to him.”
“You have a great family.”
He nods. “I do. I was afraid for a long time that my parents wouldn’t have approved of me being gay. You hear horror stories about kids being kicked out of their house for being gay. I didn’t have as many years with my parents like my brothers did, so I didn’t have a grasp on how they thought about certain things. Even though they’re dead, I wondered if it was possible for them to look down at me and be disappointed.”
“Merrick,” I breathe, my heart breaking for him. “Parents can be disappointed in their kids’ actions and decisions sometimes, but being gay isn’t a decision we make, it’s who we are. Parents who disown their kids for something that’s not their choice are ignorant and don’t understand that. I know I didn’t know your parents, but I can’t imagine them being ignorant like that. They created four amazing men. Your parents would never be disappointed in you.”
He nods, looking down at the ground. “I wish they could’ve met you.”
I push off my car to step up to him and wrap my fingers around his wrist before I remember the paparazzi could be lurking out here somewhere. I let go and shove my hands in my pockets. “I wish I could’ve met them, too.”
When Merrick meets my gaze, his eyes roam my face for a few seconds before he says, “Do you still want to come to my hotel room?”
I study his beautiful face, my eyes tracing invisible lines over his cheekbones and angular jaw. His perfect lips call to mine, and the intense look in his narrowed eyes plead for me to say yes.
Why this god-like man wants me, I’ll never know. Not only is he handsome enough to get anyone he wants, he’s rich and famous. He’s everybody’s wet dream, but he’s here in this small town doing everything he can to prove to me he wants me.
As perfect as someone can seem, there’s always more. Me and Merrick have history, and it hasn’t always been good. We’ve had tough times. We’ve had fights. I’ve been angry and annoyed. But I’ve also been the happiest I’ve ever been when I’ve been with him. Our good times outweigh the bad, and isn’t that what love and relationships are all about? You’ll never have perfection a hundred percent of the time, but you have to decide if that person is still worthy of your time and affection in spite of whatever negatives there might be.
Will I be wasting my time and setting myself up for disappointment again? Or will things turn out okay? At this point, it’s hardly a question. Merrick fucking Kingston will always own my heart. He might as well tattoo his name across it, because I’ll never find anyone who makes me feel the way he does.
“Yes.”
29
Merrick
Present Day
At the hotel, I do my best to appear cool, calm, and collected, however I’m anything but. My heart thrashes against my ribs, and my cock and my brain are working together, because the second me and Ali are behind closed doors my dick thinks it’s time to get hard. But in defense of my dick, I’ve been thinking about fucking Ali for a long time.
“I’m gonna shower,” I say, gesturing with my thumb to the room behind me. “There’s another shower in the other room if you want to as well.”
“Uh, yeah, okay,” Ali replies, seemingly as nervous as me.
“Oh, I can give you fresh clothes, so you don’t have to put those back on.” I head to my room and grab a shirt, some boxers, and a pair of shorts. “Here,” I say, handing them to him when I get back to the living room area of the suite.
“Thanks.”
Fifteen minutes later, I step out of the bathroom wearing only a towel around my waist. I drop into a chair in the corner, needing a few minutes to collect myself. Just because Ali decided to come with me doesn’t mean we’re going to have sex. I shouldn’t expect that,
