his
mood growing darker by the moment.
“It
didn’t seem to trouble you when you brought home that set of twins last weekend
and kept me awake all night.” Jude reminded him.
“That
was different, they were girls, and my house—”
“Levi’s
house. They’d be there now, fucking, probably in his kitchen if we weren’t
living there.”
“Why
are you here? You don’t even like football.”
“Levi
asked me to come. And it was too quiet across town with no cable or internet.”
“It’s
still not up?”
“The
dish out back is damaged. I called the service line, they’ll have someone out
on Wednesday to replace it. Until then, no football channel.”
“And
no fucking Jeopardy.”
“We
can watch all of the gay porn we can handle though.”
“I
will kick your ass, Brody. Don’t ever forget that.”
“I’m
shaking, Slater. Really. This is me terrified.” Jude held up a hand that didn’t
tremble in the slightest and then yawned. “I damn near froze to death last
night and it’s just going to get worse with this next cold front. I need a
space heater or something.”
“No
space heaters. Just add another blanket and wear some damned sweats or
something. But no space heaters.” Will pushed up off the couch and gathered up
his beer bottles. Six beers had finally hit his bladder. He wasn’t going to
argue with the man. Not when it meant burning to death one night while they
slept.
He
dropped everything off and helped Bo gather up a load of trash. “I’m so happy
we used paper plates and plastic cups. I have nightmares of washing dishes.” Bo
started filling another bag with the remains of party platters that had been
picked over until there was nothing left but crumbs, while Dylan swept the
floor and wiped down the center island. They worked together like a well-oiled
machine. “Our housekeeper will get a huge fucking bonus tomorrow.”
Will
felt like he was just in the way, and the need to piss was something that he
couldn’t ignore anymore. “ Gotta hit the head, then
I’m going to bug out of here too. Maybe see what’s up on Bourbon.”
Bo
tied off the now full bag and looked over at the clock, “It’s still early
enough, you could hang out here.”
“And
talk about what? Which nail polish goes good with what shoes? No thanks.”
“You’re
an ass, Slayer. Just really, man. I thought better of you but… he’s gay. Get
the fuck over it before you screw everything up. He’s still Levi. Nothing has
changed.”
“I
will say the black nail polish and eyeliner is new. The kilt is… well I guess
he’d need it for easy—“
“That’s
enough, William, I don’t know what the fuck crawled up your ass, and the six pack
you drank isn’t helping any, but that’s the last time. Next time you will keep
all that shit to yourself…” Bo stopped and took a breath. Will knew him well
enough to know that he was angry but trying to keep it nice. Bo liked to keep
things nice. Dylan on the other hand, didn’t know the meaning of nice. The
glare he gave Will chilled him to the bone. “Or there will be no next time, not
in my house. I took the homophobic bullshit for too long. I won’t from you. And
he won’t either. Right now he’s too caught up in Tracy to notice. When the new
of that wears off, you won’t have his respect anymore. If that’s what you’re
aiming for, then it was nice knowing you.”
Will
ran his hand over his head. The beer in his stomach churned in an ugly way.
“Yeah. Got it. I’ll just let myself out.” Bo didn’t say anything as Will walked
away. He just stood with his long arms crossed over his chest and glared at
Will. Will caught Dylan watching him in a similar fashion, but he didn’t know
the Marine all that well, and the glint in Dylan’s eyes scared the hell out of
Will.
He’d
been to Bo’s house countless times over the years. Now that he thought about
it, they used to get together here frequently, especially that season before
the Marine came
mood growing darker by the moment.
“It
didn’t seem to trouble you when you brought home that set of twins last weekend
and kept me awake all night.” Jude reminded him.
“That
was different, they were girls, and my house—”
“Levi’s
house. They’d be there now, fucking, probably in his kitchen if we weren’t
living there.”
“Why
are you here? You don’t even like football.”
“Levi
asked me to come. And it was too quiet across town with no cable or internet.”
“It’s
still not up?”
“The
dish out back is damaged. I called the service line, they’ll have someone out
on Wednesday to replace it. Until then, no football channel.”
“And
no fucking Jeopardy.”
“We
can watch all of the gay porn we can handle though.”
“I
will kick your ass, Brody. Don’t ever forget that.”
“I’m
shaking, Slater. Really. This is me terrified.” Jude held up a hand that didn’t
tremble in the slightest and then yawned. “I damn near froze to death last
night and it’s just going to get worse with this next cold front. I need a
space heater or something.”
“No
space heaters. Just add another blanket and wear some damned sweats or
something. But no space heaters.” Will pushed up off the couch and gathered up
his beer bottles. Six beers had finally hit his bladder. He wasn’t going to
argue with the man. Not when it meant burning to death one night while they
slept.
He
dropped everything off and helped Bo gather up a load of trash. “I’m so happy
we used paper plates and plastic cups. I have nightmares of washing dishes.” Bo
started filling another bag with the remains of party platters that had been
picked over until there was nothing left but crumbs, while Dylan swept the
floor and wiped down the center island. They worked together like a well-oiled
machine. “Our housekeeper will get a huge fucking bonus tomorrow.”
Will
felt like he was just in the way, and the need to piss was something that he
couldn’t ignore anymore. “ Gotta hit the head, then
I’m going to bug out of here too. Maybe see what’s up on Bourbon.”
Bo
tied off the now full bag and looked over at the clock, “It’s still early
enough, you could hang out here.”
“And
talk about what? Which nail polish goes good with what shoes? No thanks.”
“You’re
an ass, Slayer. Just really, man. I thought better of you but… he’s gay. Get
the fuck over it before you screw everything up. He’s still Levi. Nothing has
changed.”
“I
will say the black nail polish and eyeliner is new. The kilt is… well I guess
he’d need it for easy—“
“That’s
enough, William, I don’t know what the fuck crawled up your ass, and the six pack
you drank isn’t helping any, but that’s the last time. Next time you will keep
all that shit to yourself…” Bo stopped and took a breath. Will knew him well
enough to know that he was angry but trying to keep it nice. Bo liked to keep
things nice. Dylan on the other hand, didn’t know the meaning of nice. The
glare he gave Will chilled him to the bone. “Or there will be no next time, not
in my house. I took the homophobic bullshit for too long. I won’t from you. And
he won’t either. Right now he’s too caught up in Tracy to notice. When the new
of that wears off, you won’t have his respect anymore. If that’s what you’re
aiming for, then it was nice knowing you.”
Will
ran his hand over his head. The beer in his stomach churned in an ugly way.
“Yeah. Got it. I’ll just let myself out.” Bo didn’t say anything as Will walked
away. He just stood with his long arms crossed over his chest and glared at
Will. Will caught Dylan watching him in a similar fashion, but he didn’t know
the Marine all that well, and the glint in Dylan’s eyes scared the hell out of
Will.
He’d
been to Bo’s house countless times over the years. Now that he thought about
it, they used to get together here frequently, especially that season before
the Marine came
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