OffsideChanceFormat2 (15 page)

“Just
after eight,” Levi swished the end of his feather boa over Will’s shoulder to
include his still-sleeping brother in the play.

“Why
are you here?” Will asked, trying to sound casual, as if he woke up in bed with
a man every day of the week.

“I
dropped Tracy at the airfield to fly home for school. I thought I’d stop in for
breakfast. Imagine my surprise—”

He
didn’t finish. Jude, fully awake now, sat up straight, taking the covers with
him. “Fuck, I’m going to be late for class.” Will rolled over just in time to
see Jude bound naked from the bed. “Fuck, it’s cold in here.” He stopped and
looked around. Awake and aware, Will saw exactly the moment Jude’s brain caught
up. “Fuck.”

“‘Fuck’
seems to be the operative word of the morning,” Levi said in his Livy voice,
his smile sparkling with mischief. “Or was this just naked body warmth
sharing…. because, I can go with that story if you want me to.”

Jude
growled and turned a cold shoulder to them both as he pulled clothing from the
dresser. Without even a backwards glance he left Will and Levi lounging on the
bed as if none of this had happened. A couple of minutes later the shower came
on.

“So,
William, my love, I have to ask, are you fucking my brother and if so; what are
your intentions?” Levi swished the boa down his arm, his amber eyes too much
like Jude’s when Jude was turned on. Will retrieved the covers and pulled them over
his head and squeezed his eyes shut. This was all a bad dream. A really bad
dream, one he needed to wake up from. And soon. “Come on lover boy, don’t play
shy with me now. Not when you’ve finally had sex with someone that I really
want to hear about.”

“Fuck
you, Levi,” he said through the covers. God, it reeked of sex under there.

“That’s
exactly what I’m talking about, except with Jude, not me. What’s going on,
Slayer? And don’t lie to me. Are you using him for sex for some perverse reason
only you understand? I mean, I’ve known you a long time, your sexual appetites
are legendary, but I don’t remember you chasing dick before.” Levi’s voice lost
all trace of his alter ego and became the Levi he knew. His captain, his
friend, the one he’d follow into hell just because he was Levi. And this Levi
didn’t sound too happy with his game plan.

“I’m
pretty sure I haven’t fucked a dude,” he winced. He had no idea how to explain
what was going on with him and Jude, and he especially had no idea how to talk
to Levi about it.

“So
the sex funk I smell in my bed is just from heavy petting… come on Slayer, tell
me another—” The air in the room grew heavy with his pause. Will could feel the
moment when Levi caught up. “Oh my god, Jude fucked you. And he’s still alive
to tell the tale. Oh, Will what’s going on, I mean really?”

Will
tugged the covers under his chin. His hands shook. He could smell sex and could
feel dried cum clinging to his skin. His heart beat too fast. Panic clawed just
below the surface. “I don’t know, Five. I don’t have a… it’s… I don’t need… I
mean… it just happens. I start tearing at him, he tears back and then we… I
don’t need a pill with him…”

Levi
sat up on the bed and moved into a cross-legged position. He wrapped his pink
boa around his neck a couple of times. It went well with the black sweater and
white t-shirt he wore. All that was missing was the bright pink hair. Well, the
pink chaps and one of the sparkly shirts Levi had hidden in the wardrobe would
look better with the boa. “I thought you were off the ED meds?”

Will
closed his eyes to block out the lie. He’d lied to so many people about his
problem. For so long. “No. I… the condition never went away. I can’t perform
without help.”

“Five
years, Slayer? That’s too long. You’re too damned young… but you don’t need
help with Jude?”

“I’m
not gay. I’m not… I—“

“You
had sex with my brother, Will.
My brother
.
Not my sister. Not that I have one, well one to speak of, and last I looked
Jude wasn’t exactly a gender bender not to mention the little fact that he’s
straight
… so I’m thinking there might
need to be a small amount of reassessment on—”

“No.
Goddamn, Levi. Last night, I took two pills. I was out of my mind. If anything
he took advantage of me. He fucked me. I didn’t—”

Levi
held a finger to his mouth as the shower in the next room cut off. “It
happened, Will. And it’s not the first time. He’s just as confused as you are.
I’m pretty sure he’s attracted to you and doesn’t know how to process it
either.”

“What
do you mean, he’s attracted to me? Did he tell you that? Just whip it out there
like that? Because I swear I will—”

Levi
had him flat on his back with a hand around his neck, his face right over
Will’s. “If you finish or act on that threat I will politely remind you that
there’s more to me than a feather boa and eyeliner. You got me, Slayer?”

The
tight body above him vibrated with barely contained rage. He’d forgotten that
Levi had a temper. He’d seen it maybe three times in all of the years he’d
known him. “I got you, Five. I won’t hurt him.”

“If
you do, I swear I’ll find you, Will. You’re my best friend, but he’s my
brother. My only family. I—”

The
clearing of a throat from the doorway calmed Levi down. The rage left his eyes,
and he released Will’s neck. “Am I interrupting something? I could come back
later.” Jude stood in the doorway dressed in jeans and a heavy sweatshirt. He
looked very un-Jude-like. His hair was slicked back, and he’d shaved. Will
could smell his aftershave from all the way across the bedroom. Levi followed
his line of vision, and then the knowing grin from earlier was back. Fuck, how
in the hell could he tell?

“Just
talking about old times.” Levi climbed off him, his gaze dropping briefly to
Will’s groin, which Will quickly covered with a pillow.

“Must
have been one hell of a memory to have you practically riding him.” Jude
muttered sounding jealous to Will.
Did he
sound jealous?

“
Oooh
, little brother is marking his territory.” Levi
stalked over to his brother, a swagger in his hips, and wrapped the boa around
Jude’s neck. “Just remember what I said yesterday and remember to use
protection. There’s stuff in the bottom drawer. But you already know that.”

And
then he was gone, leaving Jude standing awkwardly in the door staring at Will.
He was barefooted and… shaking. “Levi was reminding me that he can actually
kick my ass if the need arises. You know… in case I was of a mind to take
advantage of this and—”

“I
don’t need protecting. I can take care of myself.” Jude had fallen back into
the cold don’t give a shit about anything demeanor as he crossed the room to
the bed.

Will
waited for Jude to at the very least meet his gaze. When he didn’t Will rolled
onto his side to give him room to sit if he wanted. Jude didn’t sit. Will
sighed, “I know you can, baby.”

“Don’t
call me ‘baby.’ I’m not your baby. And this isn’t anything. I’m not interested
in you and you’re not interested in me.” Jude ignored him completely and fished
under the bed until he found a pair of scuffed black boots. He went over to
Levi’s vanity and pulled on socks and the boots without even once looking at
Will. “And I’m taking your car because I’m late. Where are your keys?”

“In
the den downstairs. I left them on the coffee table. And don’t get a scratch on
her, Jude, or I will—”

“Yeah,
yeah, I know, you’ll talk big and stomp your feet and pout.” Jude found his
wallet and phone on the dresser and put them in his pockets. He took the
leather messenger bag and strapped it across his chest. He finally stopped for
a moment to stare back at Will. He looked strangely like he was going to say or
do something, but then changed his mind. He grabbed his coat from the back of
the door and paused again. “Wash the bedding while I’m gone. And I left a list
of demolition contractors beside the phone in the kitchen, start calling around
for estimates to get your lot cleaned up.”

Will’s
lip twitched at the corner and he fought the smile that wanted to stretch his
face. Because damn… “Yes, Mom. Anything else? Want me to walk the dog and take
out the trash? And no friends over—I know the drill.”

“The
trash, yeah, that works. And just… keep your girlfriends out of my room. I
don’t want sex funk in my bed.” Jude swiped a hand through his damp hair, and
with a half wave, he left Will sitting in the middle of a bed full of sex funk
that smelled like Jude.

Chapter
Nine

The
house was warmer when he finally made it downstairs with a basket filled with
bedding. He could hear music in the kitchen and figured he’d find Levi doing
whatever Levi did in his kitchen. He’d just cleared the bottom step when the
doorbell rang, followed by a heavy pounding.

This
happened too often. People passing by on the sidewalk would think they
recognized the house from one place or another. Some looking for Levi, but most
were simply lost. He kept the deadbolts on for a reason. But this time felt
different, and something in the particular thud against the wooden door had his
heart racing with dread.

He
set the basket on the floor, and slid it down the narrow corridor toward the
back of the house and the laundry room. Will saw Levi making his way toward the
front door as well, but Levi stopped short near the bathroom door just as Will
was reaching for the deadbolt. He held up a hand to keep Levi back and opened
the door up a crack, one foot positioned behind just in case.

The
blond shaggy hair sticking out from beneath a knit winter hat framed a face he
knew too well. “I was wondering when you would crawl out from under your rock.”
He refused to open the door any wider for his cousin.

His
cousin moved down a step, off balance and reeking of booze, he looked ten years
older than the last time Will had seen him just before Christmas. “Guillermo!
Is that anyway to welcome me back?”

“What
do you want, Aaron? And don’t call me ‘Guillermo.’” He reached around for the
inside knob to offer a little more resistance in the event Aaron got ugly. And
this looked like one of those times his cousin could go from friendly to deadly
in the blink of an eye.

“Aww,
man aren’t you going to invite me in? It’s freezing out here, if you haven’t
noticed.” Aaron lurched up the step to lean against the door, the scent of
bourbon strong on his breath.

“What
are you, a vampire? But no, man, it’s not my house. I’m just a guest here. Levi
doesn’t like strange people in his house.” He could hear Levi moving closer but
he didn’t dare look behind him to see where he was.

“You
shacked up with that quarterback queen then? Priceless, Guillermo, I always
thought you were a bit on the queer side. Come on,
cuz
,
let me in. He’s probably not even here… unless he’s waiting on you for some hot
loving.” Aaron smiled and leaned heavy against the door, pushing. His eyes were
glassy with whatever drug he was on. “Think he’d pay me to suck his dick?”

“Jesus,
Aaron, listen to yourself, man. Are you whoring yourself out for drugs now? Is
that’s what’s going on here?”

“Don’t
you judge me, not after what you did to me!”

“What
the fuck did I do to you? You burned my damn house down! I know you did. I
kicked your ass out, but you
musta
snuck back in
while I was back home. Your Moms is worried sick about you. What the hell am I
supposed to tell her? That you’re a crack head?” Levi slipped up beside him and
leaned in to counter his cousin’s pushing from the outside.

“You
shouldn’t have kicked me out, G. It was Christmas. Where’s your loyalty? To
some fag? You know that preacher coming to town says y’all are losing because
you let trash like him play on your team and God is pissed. He says your team
will never win another Super Bowl because of all the fags sucking dick in the
locker room. He says y’all have huge orgies up in there, G… it’s cold out here,
let me inside.” Aaron gave up pushing and began leaning heavily. He was
sweating as if he were working hard in the summer heat. The skin around his
eyes was thin and papery. Aaron was younger than him by a couple of months,
they’d grown up as close as brothers. He looked fifty. Old and used up. “Give
me some money G, so I can go home. I need to get back to Miami. I need to see
my Moms. I can’t right now, I’m… I just want to start over G.”

“Since
when do you believe in God? And since when do you know any preachers? What have
you gotten mixed up in, Aaron?” Will glanced at Levi as he reached into his
back pocket and pulled out his wallet and handed a wad of bills to Will. His
lips were pressed thin, his eyes averted. Will tried to shake him off, but Levi
flipped his hand over and pressed the bills in to his hand and squeezed it
closed. He mouthed…
just give him the
money
.

Will
sighed and after a moment he handed the cash out the door. Aaron straightened
up and snatched the money from his hand. Back in the day he’d been an
incredibly talented wide receiver. He’d gone to college on a football
scholarship same as Will had, even had a shot at the NFL. But drugs and
partying had gotten in the way of that. “Thanks man, I’ll pay you back.” His
glassy eyes gleamed with a manic light. Will knew he wasn’t going home. He
would find his dealer and crash wherever he could, and in a week or two he’d be
back for more cash. That was the way it worked.