“Okay, so you’re relying on the shyest kid in the school to stand up for himself to his brother?” Gage asked.
I nodded. “I think Alex can do it,” I said with a slight shrug.
“Trav, Alex would never stand up to Collin. Look, I know a little about them and their family. Not from stalking, but from a friend of mine who was friends with Collin for a while. Alex would never stand up to that kid. Not if his life, or his relationship with you, depended on it,” he said flatly.
“He could!” I said defensively.
Gage rolled his eyes. “Look, Collin basically takes care of Alex. Their dad has lung cancer, and it ain’t pretty. Their mom is always working to pay his medical bills. Collin has to play mommy and daddy to Alex,” he explained. “Alex is too loyal to Collin to go against him on anything.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me that sooner?!” I cried.
Gage shrugged. “It didn’t seem important. I didn’t think you’d get the balls to ask the kid out. I was kind of hoping you’d take me up on my offer before you went off with someone else. Not going to lie, I’m pretty disappointed in your lack of horniness. You’re a teen boy for god’s sake!”
“Gage now is not the time for your sexual fantasies about me!” I said, face-palming myself. “Now is the time to worry about what the hell I’m going to do about the Alex situation!”
“I mean, I’m pretty down for a threesome with you guys,” Gage said casually.
“In your dreams,” I grumbled, slumping against the couch.
We were sitting in Gage’s living room, waiting for Gav to get to his house. I had just finished ranting about my Alex problem to him.
“Look, it’s simple,” Gage said.
“If it’s so simple then tell me what to do!” I snapped.
“Like I said: It’s simple. We kill the batman.”
“Have I ever told you I hated you?”
“Many times.”
“Good. Let me say it again. I HATE YOU.”
“Hate generates to passion in bed. My bed is right down the hall if you want to release those feelings. And maybe release a little more.”
“No way. Sex with you is 30 seconds of my life I can never get back.”
“Oh, harsh. Especially coming from a virgin.”
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Shit. This isn’t good Gage.”
“I know. I haven’t gotten laid since Lyle in the library.”
“Gage!” I cried impatiently.
“Sorry, sorry,” he said, holding his hands up innocently. “Getting back on topic. Collin is a mom, a dad, a brother, and a best friend to Alex. It’s going to be hard for you to get through that. And to get as creepy as that.”
“Do you think I can?” I asked, feeling helpless. I hadn’t realized just how strong the bond was between the Radke brothers. No wonder Collin was so protective of Alex. And now I understand what he meant when he had said “If he doesn’t have me, he doesn’t have anybody”.
“Hey Gage. You any taller yet?” Mr. Allen asked, walking into the room and briefly glancing at his son.
“Dad, we have this conversation every day. No, I’m not taller, and no I DON’T FREAKING HAVE TO BE. I’M NOT SHORT!” Gage cried furiously.
“Yea, I’ve met first graders taller than you,” Mr. Allen said before strolling out of the living room.
“And this is why I hate my family,” Gage growled, crossing his arms as a pout made its way onto his face.
He turned to me. “Anyways, there is a way to use their bond against them,” he said, getting back on topic.
“How?” I asked immediately.
“Well, Collin cares deeply about his baby brother, right? So he wouldn’t want to be the cause of sadness for Alex, right?” he asked with a smirk. “If Alex wants to go with you that badly, then Collin telling him no will upset him. He won’t go against it, but he will be so upset that Collin will eventually give in.”
“Your evil mind makes me fucking love you,” I said in excitement.
Gage slid next to me, his smirk growing. “Now does it?” he asked, leaning up so that our lips were nearly touching. “It’s a shame we would never work as a couple. You’d be amazing in bed, and an amazing boyfriend.”
He closed the space and connected our lips, kissing me deeply before backing away and folding his hands behind his head. He winked at me. “The offer is still out there. Feel free to take it anytime.”
“I don’t see that happening anytime soon, but alright,” I said.
“Gage, Gavin is here,” Mrs. Allen said, leading Gav into the room.
Gav came over and dropped down on my lap. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my chin on his shoulder.
“Hi guys!” he greeted happily, apparently having had his sugar today.
“Hello Gavin,” Gage grumbled.
“How’s the Alex situation?” Gav asked, poking my cheek.
“Well, we have a plan that completely relies on Collin’s guilt,” I said, suddenly realizing how much of a long shot this plan was. Well, I was fucked.
“HOLY SHIT!” Gage cried, looking severely upset. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT I JUST REALIZED?!”
“What?” Gav and I asked at the same time, fear hitting me. What?! WHAT HAD HE JUST REALIZED?
“I still don’t have a date,” he said with a sigh.
Gav and I looked at each other before face-palming ourselves. We shook our heads at Gage and let out sighs of our own.
“Way to freak us out,” we cried at the same time.
“I swear you guys should’ve been born twins,” Gage said, shaking his head at us.
Gav slung an arm around my shoulders. I tightened my arms around his waist. We grinned at Gage and winked.
“We might as well be,” I said.
“Considering our names are Gav Drake and Trav Blake, and we were born a few days apart,” Gav finished.
Gav’s phone started vibrating. He checked the ID before pouting and jumping off my lap, mumbling as he left the room to answer.
“Trav, I wasn’t kidding. You guys should’ve been twins,” Gage said, glancing at me. “Nothing more. You weren’t meant for the whole twincest business. You guys are too close to be together, just like you and I are too close to ever be together. Your bond is brotherly, not romantic. That will never change. You have to learn to accept that and move the fuck on.”
Not wanting to admit that he might be right, I remained silent. Gav came back into the room and the three of us hung out for a while.
Alex texted me, asking me to come over so we could talk. I said bye to Gav and Gage and made my way to Alex’s house, wondering why he wanted to talk to me now. It was getting late.
“Hi Trav. I’m sorry to invite you over so late, but Collin just left home,” Alex said shyly as he pulled the door open.
“It’s okay Alex,” I said, slipping my shoes off.
“I just didn’t want him to get mad at you. I knew he was going to Josh’s house to spend the night, so I waited for him to leave,” he said, his voice quieter than usual as he led me out to the living room.
I immediately figured out why he was being more silent than usual. As we entered the living room, the first thing I noticed was a woman asleep on the couch.
There was no doubt in my mind that the woman was Collin and Alex’s mother. She had Collin’s shade of blond hair, and shared the majority of Alex’s facial features. She was curled up on the couch, fast asleep. The TV was on, but it was muted.
Alex grabbed my hand gently and pulled me into his bedroom. He silently shut the door before glancing at me apologetically.
“Sorry. My mom’s been working the double shift a lot lately, so she’s tired,” he said, sitting on his bed and patting the spot next to him. “Collin waited until she got home before he left. He doesn’t like to leave me home alone.”
“He’s good to you, huh?” I asked, feeling horrible for Alex. If what Gage said was true, than Alex had a bit of a rough life. Basically being raised by his homophobic brother when he was gay.
Alex nodded, fierce loyalty in his eyes. “Yes,” he said, making me strain my ears to hear him. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to how quiet Alex talked.
“So what did you need to talk about?” I asked with a bright smile, wanting to lighten the mood a bit.
“Well…I told my mom,” he said slowly. “And she’s okay with it. I knew she would be. She told me she would talk to Collin for me. So maybe…Maybe she can get him to understand.”
“That’s great!” I said honestly. If Mrs. Radke could knock some sense into her son, then Alex and I could go to the senior ball together without a problem.
Alex smiled softly. “Yea. I’m sorry I called you all the way here for that, but I just didn’t want to say that over the phone. I wanted to tell you in person. I…I wanted to see you.” He blushed.
SO. DAMN. ADORABLE.
I wrapped my arms around Alex and pulled him close to me. He hugged me back shakily, his face bright red. He was so freaking cute.
“Alex, I really hope your mom can talk some sense into Collin. I really want to go to the senior ball with you,” I said.
“Yea,” he said shyly. “Me too Trav.”
I smiled down at Alex, suddenly relieved. Maybe everything would be okay. I could go to the dance with Alex, and get over Gavin. Gage was right; Gav and I were just meant to be friends. And now Collin was finally going to leave us alone. It would be perfect!