Page 127 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

Ben walked to the bedroom and stood outside. He nearly knocked, nearly said something—anything—to get Gavin to listen to him again, but in the end, he just leaned his head against the cool wood and let out a deep breath. He tried to remember if there’d ever been a time in their relationship when they fought so much. The answer was no. They teased each other, they had little spats about stupid shit, but they’d never stormed around each other, never wanted to throw things or slam doors. Every problem they’d ever had could be solved with makeup sex and a joke. How were they supposed to get back to that point?

Ben nearly fell through the doorway when Gavin came out. He looked shocked as Ben stumbled forward, but he regrouped quickly enough.

“How about this.” Gavin crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes looking puffy, his hair falling over his forehead. “How about you tell me how many guys I’m supposed to go out and let fuck me so you can think I’m a grown-up, and I’ll just do that, okay?”

Christ, the idea turned Ben’s stomach, but that was probably the idea.

“Just give me a number, Ben,” Gavin shouted. “I’ll get started on it tonight if that’s what you want.”

What the hell was he supposed to say? “Goddamn it, Gavin. It’s not that I don’t think you’re a grownup.” Most of the time. “It’s just… I’m the only guy you’ve ever really been with. I know I want to be with you—just you. I’m done looking around. But you met me before you had a chance to sample anything else.”

“Fantastic.” Gavin stormed past him and went to the couch. He snatched up his duffel bag and turned to face Ben again. “I chose you because I didn’t know any better, and you chose me through process of elimination?”

“That’s not what I said.” Well, shit, he’d lost track. Maybe that was what he’d said, but it damn well wasn’t what he’d meant. Or maybe it was, when you got down to it, but Gavin had a way of making it sound a hell of a lot worse. Before he could say anything else, there was another knock on the door. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” They could go a month without anyone dropping by unannounced, but today it was like Grand fucking Central.

When he turned to answer it, he could hear Gavin slam the bedroom door again. Perfect. Goddamned dandy.

Ben could only guess what he looked like when he opened the door, but based on the terrified expression on the young girl’s face in front of him, it wasn’t pleasant. “Can I help you?”

She chewed her lip as if she wasn’t sure he could help her with anything, but then she asked, “Is Gavin… Does Gavin Van Loen live here?”

Okay. He hadn’t expected that. Ben knew pretty much everyone in Gavin’s orbit, and none of them were pretty little teenage girls with blonde hair and… eyes to match Gavin’s. Holy shit. “Uh, yeah. Can I tell him who’s here?” Christ, the name wouldn’t help much. Gavin had six siblings, and he hadn’t spoken to any of them in over five years. But looking at her, Ben was certain. If you stuck Gavin in drag, he wagered he’d look exactly like—

“Tina. Um. I’m his sister.”

Chapter Eight

Gavin

Of all the ways Gavin thought this day might turn out, he never would have bet on this one. When Ben had told him his sister Tina was there, Gavin had almost called him a liar. But, no, there she was. On their couch. With a backpack sitting next to her. He hadn’t seen her since she was twelve years old.

“Can I get ya something? Water or…” Falling into the role of host came naturally to Gavin under normal circumstances, but his brain was swimming with every memory he had of Tina. She’d worshiped him when she was little. He was nearly five years older than her. Tina loved being in the kitchen with him when it was his turn to cook or even wash dishes. But every card or letter he’d tried to send Tina and the other kids had come back to him in the mail marked Return to Sender, and he’d never managed to get one of the kids on the phone. His parents always hung up on him when he tried to call. After a few years of that, Gavin had given up.

When Tina shook her head in response, Gavin asked, “How did you find me?” Why are you here might have been a better question, but his brain hadn’t quite caught up with everything.

Tina ran her hands down her leggings like she was trying to wipe sweat off her palms. She bunched the fabric of her hoodie in her small, frail-looking fists before she answered. “I went to the library and did a couple of searches and I found you on Facebook and then I saw Ben’s name on your profile, then I did a directory search… You didn’t pop up, but a few different Ben Cartwrights did, so… This was the third Ben on my list, so that was kind of embarrassing, but…” She took a breath as if she were working up her courage, but instead of confessing something or giving him a reason for landing on their doorstep on the worst possible day, she said, “I tried to send you a message on Facebook, but it wouldn’t let me.”

Awesome. His security was such that only friends of friends could send him a message, but a few clicks of a mouse and anyone on the planet could track him down right to his door. He’d need to deal with that little issue soon. For now, though, he simply waited for Tina to give him some more information.

She cast a wary glance toward Ben. Gavin couldn’t blame her for looking frightened. Ben stood in the middle of the living room with his bulky arms crossed over his bulky chest and a scowl on his face. He looked like the best bodyguard a guy could hope for. “Are you guys… Is he…?”

Gavin took pity on her. “Yeah, sorry, Tina, this is my boyfriend, Ben.”

Tina’s face flushed brightly at the word boyfriend, and Gavin had to remind himself that she probably had some serious bullshit drilled into her by the same parents who kicked him out for being gay. But what really caught his attention was the look on Ben’s face. Pure, unadulterated relief. Joy, even. Gavin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They weren’t okay. Maybe they wouldn’t ever be okay. But no way in the world was he going to let his little sister see that.

“I never would have guessed.” Tina looked from Ben to Gavin and then back again. “He’s so… I mean, you just don’t seem…” She looked mortified suddenly, as if she knew she had said the wrong thing but had no idea how to fix it.

Ben didn’t look amused. He didn’t say anything, but Gavin could tell it was a near thing.

Tina seemed to sense she was in dangerous waters. “I didn’t mean…”

When her brow furrowed and her bottom lip trembling, Gavin shot a furious glance at Ben.

He tried to keep his tone even as he stood up from his spot on the coffee table where he’d been perched. “Babe? Why don’t you run to the store and give us a few minutes to catch up, okay?” He hoped Ben would catch the hidden meaning, but he grabbed a notepad from the kitchen. “Here’s a list of the stuff we need.” He scribbled a couple of things they actually did need from the store—including chocolate milk for Tina because, hey, when she was seven, that solved every problem—and then added at the bottom in bold letters: Don’t be a dick to my sister or I’ll stuff your balls up your ass!

Ben grunted when he read the note. “Not sure about this last one, but I’ll do my best.” He dropped his voice to a whisper and leaned close. “I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone with her.”

With an effort to suppress his irritation, Gavin hissed, “If she tries to kidnap me and drag me to some homo-internment camp, I think I can take her.” He didn’t give Ben a chance to respond as he pulled away and went back to Tina.

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