Page 139 of Stepbrothers with Benefits
Arlo looked at his grasping hand for a few seconds before turning his attention back to me. “Go ahead, Eli.”
“Arlo!” Mason gasped. “Betrayal, even from you?”
Arlo reached down and patted what I assumed was Mason’s head or arm. “It’s not always about you, Mason, now shh. Eli is ready to admit he feels the same way as Milo.”
“Well, I can’t saythat,” I said, and at the sharp looks, I scrambled to clarify. “What? I can’t. It wasn’t that long ago that I was living a perfectly heterosexual life without any idea that it could and would change. So I can’t make statements about how I’ve always wanted him, or how I’m intent on making sure my every dream about us from the past comes true, or at least comes close to true. All I have is what we had before, and what we have now.”
“Andwhat,” Mason breathed heavily as he came back into view, shooting Jace a filthy look as he adjusted his chair and sat back into it, “do you have?”
“Everything he described,” I said simply. “He was right that we’ve always been close, and that closeness made us sometimes wish things had been different, different in a way that would let us be together without having to share with anyone else. Which wasn’t possible, I guess, until it was possible. Now we’ve got that chance, and I’m not going to waste it just because it might be weird or wrong to some people, because I know it’s not. No one has ever known me, understood me, or allowed me to be me quite like Milo, and they probably never will. We’ve always tried to be together as much as possible without crossing a certain line, but now we’ve passed that line. Now we get to do the same stuff as before, game together, eat together,literallysleep together, live together, laugh and cry together. Except now we’re doing it as us, just us, without anyone else involved or feeling left out unfairly. We were always going to share our lives, except now we get to do it not just as best friends, but...together. I love him as much as he loves me.”
“Well, you’re certainly determined, I’ll give you that,” Marty said slowly. “You are aware of how difficult this is going to make it for you two, right?”
“We’ve got a good idea,” I told her with a shrug. “But we’re not going to let that get in the way. If we were, we wouldn’t be here talking to all of you about it.”
“This was our way of showing we’re not going to back down, that this is what we want, and we’re going to do it,” Milo added, and I could see a wetness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.
“Honestly, what matters to us is that you two are happy,” Dad said with a small smile. “All we’ve wanted for any of you kids is to be happy, whether that’s single or with someone. The fact that you two are together is...unorthodox, but I can’t say I have a problem with it. The world will have a problem, and as ready as you think you are, you aren’t.”
“You’re going to get tested a lot sooner than most people’s relationships get tested,” Marty warned.
“Yeah, about that,” Milo said with a grimace. “We kind of already had a taste of that. Didn’t go well.”
Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Ah, hell,” Dom muttered, and though it was subtle, I could see how he slightly leaned away from Marty and Dad.
“We kind of, sort of, got, uh, outed to the internet, remember?” Milo said, his voice growing quiet. “Just a little...well, a lot, but a little.”
Jace grunted. “I’d stick to romantic speeches; you’re not good at inspiring confidence.”
“Fuck off, Jace, you try to deal with this shit.”
“I’m not the one sleeping with my stepbrother, so I don’t have to.”
“You’ve been around Mason too long. Asshole.”
“As if a non-asshole could put up with him for long...and by the way, I don’t have a problem with it either. Anyone with eyes can see you two morons were handcrafted for one another. I’m just glad Eli did end up having a little bi in him or...something like that. Would’ve been a waste for you two to have to deal with other people when the perfect person was stuck on the other side of some sexuality line.”
“I, uh...thanks.”
Mason glanced at Jace, smiling gently. “Softy.”
“Shut it,” Jace grumbled, but anyone could see his cheeks gaining color as he stared at the floor.
“I’m not understanding the total problem here,” Marty said, glancing between us.
Moira sighed. “Someone with an ax to grind revealed to the internet that these two are together. So pretty much all their followers, and the followers of anyone posting or talking about the video that was posted, or just...scanning TikTok, Instagram,and even YouTube casually, will find out because it’s practically exploded over the internet.”
“So,” Marty frowned. “The whole world, potentially, knows about the two of you.”
“Yes,” I said with a sigh. “And the reactions have been...not great.”
“Because you’re stepbrothers.”
“Yes.”
“I see,” she said, her eyes narrowing as she looked around the table. “And who at this table knew about it before dinner?”
