Page 78 of Taste of Surrender
“Fine,” he huffed. “But you need to keep all that shit at my house when we get back to LA.”
I ignored the implications of what he said. It wasn’t the time to talk about what was going to happen after the tour. But that didn’t stop the happiness I felt deep down that he was making plans for us in the future.
When we pulledup to Jesse’s, Malachi put his Mercedes in park but didn’t make an effort to get out.
“Give me five minutes, and I’ll be right back.” I leaned over and gave him a kiss before climbing out.
I could see lights on inside, and I sighed. So much for hoping they’d gone to bed already. It pained me to feel disappointed that I might see my brother, but we’d had enough drama in the last twenty-four hours to last a lifetime.
As soon as I opened the door, I came face to face with Olivia.
“Hey,” she greeted. “I assumed you were staying with Malachi?”
“I am. I just needed to get a few things,” I replied.
“Is he waiting in the car?”
I nodded. “Yeah. We thought it was best not to get Jesse worked up again.”
Olivia sighed. “This is ridiculous. The two of them need to sort out their issues now, especially with everything going on with Silas.”
I wasn’t sure if talking right then was best.
“I don’t know. Everyone’s tired. Maybe we should wait until after we all get some sleep,” I suggested.
She pinned me with a look. “Just go get him. The sooner they talk, the quicker we can all move on.”
“Fine. I’ll be right back.” I headed back outside. Opening the car door, I peeked my head inside. “Olivia wants you and Jesse to talk.”
“Right now?” Malachi asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’m not sure?—”
“We might as well do it now because you know when Olivia decides something needs to happen, she won’t let it go.”
“Fine.” He got out of the car. “But if he swings at me again …”
“He’s not going to punch you.”
“He better fucking not,” he muttered as we entered the house.
Olivia and Jesse were sitting in the living room, and I pulled Malachi over to the couch opposite where they were sitting. My brother had a scowl on his face but didn’t immediately start yelling, so I took that as a good sign.
“Malachi, thanks for coming in,” Olivia said, taking control of the situation. “I think we can all agree everyone here has a lot of hurt feelings right now, but you guys have been friends for way too long to let things fester instead of just talking it out.” When neither Jesse nor Malachi responded, she rolled her eyes and turned to my brother. “Why don’t you start by telling Malachi why you’re upset?”
Jesse huffed. “It pissed me off that you two were sneaking around behind my back and it sucked finding out becausephotos of you two kissing were posted online. Then when you”—he lifted his chin toward me—“told me how it also happened years ago, it made me see red. It’s like I don’t even know either of you as well as I thought I did.”
“C’mon, Jesse, that’s not true.” Malachi sighed.
“Really? Then why didn’t you tell me you were into guys?”
Malachi ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, man. It probably sounds stupid now, but at the time, I thought being known as the flirt and player of the band was important to our success. I worried if anyone found out I was bisexual, I would somehow ruin things for us before they even got started.”
“Okay, but you could have told all of us. We would have kept your secret if that’s what you wanted us to do. You’re our best friend and should have known we would have had your back, no matter what.”
I could understand why my brother was bothered by Malachi not being open with him. They’d shared everything growing up, so Jesse probably didn’t think there was anything he didn’t know about his best friend.
