“I hung out with you not too long ago!” Christ, what the fuck was wrong with everyone? Why did they think Bryce had it for his neighbor?

“Yes, me and Nick. I was an afterthought. I was the third wheel. I’ve never been a third wheel with you, not even when you were out looking to get laid.”

Bryce shook his head. She was wrong. They both were. It wasn’t that he was homophobic or anything. He just identified as straight and liked women.

“How many drinks did you get me today? Zero. How many did you get him?”

“That’s because you’re just as comfortable at my parents’ house as I am! It was his first fucking time there.”

“Why’d you invite him to your brother’s birthday? Why do you freak out every time I call him hot? Why did you tell me not to flirt with him or hook up with him?”

Bryce pushed up into the bed, his body tense. His pulse drummed the same way it did in his parents’ kitchen while talking to Jamie earlier. “Because it’d be weird if you hooked up with my neighbor when my family thinks you and I are together? Because you’re both my friends? Jesus, what’s wrong with everyone? I’ve never been into a man in my whole life.” Everything he said sounded like excuses, even to his own ears. The truth was, the more Christi spoke, the more he started to hear what she was saying. Bryce wasn’t sure what to think about that.

“If it helps, I think he feels the same way you do...I also think he’s as stubborn and in denial as you are. Or maybe you’re both boneheads and really don’t see it.”

“No, that doesn’t help. You don’t know what you’re talking about, Christi. I gotta go.” He tossed the phone on his bed.

His best friend and his brother were both fucking crazy. Nick was his friend, nothing more, nothing less. Bryce would prove it. After pushing to his feet, Bryce grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and jerked them on.

He’d go next door, probably be a total asshole by waking Nick up, but he’d tell the guy what his brother and Christi had said. They’d have a laugh over the fact that Christi thought they were both into each other, and they’d confirm the lines the crazy people in his life thought he’d crossed.

Bryce didn’t grab shoes, a shirt or anything else, just made his way next door. He felt like an ass, but that didn’t stop his fist from pounding on Nick’s door.

He waited a minute, heart in his throat, before he banged on it again.

His pulse sped up even faster when he heard the locks clicking and then the door opening. Nick’s eyes were wrinkled around the edges. They looked small, tired. He had a frown on his face, as he cocked his head and looked at Bryce.

He wore sweatpants that hung low on his hips, the top of his underwear peeking out, tight against his flat, muscular stomach. There was a trail of hair that led under his sweats, and Bryce’s eyes followed it down. He saw the outline of his erection through his sweats before ripping his eyes away.

Holy shit.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Bryce managed to say over the screaming in his head. He noticed Nick’s body. He wanted to look at it again.

“I can see that.” Nick rubbed a hand against his abs, then ran it through his short hair. He stepped back, and Bryce noticed the stubble on his face and the curve of his lips. The way he moved, smooth, yet unsure. The concern for Bryce in his eyes.

“Bryce...what’s wrong? I know it’s something. Come in. You can talk to me.”

It was then that Bryce realized they were right. Christi and Jamie were fucking right. He wanted Nick. Wanted the man. He was attracted to him, liked spending time with him, and wanted to be closer to him. He cared about him. Bryce didn’t know how much or what that meant, but it was fucking there, and now the only question was...what did he plan to do about it?

“Bryce?” Nick asked and then licked his lips. Every logical thought fled from Bryce’s brain. All he did was react.

He took a step inside, then another. With a slow hand, he touched Nick’s cheek, fingers shaking as they rubbed against the growth of hair on his jaw.

Then, he slowly leaned in and pressed his lips to Nick’s.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Nick didn’t move. It was like his brain shut off. There was nothing there except Bryce. Bryce, who was pressing his lips to Nick’s—once, twice, three times, each time a little harder. Bryce’s tongue that snuck out of his mouth, licking at Nick’s lips, trying to get in.

Holy fucking shit, the man was kissing him. Instinct took over. Nick jerked away, and swung his arm. His fist connected with Bryce’s mouth, the same mouth that had just been kissing him, and the other man stumbled back.