Velvet Midnight - Max Walker Page 0,57

the ones before. They also didn’t last nearly as long.

“I’m going to pay you back for this,” I promised him.

“You don’t need to. I’m just looking out for you. You’re family, Rex. And I would never let anyone do this to family.”

Damn it. I had to tell him. This quite possibly could have been the worst time to say it, but it also could have been the best. There’d only be one way of finding out: “Maverick, something’s happened since I got here. Benji and I… we’ve gotten close.”

I tried reading his expression, but nothing shifted, nothing twitched. He waited for me to continue.

“He and I, we’re together. Officially.”

“Oh, whoa. Okay. Wasn’t really expecting that.”

Shit, maybe this really was the absolute worse time to bring it up. “Honestly, Mav, I’ve had feelings for him for a long, long-ass time. And since being here, we just kind of rekindled everything between us. And now, with this sex tape, now I feel like such a fucking asshole for dragging your little brother into this. Associating with me. I fucking hate it.” I dropped my eyes down to the white-and-black tiled floor. “I’m sorry, Mav. I should have talked to you about it first. Maybe you could have talked me off the ledge.”

“Are you kidding me?” Maverick looked insulted. “I would have told you to jump right off that ledge, headfirst.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, Rex, I would have told you to follow your heart. If I wanted anyone with my brother, I’d want someone who I knew I could trust my life in their hands with. That’s you.”

“So you aren’t pissed off?”

“Nah,” he said, waving it off. “For what? As long as you two are happy, that’s really all I care about. Just don’t put me in the middle of any arguments. I don’t do well with that.”

I chuckled, the sound surprising me. “I won’t…”

“It’s going to be all right, Rex. You and Benj are going to be a power couple, taking over the world one day at a time.”

“I hope so… I just wish I was better for your brother. He’s smart and fit and funny, and I’m here dealing with a scandal the size of my fucking waistband.”

“Stop shitting on yourself, Rex. Stop.” If he could have reached through the phone screen to shake me, I’m sure he would have. “You’ve always been a bigger guy, and there’s absolutely fucking zero that’s wrong about that. Plenty of people would say the complete opposite, are you kidding me? Walk into any gay bar in a leather harness and a leather hat and you’d walk out with an entire concubine of bear-chasing gay guys. And the guys Benji’s talked to in the past always had your body type, so clearly you’re his type.”

More laughter rose inside me, riding a wave of relief.

“It does feel like that.”

“I’m sure it does.” Maverick shot me some side-eye before smiling. “Benji can help you get through this, not the opposite. Trust him, and trust me when I say you’re going to get through this. Stay hopeful, all right?”

I nodded, the spark of hope catching inside my chest. The world didn’t seem as dark and heavy as it had before I picked up my best friend’s call. The spiral slowed, stabilized. I could see a way out of this.

“Plus, there won’t be any more threats,” Mav said. “That’s a bright side, isn’t it?”

“It is, it is.” I opened the bathroom door, getting hit with a draft from the open window in the hall. “I wish I knew the fucker behind this shit, though.”

“Theo’s still on the case, don’t worry. He’s not quitting until someone can be charged and prosecuted for this monstrous bullshit.”

Again, more hope. It pushed away the images that flashed through my head.

A city penthouse. Twinkling lights. Three naked bodies.

“I just want this to be over with.”

“I know, Rex. I know.” An empathetic sadness cross through Mav’s golden eyes. “It will be. Go hang out with Benji. Turn your phone off and forget about the rest of the world for now.”

That was good advice, although it sounded much easier than I knew it would be. I gave an approving grunt. “I’ll try,” I said, already thinking about what my mom would say if she were alive right now. I knew she’d take me into her arms and tell me that it would all be all right. She loved to say “challenges are only opportunities for growth, Rex. A forest always grows greener after a fire,” and she’d give me