Page 15 of Except You
“Oh, you looked fine, but now you look great. Now smile. Like a real smile.”
I face the camera, and Beau takes a hundred shots, so many that my lips start to hurt from staying up for so long.
“I think we got a good one in there somewhere,” he says, and I stare at him in disbelief.
“Just send the first one. They’re all the same.”
Beau’s blue eyes meet mine and he glowers, a small growl emitting from his lips. It’s damn cute, if I’m being honest.
“I’ll pick the one I like and you can send it. We’ll come up with something to say, and if he doesn’t respond, we go the old-school way.”
“And what way is that?”
“You write him a letter and you mail it.”
I nod and feel my heart rate ramp up in my chest. I’m fucking nervous. I’m nervous about what his response may be, but then again, I’ll never know if I don’t try.
“Yeah, okay. I can do that.”
Beau looks satisfied and cuddles up under the covers.
Before he switches the show back on, he turns toward me and asks, “What are your siblings like? Can you tell me about Magnus and the others?”
“Matt and Mitch. Yeah. I guess they’re like me.”
Beau peers up at me, and I reach out, fiddling with the sheet draped over him.
“Um, they’re both jocks. And so their personalities are basically that. Crass, rude, competitive, really masculine. Matt works as a gym coach and Mitch works at a bank. Magnus is smaller than the rest of us, he’s also the youngest, and less…masculine, I guess. He’s a teacher.”
“Ah, and your dad and mom?”
“Yeah, my mom has been a stay-at-home parent since forever, and my dad works as a financial advisor at the same company I do but in a different department.”
“Well, that is very cool. My parents live on a farm.”
I stare at him, and he grins widely. “I’m serious. It’s very cool. We have cows and everything.”
“No shit.”
“Definitely a lot of shit.”
I chuckle and then he reaches out and grabs on to my hand, squeezing it softly.
“Well, I’d say I want to meet your brothers, but from what I’ve inferred, they wouldn’t like me much. Your other brother, Magnus, would though. We’d be best friends.”
“Yeah, I think you would. He was…he was always quiet and off in his own little world. I never really understood him, and it’s only now that I realize it’s because he was hiding who he was.”
Beau’s hand is still in mine. “I know you feel bad, but I know that he’s gonna come around. I happen to adore you.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough,” he says and then pulls my hand to his lips, pressing a small kiss to my wrist.
“Now, back to the show,” he says and then turns onto his side as he scrolls through the pictures. The show plays in the background, and the longer I watch, the more I realize that I’m pretty invested. This is way better than the gay show I was watching the other day. The guys on screen seem nice and kind of vulnerable, and part of me wonders if this is how Magnus was growing up, but before I can delve too much into those thoughts, Beau pauses the show again and sits up.
“Found it. This one.”
He shows me the selfie of the two of us, and I cock my head. “Looks like all the others.”