The River Speaks

Chapter Fifty One: Brandon

This is the last chapter and I'm making book two

*****

Chapter Fifty One: Brandon

I dig through my closet, looking for my favorite shorts.
I know I haven't packed them yet, so where are they?
Frustrated, I grab my phone off of my mattress resting on the floor and text Aiden.
Me: have you seen my shorts?
Lovebug: which ones
Me: the red and white ones that make you wanna have sex lol
Lovebug: you're cute. you wore them to Reese's and we went swimming maybe you left them there because remember you changed into sweats
Me: yes ill run over there thanks
Lovebug: you're welcome
I want them for the car ride. I'm not moving all the way to Kentucky without my red shorts.
Lovebug: Andrew jackson and I are coming over to start loading your things up in the truck
Me: ok ill be back soon
I grab my purse, keys, and phone, heading out of my apartment.
Pretty soon it won't be my apartment. It'll be for sale and probably sold within two weeks. I'm going to buy a place for my farming store, have a farm of my own, marry Aiden, get pregnant...
I can't wait for our life together.
Excited, I exit the elevator and get in my pickup truck, swinging my keys around on my index finger.
I start the engine and drive through the annoying Boston traffic to Reese's apartment.
When I get there, his car is parked out front, but I stop short.
He's leaning against his car with a guy.
And his tongue is down the guys throat.
I gasp, my hand slapping over my mouth, and I swear I almost crash the truck.
Oh my fuck. Reese?! The sluttiest one of all Aiden's friends?!
Shocked, I dial Aiden.
"Hey." He says.
I hit FaceTime and he accepts it on his phone, and then it loads his face.
"What's up?" He asks.
"Pull over." I say when I see he's driving.
"Okay. Why?" He says.
"What I'm about to tell you made me almost crash my truck, okay?" I whisper.
"Alright." He laughs. "I pulled over. The truck is stopped."
"Okay." I say.
I park a few spots away from Reese's car and slouch down so I'm laying on my stomach across the entire bench seat. I flip the camera and inch my phone up just enough to peek out the window.
My camera clearly has Reese lip locked with another guy.
Aiden looks confused for a second and then his eyes widen and he leans into the phone slightly.
"Is that Reese?!" He asks.
"Yes!" I giggle.
"Oh my god. I knew it." He says.
"You did not." I roll my eyes and flip the camera back around.
"Well I had a feeling. He stopped messing with girls and I could see him looking at other guys at the skate park. And one day I was changing my shirt and he was staring at me!"
"I can't believe it." I say. "But good for him. I hope he's finally happy."
"Yeah, maybe he'll stop fucking everything with legs." He says. "I'm happy for him."
"Me too, I just...if anything, I thought it would've been Andrew."
"Hey!" Andrew exclaims in the background.
"What?" I laugh. "It's true."
"If anybody here was changing sexualities, it's you Lily." Andrew says. "I could definitely see you making out with a girl."
"I'm very straight." I reply.
"What are you going to do?" Aiden asks. "You're getting the shorts back, right?"
"Yes. He could be making out with my brother. I'm still getting my shorts." I shut off the truck and open the door.
"Hey Reese." I say casually.
He jerks away from the guy he's kissing to look at me, his eyes wide.
"Lily." He says.
"I left my shorts here." I say.
"Who's this?" The man asks.
"This is Aiden's fiancé Lily. I told you about Aiden, remember?" He puts his hand on the guys arm and I hesitate.
Are they actually a thing?
"Yeah. Tall, blonde, police officer?"
"Yeah." Reese nods.
"Are you going to introduce me?" I ask.
"Oh, Lily, this is Brandon." He says. "And Brandon, like I just said, this is Lily."
"It's nice to meet you." Brandon says.
"You too." I say, eying him.
So many questions run through my head.
Was Reese hoeing around with so many girls because he's gay?
Was he trying to convince himself he wasn't gay?
When did he realize he was? What made him realize? Why didn't he tell anybody? Are they dating? When did this happen?
I need the details.
I hesitate and hang up on Aiden.
"So." I gesture between the two of them with the key to my truck. "When did this happen?"
"Three months ago." Reese says.
I nod slowly.
"And you two are..." I trail off.
"Boyfriends." Brandon says, and I smile so wide my cheeks hurt.
"Does Aiden know?" I continue.
"Yes because you probably already told him." He says calmly.
Can I ask what made Reese question his sexuality in front of his boyfriend, or is that rude?
I open my mouth and close it, huffing quietly.
I want all the details!
"You can ask questions." Reese says.
"When did you realize you were...ya know, gay? Are you gay or bisexual?"
"I'm gay." He says and I grin again, putting my hands over my mouth.
This is so cute.
"Okay?" I urge.
"I guess I've known for a while but I used to sleep around...but it wasn't really enough. I did want a relationship like you and Aiden have but nobody was what I wanted. Then I started hanging out with Brandon at the skate park since I was alone a lot more than I used to be because Aiden has you now." He pauses. "Which is great. I'm really, really happy for you two." He hesitates. "Anyways, I saw how happy you two were and that's how Brandon makes me feel." He shrugs.
I want to get more information but there's a line in the questions I want to ask. Some things stay between two people.
If somebody was asking me about my sex life with Aiden, I wouldn't answer.
"I'm happy for you guys." I say finally. "Why didn't you tell Aiden? He's your best friend."
"Aiden is the straightest person I've ever met in my whole life. I didn't know how he was going to handle it. I didn't want to lose him."
I hesitate.
"Have you ever found him attractive?"
"Who?" Reese asks.
"Aiden."
"I have." Brandon says. "He has nice muscles."
I grin and I want to squeal in excitement.
"If I answer that question and you tell Aiden..." Reese trails off.
"I'm not going to tell him." I say.
"Fine. Yes, Aiden is attractive, but he's like a brother to me." Reese says. "Speaking of, aren't you guys moving...like now?"
"Yeah. I really think you should go see him though. He's going to miss you a lot." I say.
"Yeah-" Reese cuts off, glancing over my shoulder. "Actually, it looks like I don't have to."
I turn my head and see an old white mustang parking next to my truck.
My fiancè gets out, swinging his keys around his index finger.
He shoves his other hand in the pocket of his jeans and comes strolling over to us.
"Hello boys." He says. "I would say I'm surprised, but I'm really not."
He slings his arm over my shoulders and lets his thumb brush against my breast, probably just as an excuse to touch them.
He's such a boy.
"Bullshit. There's no way you knew I was gay." Reese rolls his eyes.
"Uh, I knew the entire time-"
"You're such a liar." I laugh.
"Okay, fine. I didn't know, but I had a feeling for the past few months. Like, you used to look at Lily's butt when she passed and I would glare at you, but you stopped. You used to hoe around and you stopped. And I was changing shirts and you were staring at me." He taps his temple. "I'm just smart like that, ya know?"
I roll my eyes.
"Don't mind him, he's just cocky. He probably had absolutely no idea." I say to Brandon.
Aiden scoffs. "Did you get your shorts? I'd like to get out of New York City before rush hour."
It's around noon now.
"No I didn't. Reese, can I go in your apartment?"
"Oh yeah I lost the keys so I'm waiting for a lock smith."
Aiden scoffs and reaches into my hair, pulling out my bobby pin gently.
"Lock smith my ass." He mutters, sauntering into Reese's apartment building.
I watch his ass as I follow him. Reese and Brandon follow behind me, and we all get onto the elevator.
Aiden is already bending the bobby pin to pick the lock, and he walks down to Reese's door.
"Dude." Reese says.
"Hold on." Aiden replies.
"Aiden," Reese tries again.
The lock clicks and Aiden opens the door, gesturing for us to go inside.
"That's the wrong door." Reese hisses.
Aiden hesitates and then silently shuts the door, hurriedly picking the lock for Reese's apartment instead. I hear cussing in the apartment Aiden accidentally broke into, and we all slip into Reese's apartment and shut the door.
Aiden rakes his fingers through his hair.
There's insistent knocking on Reese's apartment door and Aiden presses his hands to his mouth, staring at the shut door.
"Go in the kitchen and don't say anything." He whispers finally.
We all go into the kitchen, and I hear him open the door.
"Yes?"
"Why the hell did you just break into my apartment?" A woman asks angrily.
"What?" Aiden repeats. "Somebody broke into your apartment?"
"Yes!" She says. "I know it was you guys! I'm calling the police."
"What was your name?" Aiden asks.
"Catherine." She snaps.
"Catherine, my name is Ryan, okay? I'm a police officer. I didn't break into your apartment."
"Ryan what?" She snaps.
"Nowak." He says. "It's polish. If somebody really did break in, I would be happy to call some of my buddies and we can fingerprint your door."
It's quiet for a second.
"Fine." She says. "Please do that."
"Okay, just give me a few minutes." He says. "I'll come over when they get here."
"Thank you." She says.
A moment later, her apartment door shuts.
"Yeah, we gotta go." He says to me.
I hurriedly check Reese's dryer and see my shorts in the bottom of it.
"Uh, what am I gonna do when she shows up here? She's going to start a manhunt for Ryan Nowak and I'm going to get arrested for hiding a criminal." Reese says.
Aiden cusses and leans against the arm of the couch, and then he turns to me.
"Tell me what to do."
I sigh slowly and shake my head, and then I march out into the hallway and knock on the woman's door.
She opens it.
"Yes?"
"My name is Lilliana Kindell, and my fiancè just broke into your apartment." I say. "His name is not Ryan Nowak, it's Aiden Hunt. He's not a bad person. Our friend Reese lose the key to his apartment and asked Aiden to pick the lock. Aiden is a police officer, but he accidentally picked the wrong door and panicked. I'm really sorry and I understand if you're mad, especially since he lied, but I am going to ask that you don't press charges. We're moving today to Kentucky and I'm going to be heartbroken if we can't go."
She looks a little surprised at how straightforward I'm being, and then she sighs.
"Alright, I won't press charges, but only because it was an accident."
"Thank you." I say. "Really, thank you."
"You don't have to thank me."
She goes back into her apartment and I walk into Reese's, where the three boys look shocked.
"Not everything needs to be solved with a lie." I say to Aiden.
Aiden shakes his head and turns to Reese.
"You're going to come visit, right? For Thanksgiving and stuff?"
"Yeah." Reese says.
They man hug and Aiden shakes hands with Brandon, and I hug both of them.
We head for the front door, but Reese clears his throat.
"Aiden." He says. My fiancè turns to him. Reese glances at me, hesitating. "What you have with Lily is really rare." He says. "And seeing you with her and how happy you are...don't screw up again. She went to hell and back with the last one. She's not going to put up with you taking off every time things get hard. If she asks you how you're feeling or what you're thinking, just tell her the truth. You're a team, and I'd hate to see you guys separate. The two of you just...y'all make sense."

*****

Okay so that was the end.
The sequel is called "Watching The River"
Yes, Reese is gay

The next book is going to be mainly Aiden's POV because I thought that would be interesting

Again, next book is "Watching The River"

~Sam