Killer Queen

by Serene Franklin

  “Do you want to come watch the game?” Eli asked with a small grin.

  I informed them that I had to work and politely declined. I thanked Eli and Bryan again for the baked sweets and excused myself to my room to get ready. When I was almost to my door, a hand far too gentle to be Mac’s closed around my wrist. I turned back and was eye level with brown eyes that didn’t belong to my flatmate.

  Eli released my hand then tucked his in his pockets. “I’m sorry I grabbed you. I called after you, but you didn’t stop.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t hear you.”

  “It’s okay. I just wanted to invite you to my birthday party. It’s in two weeks. We’re, um, going to go play laser tag then go out for some drinks and dancing.” He took a deep breath and gave me a shaky smile.

  While his anxiety had been getting better with Bryan, it was an ongoing battle for him that he might never fully overcome. I appreciated how difficult approaching me alone must have been for him and kindly accepted his invitation. I’d never played laser tag, and Eli was practically family. He gave me a smile that reached his eyes, and I caught a glimpse of what must drive Bryan crazy. He nodded then returned to Bryan and Mac.

  Fuckin’ Macalister. I’d kick his arse later.

  Nine

  Mac

  It’d been nearly two weeks since Dove and I solidified our arrangement—and what a fantastic two weeks they’d been. Having great sex at my fingertips with someone as sexy as him was proving to be addictive. I wanted him constantly, and lucky for me, he was just as hungry for me. We got each other off every day, several times a day. He still cursed me under his breath if I tried to walk around the apartment naked, but I think he secretly liked it.

  I hadn’t realized it was possible, but my temperament had improved recently as well. I thought the guys on the team were going to kill me during our postgame drinks last weekend. I couldn’t stop grinning, or shut up. Bryan kept his word and didn’t tell anyone about my newly discovered interest in dick, though that didn’t stop him from casting me knowing glances.

  There wasn’t particularly a reason for me not to tell the guys what was going on. Half of the damn team was gay, and they sure as hell wouldn’t judge me. Axel would be shocked until he realized he had a better chance of getting girls when we went out. Maxim might just nod at me and carry on as if I’d told him the weather. I’d known him long enough to know that very few things fazed that guy.

  Not telling the team felt mildly dishonest, but I wanted to tell the rest of my family first. I was on my way over for dinner with Mom, Dad, and Miho, which would be the perfect opportunity to drop that bomb. We were having dinner a bit later than usual due to my work schedule. With Dove’s ass always bouncing around in my mind and mere feet from me, I’d fallen behind with my work. I started getting up earlier and working later on the nights he was out to catch up. After working eleven hours straight today, I’d finally done just that. A few days of eye strain and a stiff back were small prices to pay for all the mind-blowing sex, in my opinion.

  I parked behind Dad’s car and left my doors unlocked. The house smelled like fragrant herbs and savory meat when I strolled in through the front door. I guess we’re having a roast dinner. I announced my arrival and intercepted a hug from Miho on the way into the kitchen. Both of our parents were in there, working together to get supper plated and on the dining room table. I kissed my mom’s cheek and clapped my dad on the shoulder.

  “Mm, smells good in here.” I leaned between them to get a better look at the food on the stovetop.

  “Get out of here. Go wait with your sister and stop trying to pilfer food,” Dad said to me.

  I gasped. “You wound me, Dad. I would never.”

  “Honey, go away,” Mom added sweetly with a pat to my cheek.

  I backed toward the entryway to the dining room and pointed at my parents. “Just so you guys know, I am not feeling loved, and I’m totally going to tell Grams that you were mean to me.” Their laughter faded as I turned and made my way over to the table next to Miho. “Are they like this with you too?”

  “I know better than that. You don’t get in the way when they’re cooking. You should know this by now.”

  “Yeah, but I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten much today.”

  “You’re a grown-ass man, and that sounds like your own problem,” she added with a smirk.

  I rolled my eyes at her unwanted truthfulness. “Piss off, brat. Everyone in this family hates me.”

  “Don’t be dramatic, Macalister,” Mom said as she entered the room, plates in hand. “You’re far too old for that.”

  “I can’t win with you people,” I whined.

  Miho giggled while Dad came in with more plates. He leaned over and gave Mom a quick kiss before they sat down and uncorked a bottle of red wine. Not much had changed with them from when I was a kid. Dad’s blond hair grew paler each year, though he was as handsome as he’d ever been. Mom’s hair was always a darker shade, and still had no signs of graying.

  We settled into our comfortable ritual of updating each other on our lives, and I gave updates on Bryan as well. My family had pretty much adopted him when he moved here from Texas back in university. He came from a big family, and we couldn’t imagine him spending weekends and holidays alone. I’d all but dragged him home with me three days after we were assigned a dorm room together. He treated Miho like a princess, which solidified that he was a great dude in my mind. The rest of my family probably loved him as much as they loved me.

  When chatter died down at the end of the meal, I took the opportunity to do what I came over to do. “I have something to tell you guys.”

  “Did you knock up some redhead? Oh my God, you did, didn’t you?”

  Grr. Miho.

  Mom gasped, and her hand flew over her mouth. Dad sat quietly, watching me intently. “Honey, did you…”

  “Hell no. Nobody is pregnant! Miho, shut it. Mom, calm down.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and noticed Dad doing the same. “It’s nothing like that.” I took a deep breath, suddenly feeling nervous. This was my family. These people loved me no matter what, and I knew they wouldn’t be anything but accepting of me. But it was still difficult to say. I’d already talked about it with Grams and Bryan, though it felt harder to say now. I swallowed a swig of wine, not commenting on the raised eyebrow Miho shot my way. “I think I’m bisexual.”

  Miho snorted a laugh while Mom and Dad looked at me with confused looks on their faces. Dad shook his head once at Miho, and she stopped laughing.

  “Wait, you’re being serious?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” My phone vibrated in my pocket, and while the distraction would have been nice, I ignored it.

  Silence followed for a heavy ten seconds before Miho spoke again. “Are you sure?”

  Her tone was so innocent that I had to laugh. “Yes. I’m not an expert, but I’m pretty sure I have enough empirical evidence to know I’m not exclusively straight.” Miho wrinkled her nose at me, and I stuck my tongue out at her. The sound of throat clearing reminded me that we weren’t alone, and my attention shot back to my parents. “Sorry, Mom. You didn’t need to hear that.”

  “It’s okay, honey. Your dad and I are well aware that you have sex.”

  “Unfortunately, I’ve seen it,” Dad muttered under his breath, earning a whack on the arm from Mom.

  “The point is, it doesn’t matter who you’re sleeping with. We just want you to be happy.” Her kind smile made me feel all warm and fuzzy. The brief bout of nerves I’d had melted away, and my childhood home once again became a safe haven.

  “What your mom said. You could have told us years ago and the answer would have been the same,” Dad added.

  Miho tugged on my earlobe, making me wince. “Yeah, why’d you wait so long to tell us?”

  “I didn’t know. This is brand new for me, and I’m still figuring some things out.”

  She nodded, mulling over my answer. “Have you ever made out with Bryan?”

>   “Ew, no,” I lied. It had happened once.

  Mom and Dad both sighed and stood up, disappearing into the kitchen with their dishes. I wanted to join them, but I’d have to face Miho’s questions eventually. She went easy on me, not asking anything too invasive. We ended the talk with a hug, and she even kissed my cheek and told me she was happy for me. Mom and Dad came back in, we had dessert, then I headed out.

  In my car, I checked my phone and saw a message from Rebecca, an old hookup I hadn’t seen or heard from in months. She was free tonight and asking if I wanted to drop by. Before I knew what I was doing, I was thumbing out a message to Dove, asking if he was going to be around tonight. Our agreement stated we weren’t exclusive, yet I hadn’t slept with anyone else in the last two weeks. He was always my first choice—trying for anyone else hadn’t even occurred to me.

  Dove replied back saying he was out with Taylor and would be late. Good enough. I messaged Rebecca to forward me her address, then drove off toward West Town with a feeling in my gut that I could almost equate to guilt.

  This is the end. I was pinned down and surrounded by three enemy combatants: Bryan, Maxim, and Axel. I’d managed to tag Eli, Eve, Samir, and Dove, but there’s no surprise there. From my position behind an overturned table, I was at a severe disadvantage. If I moved, I’d maybe take down one of them before getting shot. Maxim’s aim was the least accurate of the remaining three, though he’d be compensating for that by hanging back with his weapon aimed and ready. Axel was the fastest, and Bryan was the best shot and had the most experience. Bry also had the best chance of predicting my next move.

  “Come on out, rubito,” Axel teased from my right. “You’re only prolonging the inevitable.”

  “Eat me!” I yelled back.

  Bryan snorted a laugh from my left. He sounded close—closer than I thought. “Let him strategize. This will be over in a minute or two.”

  Eve and Dove took turns launching teasing words at me, clearly bitter that I’d taken them out early. No matter. Their taunts wouldn’t distract me from my victory. I’d go after Axel first—take him out, and use him for cover against Bryan and Maxim. I had to wait for the right moment to strike, or I’d be tagged as soon as I surfaced. Eve said something delightfully vile that no proper lady had any business saying, causing the others, including Axel, to laugh.

  I used that distraction to roll out from behind the table, tagging a stunned Axel as I rose to my feet. His vest changed colors from green to red, and he let himself drop, cursing in Spanish. Anticipating this, I moved in and caught him, pulling his limp body against me. I took aim at Maxim, and tagged him, then scanned my left for Bryan. Where the fuck is he?

  “Behind you,” my best friend purred before he shot me in the back.

  I dropped Axel then fell to my knees in a dramatic display before I collapsed on top of his much smaller frame.

  “Pendejo! You weigh a ton.” Axel shoved at me until I took pity on him and rolled off.

  Everyone came over to congratulate Bryan on his victory and rib me for coming so close then losing. Once I was on my feet, Bryan playfully slapped my cheek then pulled me into a tight hug. “You baited me into thinking you were on the left.”

  The guy shamelessly smiled and nodded. “You took the bait, just like I knew you would.”

  “Dude, playing against you is so unfair.”

  Maxim walked over and nodded his head at me as he passed, which was the closest to a “well done” I was going to get from him. The man saved his words like they were kittens in trees. That was the last of five games we played before packing up and heading out for a sushi dinner. We met up with Blake and Santiago at the restaurant, then said goodbye to Eve and Samir after the meal.

  We ended up at a popular gay bar for drinks and dancing about an hour later. I bought the first round of shots and toasted the birthday boy, who shied away from the attention with flushed cheeks. I threw back my shot then ruffled his hair and grinned at him. “Happy birthday, Eli. You’re going to have to let me plan something huge for your dirty-thirty next year.”

  “Oh, God,” Bryan whined, while Eli laughed and shook his head.

  “I’m thinking Vegas.”

  “I’m not going to Vegas with you again,” Bryan replied. “You couldn’t pay me.”

  Eli’s brow crinkled, and he looked between me and Bryan. “What happened in Vegas?”

  “Nothing,” we both answered in unison. Bryan leaned into Eli and said, “I’ll tell you later.”

  Yes, please tell your fiancé about that time we got drunk and ended up making out in a hot tub so I could be the meat in a showgirls sandwich. Not. I couldn’t plead without drawing attention to myself, so I left it alone for now, turning back to the bar for another drink.

  Drink in hand, I scanned the dance floor for some familiar faces and found Blake’s golden-blonde hair. She was dancing pressed up against Axel, and the kid looked like he was in heaven. She was altogether too much woman for him, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Blake and I briefly dated, then did the friends-with-benefits thing for a few years until we discovered that we were more like siblings. She was a tall, leggy blonde in every sense, with piercing blue eyes, and a sharp tongue. Axe-Man wasn’t ready.

  Santiago was dancing with a lively black-haired twink a few feet from Axel and Blake. I could tell he was just being polite, and that the guy’s advances were in vain. Santiago didn’t go for twinks—they reminded him too much of his students, which gave him the “heebie-jeebies,” as he so fondly put it.

  To my surprise, I spotted Dove talking to Maxim—and Maxim was actually smiling. Wide. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The kid was amusing and gorgeous, and not even Maxim could remain stoic in front of that. I was glad to see Dove getting along with my friends, even if I was a wee bit jealous that it wasn’t me he was talking to. With his ripped jeans, worn band tee, and hair up in a messy bun, he looked like a sexy rock star.

  Deliciously indecent thoughts flooded my mind, reminding me of all that smooth, pale skin under his fitted clothes. My feet moved of their own accord and led me toward Dove. I only made it a few steps before coming to a halt in front of the petit strawberry-blonde who’d placed herself in my path. She flashed me a pearly white smile, wrapped her arms around my neck, and swayed with the music.

  By the end of the third song, she—Ellie—was basically dry-humping my leg. She smelled like coconut, and her curves felt so good under my hands. Her green eyes kept me in a trance until she asked me for a drink. I skipped off to the bar and ordered two vodka sodas and a shot. Bryan slid in next to me while I was waiting.

  “I see you’re getting pretty cozy with that girl,” he said.

  “Her name is Ellie, and she likes dancing and my firm ass.”

  He rolled his eyes at me. “Dubhlainn is watching you.”

  I looked over my shoulder and found Dove and Maxim still talking, though Dove had his arms crossed now. He didn’t look angry otherwise, and why would he be? We’d made it clear that we could sleep with other people. I turned back to Bryan with a shrug. “And?”

  “And? Really? This is going to get messy, Mac.”

  The bartender returned with my drinks, and I slung back the shot. I set down the glass, cupped Bryan’s shoulder, and winked at him. “Everything will be fine, Dad.”

  Ten

  Dubhlainn

  I had no right to be jealous or upset. I had no fuckin’ right, yet there I was, all but puffing green smoke as I watched Mac chat and dance with a woman. She’d marched up to him, thrown her arms around him, and laid her claim. Had she done it to anyone else, I’d have applauded her confidence. Instead, I contemplated going over there and inserting myself between them. But to what end? If I made a holy show out of things, I’d only ruin my arrangement with Mac—and that was too good to pass up. To make things worse, she had to be a fuckin’ gingernut.

  I tried to focus on Maxim. He didn’t say much, but he managed enough to keep a conversation going. Despite his
minimal speaking, he remained engaged and focused on me when I spoke. I couldn’t quite figure out what his deal was. The guy was massive and hot as hell, so I wouldn’t think he had confidence issues. Several men and women came around, vying for his attention, and he politely rejected each of them.

  His brown eyes were darker than Mac’s, almost so that they appeared black in the dim lighting. Mac. I chanced another glance his way and saw that floozie plastered to him. The tips of my ears burned with misplaced rage. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and neither had Mac. The only person who’d fucked up in this scenario was me, and that made me angrier.

  “Macalister isn’t very smart when he isn’t in someone else’s business.”

  My eyes darted back to Maxim, and my mouth fell open in surprise. “Sorry?”

  “Macalister.” Maxim motioned to him with his head. “He talks a lot, and surprisingly gives great advice, but he’s blind when it comes to his own affairs.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, not wanting to give anything away. “What are you trying to say?”

  “The others might not have noticed it, but I’ve seen how you two look at each other. You’ve been unable to focus since he started dancing with that redhead.”

  I opened my mouth to protest then shut it when Maxim cut his eyes at me. “Sorry.”

  He shrugged. “It’s okay. You should go talk to him.”

  Mac caught my attention again. His hands were on her hips, moving up to cup one of her breasts. Fucking hell. I was about to tell Maxim he was wrong about the whole thing, but he was no longer standing before me. I did a full three-sixty looking for him, but he was gone. How a man his size managed to slip away would have been impressive if not for my shite mood.

  Standing around watching Mac wasn’t accomplishing a thing. I had to do something. Perhaps finding someone of my own would distract me. The club was packed with viable candidates, several of which flashed me interested smiles and fuck-me eyes as I passed by. I wanted to find the right guy, and I knew I’d know him when I saw him.