by Toni Aleo
Two-Man Advantage
Toni Aleo
Copyright © 2017 by Toni Aleo
This book, Two-Man Advantage, is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Editing by Lisa A. Hollett, Silently Correcting Your Grammar.
Proofread by Franci Neill.
Cover by Jay Aheer.
Picture by Wander Photography.
Created with Vellum
This book is for Aly Martinez.
In a bar in Boston, she looked at me and told me I could do this.
So I did.
Contents
Newsletter
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Also by Toni Aleo
About the Author
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One
Wells Lemiere wasn’t sure what he was doing.
Standing in front of a fucking estate in Princeton, New Jersey, he could feel his stomach churn with nervousness as the brisk air burned his face. With his beanie and hoodie, he would have thought he would be fine, especially after growing up in Colorado and all. But nope, he was still freezing. He wasn’t sure what it was about New Jersey, but he didn’t like it much. Or maybe his dislike for the fine state had to do with so much more.
Like Matty.
Matty Haverbrooke.
Looking up at the beautiful home, with the manicured lawn and perfectly trimmed hedges and the kind of windows that let all the light in, he knew Matty was somewhere inside. Probably sitting around the table with his family, eating and enjoying their company. The same family that didn’t know one of its sons was gay.
And very much in love with Wells.
Or so he hoped.
Swallowing hard, Wells made himself move toward the house. He wasn’t sure if this was the smartest thing to do. But they had been together for so long, over a year, they were in love, and damn it, Wells wanted more. He wanted the Christmas with the parents, the vacations together where pictures could be taken, and fucking hell, a life together. With the whole world knowing. Yeah, his friends knew, and his sister, but his parents hadn’t met Matty—for the simple reason Wells didn’t think it was right for them to know him when Matty’s parents wouldn’t ever know Wells. Since Wells loved him, he’d gone with it, but he couldn’t anymore. He needed all of Matty. He deserved that.
Taking the steps two at a time, he reached for the door knocker, seeing Matty’s family name gracing the front door.
Haverbrooke.
Such a wealthy-sounding and distinguished name. It was the name that belonged to the commissioner of the NHL. The name that belonged to one current and two formerly fantastic players in the NHL, that now had a wonderful business, and even a songwriter who lived in Florida. Everyone knew the Haverbrookes.
And Wells was in love with one of them.
Swallowing back the bile that wanted to escape, Wells knocked twice as his heart jumped up into his throat. He wasn’t sure who would answer, and if it was Matty’s parents, should he introduce himself as Matty’s boyfriend? Wouldn’t that freak Matty out more? It wasn’t Wells’s place to out his boyfriend, but then, if he didn’t, would Matty ever? Yes, yes, he would. He just needed a little push, that was all. Wells thought the fight they had at the beginning of the week when Matty left for New Jersey would have been the push, but in true Matty fashion, he’d shut down and hadn’t spoken to Wells. Wells figured that meant Matty hadn’t told his family, so there he was.
Ready to fight for his forever.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about what to say because when the door opened, Matty looked down at him, his brows jumping up to his hairline. He was wearing an awfully ugly green sweater, yet he was still so gorgeous. Thick jaw, beautifully shaped nose—obviously he had never played without a cage on his hockey helmet—and his eyes, they were just soul-crushing. Such an interesting shade of green that looked almost turquoise. “Wells.”
Shutting the door behind himself, Matty came out onto the stoop with Wells, his eyes wild as he shook his head. “What are you doing here?”
Ever so charming, Wells gave him a wide smile. “I wanted to spend Thanksgiving with you. With your family.”
Matty took Wells by his bicep, leading him down the stairs to the sidewalk. “You know that can’t happen.”
“I think it can. Just tell them the truth. Tell them who you are,” Wells pleaded, taking in the side of Matty’s face that was taut and filled with worry. “I will be right beside you.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.” Wells moved Matty’s hand from his arm, turning to face the man he had fallen so desperately for. “Matty, I love you. I will be there for you, support you, and damn it, I love you, baby.”
“Which is what I want, but I can’t tell my family. They just wouldn’t understand.”
“It’s not like how it was, Matty. It’s different now. People are more receptive.”
“Not my family.”
“Yes, your family,” Wells persisted, nodding his head and taking Matty’s hands with his. But when Matty pulled away from him and paced farther down the sidewalk, Wells’s heart sank.
“You don’t know them.”
“Because you won’t let me,” Wells said as he turned his back to the house he despised in order to face Matty.
“Because they wouldn’t accept you. They wouldn’t accept me. I’m already the villain in this house. Jesus, Wells, I can’t. I won’t subject you to that.”
“They love you, you’ve told me that. They’ll support you, Matty.”
“No, I was raised to love women, my mom wants grandbabies… I can’t come out to her, not yet.”
“Matty, my best friends love you, my sister can’t wait to meet you. We can be together because it’s what we want. They’ll understand that. Maybe not at first, but in time.”
He scoffed. “Wells, no one knows I’m gay. My sister suspects it, but I never admitted it. Even so, she hates me—”
“She hates you for other reasons,” he interjected, and Matty shook his head violently.
“Even so, if I tell my brothers, or even my parents, they’ll hate me too. I can’t risk that. My sister already hates me. I can’t have the rest of them hate me too.”
Rolling his eyes, Wells threw his hands up. “You can fix that. If you’d go and apologize to her, it could be fixed. She’s your sister, your twin, she loves you.”
“You don’t know that.”
<
br /> “Because you won’t let me know her, or hell, them!” he said, shifting his hand toward the house behind him. “Jesus, Matty, you’re living a fucking lie.”
But Matty shook his head. “And it will stay like that until I know I can tell them.”
“Why?”
“I’ve told you, they wouldn’t understand it,” he said, clearly upset and at his wit’s end. “Us. I just can’t, not yet.”
“So, when?”
“I don’t know!”
Silence fell between the two men. Their breathing was labored, little air clouds appearing with each breath they took. Tears threatened to fall and Wells almost let them, but he wasn’t ready to let this go. To lose the one person he knew he’d love his whole life. “Matty, I can’t live like this.”
Panic filled Matty’s face. “Wells, I love you, but I need more time.”
“I don’t have it.”
He eyed Wells, his gaze full of alarm and confusion. “But you love me.”
Wells nodded. “I do, and I fucking always will. But if you can’t tell them, I can’t keep doing this.”
“Wells! We’re fine!”
“No, we’re not.” He looked away, the hurt in Matty’s eyes gutting him. Wells knew he was a broken record, but this time was different. Wells wouldn’t accept the “soon” answer this time, but he also wouldn’t go over all the reasons why he wasn’t willing to put up with it anymore. “I’m not happy.”
“Wells, you are… You jus—”
“I want to be able to go on vacations together, to go to events together—not as friends, but as a couple. I want to touch you in public, kiss you, feel you against me.” He took a step toward Matty, placing his hands on his chest. When Matty looked past him to the house, Wells knew he was going to have to walk away. Unwilling to accept that yet, he whispered, “Matty, please, I want more. I want it all. All of you.”
Taking a step back, Matty looked away, shaking his head. “I can’t.”
“So you’re gonna let me walk away?”
Matty’s head shot up, his eyes wide. “Are you giving me an ultimatum?”
Swallowing hard, his lips twitching with a sob, Wells looked away. “Do I have to?”
“Wells, I love you. I do, but I’m not telling them.”
Wells’s eyes drifted shut as he inhaled deeply. “And I love you, Matthew Haverbrooke, more than I could ever fathom, but I won’t be someone’s secret.”
When he looked up, Matty’s eyes were stony, his mouth in a thin line. Tears burned Wells’s eyes as he started past Matty, and when he didn’t stop him, the tears started to fall. Not even when Matty’s words hit his back did Wells stop. Because if he did, he’d never leave.
“So just like that?”
Wiping his hand along his cheek as he went around the car, Wells looked over at Matty, who had turned to watch him go, and nodded his head. “Just like that.”
“So we’re over?”
His throat felt as if it were closing up. “Are you going to walk up those stairs and tell your family that you’re gay? That I’m yours?”
Matty looked over his shoulder at the house, not for a long, thoughtful pause, though. No, it was more to make sure no one had heard Wells.
That was his answer.
Getting in the car, Wells drove off with his heart in a billion pieces.
And that was why Wells Lemiere would always hate New Jersey.
Two
A few months later…
Moving his fingers along the label of his beer bottle, Matty Haverbrooke looked up at the screen, watching as the Penguins took on the Hawks on the TV in the large hotel bar where he was staying. The team he played for, the Rangers, were in town for a game against the Panthers, something he wasn’t really looking forward to. He should, though. His family was in town for the game, and he guessed he was excited for that. He hadn’t seen his mom or his brothers since Christmas, but he hated playing the Panthers.
His sister’s husband didn’t really like him, and since Jace Sinclair played for the Panthers, he continued to remind Matty of his hatred with cheap shots and hard slams into the boards. It was well deserved, Matty understood that, but it still sucked. All Matty wanted to do was play the game, but lately, even that wasn’t satisfying.
He was lonely.
He missed Wells so damn bad, and he hated how everything had gone down. So many times, he had picked up the phone to tell Wells he was sorry, that he would tell his family. But every time, he didn’t do it. He couldn’t do it.
He was a coward.
His family was in town, and yet, he still couldn’t utter the words.
I’m gay, and I’m in love with a stellar man.
He couldn’t say it, nor would he because his family wasn’t even with him at that moment. To be honest, he was a bit jealous they were all out with his sister, Avery, and he was stuck in the bar eating hotel food. It was good, and the beer was cold, but he wanted to be with them. Not that Avery would allow it. Again, with good reason. Too many years of him being a complete and utter asshole to her. In his defense, he had been young, confused, and completely insecure. Avery wasn’t, though. No, his twin was beyond secure, talented, beautiful, and so smart. He envied her. She was a star. But in high school, when she’d started to date the guy he was in love with, all hell broke loose inside him. He was jealous, and because of that, he tried to ruin her.
For so long, he’d ignored that part of himself. The part that had hurt her. Because it hurt him too. He shouldn’t have done it; he should have loved his sister unconditionally, and he knew that. But at the time, he didn’t even know himself. He was living a lie and taking it out on his sister. Something he regretted immensely. Though, only he knew that.
Wells knew it all. He knew the bad, the ugly, and the really fucking wicked. And yet, he still loved him. Insane, Matty knew, but Wells did. He urged Matty to go talk to someone, mostly because Wells’s sister was a therapist. Apparently, everyone needed to talk to someone at a point in their life, according to her. But even after all the hours with his team’s therapist, Matty couldn’t bring himself to apologize to his sister. To own up to what he had done.
To fucking come out to his family.
Swallowing hard, he brought the beer to his lips as he drank it slowly. Dropping it from his lips, he set the beer down beside his plate before moving his utensils onto the plate to signal the bartender he was done. Leaning back in his seat, he pulled his phone out and hit the Facebook app to pass time. His brothers said they’d join back up with him after they finished, which was why he didn’t just head up to his room as he’d usually do.
Lately, he just hadn’t felt like being around anyone. He felt hollow, and he hated it. He knew the reason, but he couldn’t seem to fix it. Fixing it—coming out like Wells wanted him to—would cause a clusterfuck no one wanted. Plus, a part of him thought maybe Wells would come around. Yeah, Wells hadn’t texted him back, nor returned his calls, but Matty still didn’t believe they were truly done. There was no way. He loved Wells. Like, really loved him. With every beat of his heart, and he knew Wells loved him.
That didn’t just end.
It couldn’t.
Or at least, that’s what he was telling himself.
Sliding his thumb up along the screen, he liked pictures of his friends doing keg stands back at college, a grin on his face until he slid up to his brother Laurence’s status.
My stunning niece and beautiful sister.
Underneath the words was a picture of the most beautiful little girl Matty had ever seen. Ashlyn Joy was her mother made over, though people always claimed she looked like Jace. Yeah, she had her father’s eyes, but it was Avery’s lips and cheeks, along with the little tilt of the baby’s eyes, that reminded him of his sister. She was a darling baby, a child Matty had never met. As the only baby in the family, since neither Laurence, Seth, and of course, Matty had started a family, it was easy to say Ashlyn was spoiled rotten.
By everyone but Matty.
He remembered admitting that to Wells one night as the two of them lay in bed, both spent from their lovemaking. Just like he was at the moment, he had been scrolling through Facebook when he saw a post from his mom. Ashlyn was little bitty then, and he couldn’t help it, he started to cry.
“Go see her. I’ll go with you,” Wells pleaded, kissing his jaw, but Matty shook his head.
“I can’t.”
No matter how many times Wells asked why he couldn’t, Matty would never admit that if he went and apologized to his sister, he’d have to admit that she was right when she accused him of being gay and that he was jealous of her. While it was completely the truth, he knew as soon as he came out to her, she’d tell everyone. He wouldn’t blame her. It’d be that stab in the back he had done to her so many times. He deserved it. So if he were ever to apologize to her, he’d have to tell his family first that he was gay.
Staring at Ashlyn, her little gummy grin and spurts of brown hair out of a silly little ponytail, he was choked with emotion, and he considered it. He considered coming out, for her. For Wells. For Avery. Damn it, for himself. His dad would murder him, and all Matty had wanted growing up was the respect and love of his father. That would be gone the moment he came out. If he thought he wasn’t invited to dinners with his sister at that moment, his invitation to anything with the family would be gone forever if he told his truth.
But then, he’d have Wells back.
God, he wanted Wells back.
