Haru

I did my best to find a suitable opportunity to talk to Aiden, but it was just impossible. He was too busy preparing food for the party with Reo and Noah, and by five that afternoon, almost everyone turned up, filling the house with loud noise.

Mason and Isaac brought along their friends—Lucas, Carter, Matt, Ryan, and Jason—when they returned from whatever they had been out doing. After that, Evan and David, Reo's friends, as well as Connor, Noah's best buddy, turned up. And soon, Jess appeared at the door as well, along with a bag of party food, even though we already had heaps.

"Hello, Haru," she said, wrapping her arms around me as she came into the apartment.

I said, eyeing the reusable bag in one of her hands, "You don't have to bring food. We have plenty. Just been shopping this morning."

"Well, I didn't want to come empty-handed," she said, chuckling.

When we entered the kitchen-dining room, almost every pair of eyes came our way. Well, more specifically, they came to rest on Jess, since she was a sight to behold, even in just simple jeans and shirt, her blond hair braided. She, like always, looked gorgeous.

"Hi, everyone," she said cheerfully.

"Hey," everyone in the room replied in greeting.

Isaac and his friends, Matt, Ryan, and Jason, were sitting on the floor, chomping on chips while playing a video game. Mason and his friends, Lucas and Carter, were on the sofa, talking. Meanwhile, Aiden, Noah, Reo, Connor, David, and Evan were helping each other prepare the meal.

"Hey, Jess," Aiden said, a grin on his face.

Jess rushed over to Aiden and gleefully handed him the bag. "I've got some stuff."

Aiden took it as he said, "You know you don't have to."

She shrugged her slender shoulders. "But I want to." Turning to Noah, she said, "Congratulations on graduating and landing that new job, by the way."

"Thanks," Noah said.

From the other side of the room Isaac called out, "Jess, wanna play video games with us?"

She said, "Later, okay?"

Isaac did a thumbs-up.

Turning to me, she said, "Let's go and talk." With her arm around my shoulders again, she dragged me out the door. Along the hallway, I heard Reo said, "There they go again."

Jason asked, "Are they dating?"

Isaac's voice was loud and clear. "No, they're not. They're best friends."

Matt asked, "How do you know they're not dating? They look really close."

Jess was chuckling away merrily and I wondered if she was doing that on purpose, hooking her arm around me that intimately.

After opening the door to my room, Jess entered and threw her backpack onto the floor near my bed. There was a loud thud, which told me the bag was heavy. I wondered what she had in there, and instantly knew it was probably Boys' Love manga and light novels, along with some other stuff.

Why the hell would she bring those here?

She patted the seat beside her. "Come. Tell me what I've been missing. What has happened so far between you and Aiden since last night?"

I ignored her request and said, "You're giving my brothers and their friends the wrong impression, do you know that?"

Jess shrugged her slender shoulders. "It's fun. They think we're dating. That's so funny."

I came to sit beside her and then gave out a big sigh.

"Shit, Haru, you sound like a middle-aged woman having her midlife crisis. Come on, spit it out. What's bothering you?"

I bit my lip, wondering if I should tell her what had happened last night between Aiden and me. If I did, I just knew she'd jump with joy because Aiden had finally done some steamy stuff to me, which she had always wanted.

Since I knew she was going to probe for details, which I didn't want to elaborate on because it'd be fucking embarrassing, I shook my head and said, "Nothing."

She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and rocked me sideways, as was her habit, and begged me, "Please, I know you're hiding something. Please tell me. Haru, I'm dying to know here." She even buried her face in the crook of my neck, pretending to sob like a kid.

The door opened and Isaac said, "Haru, we've got something for ya." He stopped short when he saw Jess's arms around me and her face against my neck. "Oh…"

I snapped, "It's not what you think it is."

Isaac chuckled with that knowing look, which annoyed the hell out of me.

The door opened wider and I saw Matt, Ryan, and Jason at the door as well. They were obviously watching us with interest.

Matt asked, "Are you two making out?"

I said, "No, we're not. Jess is just being silly." I removed her arms from my shoulders.

Jess lifted her head and grinned brightly. She said, "Hi. We're not doing anything weird. I'm just begging Haru to tell me his secrets, that's all."

Isaac raised his brows. "Secrets?" He was looking at me. "Wow, interesting." He came into the room, followed by his friends. In a mere moment, the small place was filled with people. I noticed that Matt was holding on to a pile of magazines, and I knew exactly what type those were.

Porn.

As if on cue, Isaac said, "We brought you these."

Matt put the pile of magazines on the floor in the middle for us to see.

I said, "I don't want those. And Jess is here, for God's sake."

Isaac said, "But she's eighteen. She's old enough."

Jess chuckled. "I've seen worse. I'm not interested in those. They're not my taste." She reached for her bag, unzipped it, and then took out a pile of her own as she said, "This is my collection here." She dumped some ten BL manga on top of the porn magazines.

Ryan asked, "What are those? I've never seen them before."

Ryan, the super conservative of the bunch. I was surprised his eyes didn't pop out of their sockets when he saw the porn magazines with naked girls on the covers.

Jess said proudly, "They're Yaoi manga. Have you never read them before? They tell love stories between two men, or more." She laughed. "The artwork is very beautiful." She said dreamily, "I particularly love the stepbrothers trope." She turned to look at me meaningfully. "The forbidden love. The hidden feelings. The angst. Oh, it's just so interesting and such a turn-on."

Jason picked one up and started flipping through the pages. "Oh, wow, they're all pictures, like a comic."

Jess nodded. "It's like watching characters come to life, right?"

The others each picked one up and began reading. Jess turned to me and said, "I think they like it."

"Are you here to lure my brothers and their friends into your BL fan group?"

She chuckled. "Don't be silly, Haru. I'm just spreading the love of Yaoi around."

Matt said, "Holy shit! These two are making out."

Jess nodded her head. She flipped through more pages for Matt and said, "See, this part here is even more intense."

Isaac frowned. "Why aren't there any cocks? I mean, don't they draw cocks?"

I felt my face burning hot while Jess chuckled. She said, "Some of them are censored."

Isaac said, "Well, that's disappointing. I'd want to see some cocks. The bigger the better."

Suddenly, they were all engrossed in reading Jess's manga. I couldn't believe it. I was glad when Noah knocked on the door. He said, "You guys are not having an orgy in there, are you?"

Jess called, "Nope. We're reading Yaoi manga."

Noah opened the door then. Looking over at us, he leaned against the door frame and folded his arms across his chest. "Oh, those. Never thought you guys would be into those."

Jess said proudly, "I've converted them."

Noah chuckled. "Well, good on you." He straightened up. "Come on, leave those until later. The burgers are nearly done."

Isaac said, "Yay! I'm starving."

Noah said, "You're always starving."

One by one, Isaac's friends put down the manga and headed out the door. Jess did, too, and she and I followed the others into the dining room.