My boyfriend Tyler had rolled out of bed minutes ago, casually pulling on a pair of sweatpants as he left for the kitchen. I had stayed behind, choosing to lay naked in his bed. I lay on my stomach, feeling relaxed after a good fuck, my asshole feeling spent and sated.
My thoughts were lazily drifting when the door burst open, I thought it was Tyler but instead there was a tall, wide-eyed young man frozen in the doorway.
"Uh--what the--"
Instinctively, I yanked the sheets up to my chest, as if modesty could salvage the situation. His startled gaze met mine, and I saw his face flush from pale to crimson in a heartbeat.
"Shit, sorry!" He turned sharply to leave, but Tyler's voice rang out from the hall.
"Ryan? That you?"
Ryan hesitated, halfway out the door. "Yeah, uh... your room, man. Someone's in your room."
Tyler appeared behind him, holding two bottles of water. "Oh, yeah, that's just Max, my boyfriend. Remember I told you about him."
Ryan looked like he'd rather sink into the floor. "Shit" he said, but Tyler had already pushed past him and perched on the edge of the bed, handing me a bottle.
I accepted it, still clinging to the sheet. This had to be the most humiliating introduction I'd ever had.
"Ryan, meet Alex. Alex, this is my little brother, Ryan."
Ryan gave an awkward wave, barely meeting my eyes. "Hey."
"Hi," I managed, my voice embarrassingly croaky.
"Ryan's here for summer vacation," Tyler continued, oblivious to the tension.
"I didn't think you'd have company," Ryan shot back, still blushing. His eyes flicked between us, though I caught them lingering on me a second too long.
"Yeah, well, surprise!" Tyler said with a chuckle, clearly enjoying his brother's discomfort. "I did tell you to knock and not just barge in my room unannounced."
I cleared my throat, desperate to change the subject. "So, Ryan, what's your major?"
"Uhh... creative writing," he said, scratching the back of his neck.
"Cool," I said, trying to sound normal despite the absurdity of the situation.
There was a beat of silence, heavy and awkward. Ryan shifted his weight, his gaze darting to the floor.
"Okay, this is weird," he said, "I'll, uh, let you guys... whatever. Nice meeting you, I guess."
"See ya, Ry," Tyler called after him, utterly nonchalant.
The door shut, and I exhaled, my grip on the sheet loosening.
"Well, that was mortifying," I said, giving Tyler a pointed look.
He just laughed. "Relax. He's not a kid. Besides, you're not the first guy he's walked in on me with."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
I found myself chuckling, too, despite the lingering embarrassment.
I knew that Tyler had a younger brother but this was the first time I was meeting him. Their parents had split up years ago, Tyler stayed with his dad and Ryan stayed with his mom, which is why I'd never run into him till now but now that he was here, we were going to see each other more often.
Ryan and I kept running into each other, whether in the kitchen grabbing snacks or on the couch whenever I came to meet Tyler. Each interaction started awkwardly but grew easier as the week went on.
One evening, while Tyler was out for a late-night shift, I found Ryan in the kitchen.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," I replied, grabbing a glass from the cabinet.
For a moment, we stood in companionable silence. Then he cleared his throat.
"Listen, about the other day... Sorry for barging in. That was--"
"Embarrassing for both of us," I finished with a grin.
"Yeah," he admitted, laughing softly.
He had the same dark eyes as Tyler, but everything else was different, unlike Tyler's dirty blonde hair, Ryan had dark brown hair. And he seemed a few feet taller than his older brother too.
"You're nothing like your brother," I said before I could stop myself.
He raised an eyebrow. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
I chuckled. "Good, I think."
He smiled at that, his cheeks turning the faintest shade of pink.
As the night stretched on, we talked about everything and nothing--his classes, my work, the quirks that made Tyler who he was. We became comfortable with each other's presence and lost the awkwardness.
A few days later, I went to Tyler's place to return some of his clothes that he'd left at my place. Tyler was out and asked me to drop them off at his place and also take Ryan out as he didn't have much time to show around the city to his brother due to some work commitments.
When I reached his place, I found Ryan sprawled on the couch, scrolling through his phone, a bowl of chips on his lap trying to cover what I knew was a boner.
"Hey," he greeted casually as I walked in.
"Hey," I replied, settling into the armchair opposite him.
For a while, we chatted a bit as I told him why I was there and what he was up to. Then Ryan set his phone down.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," I said, curious.
He hesitated, his eyes darting toward the hallway, as if checking to make sure Tyler wouldn't suddenly appear. "The other night... I, uh, heard him. With someone else."
I raised an eyebrow. "You mean Tyler?"
"Yeah," he admitted, his cheeks tinting pink.
I leaned back in the chair, unsure where this was going. "Okay. And?"
"I just... I didn't realize you guys weren't, like... serious."