With Caution

for last night, but he couldn’t deny the thought of seeing Jake was appealing. But then why wouldn’t it be? Jake was a great guy…a good friend.
    “Remi!”
    Remi looked up in time for the football to hit him right smack-dab in the middle of the forehead. Oww. His sunglasses fell off his nose with the impact. Staggering back a little, he rubbed his head with one hand and adjusted his shades with the other. Oh man, www.samhainpublishing.com 41
    J.L. Langley
    maybe Sterling had his heart set on the wrong position. If he threw that hard all the time—
    “Oh my God. Are you okay?” Sterling jogged toward him, already reaching for Remi’s head. “Let me see. Are you hurt?”
    “Cut it out. I’m fine.” Remi batted his brother’s hands away. “It was a good, hard throw.”
    Sterling groaned. “You have a big red spot in the middle of your forehead.”
    “I bet. Maybe you should play quarterback.”
    “What are you doing? I thought we were going to play ball.”
    “We are playing ball.” Was that a — nope, it was a minivan.
    “Since when did you start catching with your head?” Sterling stepped into his line of sight, cutting off the view of the road.
    “Don’t be a smartass.” He shoved Sterling’s shoulder lightly.
    Sterling shoved back. “What’s bugging you?” He grinned and arched a brow.
    “What?” Remi frowned.
    The kid’s smirk was downright evil. “Thinking about Jake?”
    “Wha—uh. Whata you mean?” Good God, when did Sterling start reading minds?
    How the fuck was Remi supposed to answer? “Why in the world would I be thinking about Jake?”
    “Other than the fact he’s a really great guy?”
    Ugh, like he needed a reminder. Remi cringed and picked up the ball, shaking his head. When he straightened, ball in hand, Sterling was beaming at him.
    “Jake’s hot.”
    What? Remi got a funny feeling in his stomach. Damn, it’s really warm out today .
    He ran his hand over the back of his neck. Sterling shouldn’t be looking at other guys.
    Especially when the guy in question was Remi’s. Wait. Where had that thought come from?
    “Don’t you think so?” Sterling’s brow wrinkled.
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    www.samhainpublishing.com

    With Caution
    “No. I guess. Why?” The image of Jake grabbing a handful of Remi’s hair, jerking his head back and biting his neck, popped into Remi’s mind. He could practically feel Jake’s fangs pressed against his neck, like last night. Fuck. He was getting hard. Right before Remi’s eyes Sterling’s blue shirt turned gray. Damnit. He was losing his mind.
    Remi took a deep breath, trying to clear his head.
    “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re blushing.”
    “No, I’m not blushing. Don’t be ridiculous. I mean—he’s a guy. You aren’t supposed to think other guys are hot.” Remi didn’t sound convincing, even to himself.
    Sterling sighed and gave him a look from under his lashes as if to say, “Yeah sure.”
    What the fuck is that about? Remi glared, his vision returning to normal. “Just—go out for a pass already.” Jesus, all he needed was for Sterling to start checking out guys.
    Remi pointed toward the far end of the lot. “Go.”
    Sterling took off.
    Remi threw the ball in a beautiful spiral, right into his brother’s hands.
    This time after Sterling caught the ball, he ran it back instead of throwing it. He came to a halt, panting and sweaty, in front of Remi. After giving Remi the ball, he dropped his hands to his knees. “You know, there’s nothing wrong with being gay. Jake’s gay. Chay and Keaton are gay. I mean…”
    Remi sputtered before finding his voice. “What? How do you know Jake’s gay?” Of course, Remi had come to the same conclusion last night. It made sense, Jake had kissed Remi. However, Remi wasn’t gay and he’d kissed Jake. It had been a hell of a kiss, though. And it would have gone much further if— Fuck , there went his eyes again. Remi groaned and rubbed his forehead. He was beginning to get a headache. Funny, Sterling hitting him in the head hadn’t done it, but all the talk about who’s gay and who’s not.
    And God, if Sterling slipped and said something… “Sterling, can we just play ball? Not everyone’s gay, all right?”
    The kid shrugged. “Okay, well, bi then.” He turned and ran toward the street.
    Remi let his eyes adjust once more then tossed the ball and waited. If the kid kept on like this, Remi was going to be grateful for summer vacation to be