Christian (The Beck Brothers Series) (9 page)

“
He
was fine, a bit irritable, but that was about it.
”
Quinn shrugged, answering the question that Christian forgot he even asked.

Christian
lifted his eyes to find Quinn watching him. Christian ignored the curious look
in his brother
’
s eyes and
said,
“
Thanks for
coming over, Quinn. I really appreciate it.
”

Quinn
stood and nodded.
“
No problem,
Chris.
”

They
said their goodbyes before Quinn headed out. Christian shut and locked the door
behind him then went back to Shea. He watched him sleep for a moment, watched
how his chest rose and fell as he breathed and the way his top lip twitched in
a very Elvis-like manner. Christian smiled, his heart fluttering wildly in his
chest. Damn, he loved this man so fucking much, but he refused to say it again.
 
He would not be the only one in a
relationship dropping the
“
L
”
word, no freaking way.

Christian
finally gave into his urge and smoothed his hand over Shea
’
s
dark hair. Shea hummed softly and dragged his eyes open, looking up at Christian;
he gave him a slow smile.

“
Hey
pumpkin, did you have a nice night?
”
he drawled.

Christian
snorted at the ridiculous endearment.
“
Yes,
although Henry stopped by and saw that painting I did of you in bed.
”
He sighed and sat down on the arm of the couch next to Shea.

Shea
’
s
expression remained neutral.
“
And? What
did he say?
”
he asked
evenly.

“
He
wanted to know why I would paint you in bed naked. I told him that I like the
way the sheets were rumpled,
”
Christian
mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

Shea
sighed heavily.
“
I don
’
t
understand why you don
’
t just tell
them that you
’
re gay.
”

“
Because,
Shea, I don
’
t know how
they are going to feel about it. I couldn
’
t
handle it if they decide that they can
’
t
accept my being gay,
”
he said
tightly, feeling a dull ache take hold in his chest.

“
Come
on, Chris. You know that your brothers love you and only want you to be happy,
”
Shea replied wearily.

“
I
just...I
’
m not
ready, okay? Let
’
s not argue
about it.
 
I
’
m
tired and want to go to bed.
”

“
Fine,
”
Shea huffed.
“
Help me up,
will ya?
”

Christian
stood and helped Shea up off the couch. Shea grunted and winced as he
straightened. He then slipped his good arm around Christian
’
s
waist, tilted his head back and puckered up. Christian smirked and leaned down,
giving Shea a soft kiss on the lips. He then gave Christian
’
s
ass a squeeze before moving out of the embrace and starting for the stairs.
Christian watched him go. Fuck, he hoped this relationship worked out; he didn
’
t
think he could live with not being friends with Shea anymore -
 
not seeing his face just about every day,
not hearing his voice, or having him play jokes on him. He wouldn
’
t
be able to take it; he
’
d rather
die than not have Shea in his life.

Sebastian
pulled up to Christian
’
s house.
 
He was just stopping over on his way to
work because he is missing a box of gun parts, and he thought that maybe he
left them in Christian
’
s garage,
possibly forgetting to grab it when he moved his shit out. Sebastian walked up
the walkway to the front door, where he knocked twice then used his key.

Sebastian
opened the door just as Shea was coming down the steps. Shea saw him and froze,
his eyes widening slightly.

“
You...you
stay the fuck away from me,
”
Shea
hissed, his arm just in a sling now.

It
’
s
been a little over a week since Shea got hurt and he seemed to be healing
fairly quickly. Christian had said that he wasn
’
t
even taking his pain meds anymore. Sebastian grinned and shut the door behind
him.

“
Hey,
Shea, I won
’
t touch
you, I swear.
”
Sebastian
chuckled, holding his hands up as if showing he was unarmed.
“
I
just need to see if I left a box of gun parts in the garage.
”

Shea
relaxed slightly and nodded.
“
Christian
’
s
out there right now actually.
”

“
Oh
cool, alright, I
’
ll just go
out the back door,
”
Sebastian
said and started through the house.

Sebastian
hopped down the two steps that led out the back door then strolled along the
brick paver walkway that led to the door on the side of the garage. Sebastian
glanced through the window to see Christian sitting in a chair, his back to the
door, his guitar in his lap. He was swaying slightly and his bare foot was
tapping out a steady beat. Sebastian opened the garage door slowly so that Christian
didn
’
t hear him enter. He hasn
’
t
heard his little brother play the guitar since he moved out of their parents
’
house. He kind of missed it.

What
Sebastian didn
’
t expect
was the incredible singing that went along with the strumming of the guitar chords.
Sebastian immediately recognized the song even though Christian was singing it
a bit slower and playing a guitar instead of a piano. It was
No One
by Alicia Keys
.
Sebastian was in complete awe of his brother
’
s
voice. He had no idea Christian had a voice like that. Christian sang, not
knowing Sebastian was standing behind him.

...
You and me together, through the days and
nights, I don
’
t worry cause, everything
’
s gonna be alright, people keep talkin
’
, they can say what they like, but all I know is everything
’
s gonna be alright, no one, no one, no
oooone
can get in the way of what I
’
m feelin
’
...

Un-fucking-believable!
How
could Christian not tell them that he could sing like that?
 
Christian sang the whole song and it was
freaking beautiful. When he finished, he let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders
sagging. Sebastian wondered what has his little brother looking like he has the
weight of the world on his back.

Sebastian
started clapping. Christian whirled around, almost falling out of his chair in
the process. His eyes got so big that Sebastian was afraid that they would pop
out of his head; his mouth worked but nothing came out and his face flushed
fifty shades of red.

“
Nice,
shithead, real nice. Were you ever going to tell your family that you can sing
like that?
”
Sebastian
snapped.

Sebastian
moved forward. Christian stood, setting his guitar down so that it rested
against the chair that he had been sitting in. He took a couple of steps back
as Sebastian advanced on him.

“
Sebastian...I...
”
he stammered, holding his hands up to try to ward Sebastian off.

Sebastian
gave him a bored look before grabbing one of his wrists and pulling him into a
hug. Christian stood stiff for a moment in his arms before he finally relaxed.

“
You
have an incredible voice, Chris, just incredible,
”
Sebastian murmured, patting the back of his head.

“
Really?
”
Christian croaked.

Sebastian
released him only to grab his shoulders and look at him as if he was crazy.
“
Do
you really not know how good you are?
”

Christian
’
s
eyes dropped and he shrugged pitifully. Who was this guy? Sebastian has always
thought Christian was confident and self-assured.
 
Now all of a sudden, he was doubting
himself and looking dejected. Sebastian gave him a shake.

“
Hey,
look at me,
”
Sebastian
said, ducking his head slightly to catch his little brother
’
s
eye.

Christian
lifted his gaze and the raw emotion in them made Sebastian
’
s
heart seize.

“
I
know that I can be an insensitive bastard sometimes, but right now I
’
m
being completely serious. I would not fuck with your head about something like
this; you have a gift.
 
Not only are
you an amazing artist, but now I find out that you sing like a freakin
’
angel. You should not be hiding yourself away like that; you should be sharing
everything that you have to offer with everyone. You are the only one out of
the four of us who has any kind of real talent, and we want you to take
advantage of that. Shit, Christian, not everyone is a meathead like Henry,
Quinn, and me.
”
Sebastian
finished with a smirk.

Christian
choked out a little laugh.

“
Why
didn
’
t you ever say anything?
”
Sebastian asked quietly.

“
I
didn
’
t want you guys to try to make
me sing in front of people. I have only sung in front of Shea, and that is hard
enough. I couldn
’
t handle
being up on stage in front of a crowded room,
”
Christian whispered.

Sebastian
sighed heavily and hung his head. What kind of brothers were they if they made
the youngest of them feel like he had to hide things from them because he was
afraid of what they would do to him or how they would react? A bunch of
assholes, that
’
s who.

“
Shit,
Chris. I
’
m
sorry.
 
None of us ever meant for
you to feel that way. We would never make you do anything you didn
’
t
want to do,
”
Sebastian
said sincerely.

“
Like
making me eat poisonous mushrooms from the yard?
”
Christian asked dryly.

Sebastian
’
s
mouth dropped open. Dammit, he forgot about that.

“
Or
how about the time you guys made me shave my legs? Oh, oh, and that one time
you made me put a flaming bag of dog shit on the neighbor
’
s
porch and the cops caught me and took me home to mom and dad?
”
Christian said bitterly.

Sebastian
bit back a laugh.
“
You didn
’
t
have to do it.
”

“
Are
you fucking kidding me? You and Henry threatened to make me eat the dog shit if
I didn
’
t do it!
”
Christian said in disbelief.

“
We
wouldn
’
t have,
though.
”
Sebastian
chuckled.

“
I
was eight! How was I supposed to know that?
”
Christian shouted, giving Sebastian a shove.

Sebastian
couldn
’
t hold back
his laugh any longer.
“
I
’
m
sorry!
”
He
laughed.

“
No
you
’
re not,
”
Christian muttered, rolling his eyes.

“
Okay,
I
’
m not sorry for that because
it was funny as fuck, but I am sorry that we made you feel like you can
’
t
trust us. We
’
re all
adults now, Chris. We can
’
t make you
do anything you don
’
t want to
do.
”

Sebastian
watched as Christian took a deep breath and nodded. Sebastian could tell that
there was something else bothering his little brother, but he didn
’
t
want to push it. Christian has the tendency to close up if pushed too hard, and
Sebastian wanted him to sing again, so he kept his mouth shut.

“
Will
you sing something else for me?
”
Sebastian
asked.

Christian
’
s
whole body locked up.
“
I don
’
t
know if I can...
”
Christian
wheezed.

“
I
’
ll
stand behind you like earlier, pretend I
’
m
not here. Please? I would really like to hear you sing again.
”
Sebastian pleaded.

Christian
stared at him for a moment before finally giving him a single nod. Sebastian
moved back over to the door while Christian sat back down on the chair and
brought his guitar back to his lap. He started strumming the guitar and Sebastian
again immediately recognized the song, because if you didn
’
t
know this song then something was wrong with you, it was
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
. He really liked the way Christian sang
it; it was his own version, a little more upbeat than normal.

The
vulnerability in Christian
’
s tone made
Sebastian sad. Something was going on with his little brother, something serious;
he just had no idea what or how to get Christian to open up. He was going to
have to have a talk with Henry and Quinn to see if they could come up with
something together.

Shea
was feeling better and better every day. He was finally out of his sling and
doing perfectly fine with taking care of himself. Those first couple of weeks
had been hard; although, he did not mind Christian giving him showers, those
were always fun. The extent of their sex life was minimal due to Shea
’
s
injury. They were doing a lot of jerking off together, and Christian seemed to
really love giving him blowjobs. Shea was not complaining, they got better
every time.

Now
that Shea was pretty much fending for himself, even though he still had to take
it somewhat easy, he could probably move back into his house. He realized,
though, that he didn
’
t want to. He
wanted to live with Christian, but he just had to make sure that Christian was
okay with it. They have been together for a little over a month, and it was
really going well. Shea found that he didn
’
t
miss being with women like he thought that he might. He was getting plenty of
pleasure and an easy-going relationship from Christian. Why the hell would he
want a complicated, overly emotional woman? He didn
’
t.
They got along great, always have, and Shea was falling hard for his best
friend. He felt it most when they kissed and gave each other little
affectionate touches.

Shea
found Christian in the kitchen eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles before work.
Shea smiled and shook his head, some things never change. That was Christian
’
s
favorite cereal, always has been, and he pretty much ate it every day. Shea
went over and gave Christian a kiss on the forehead.