Carter felt mildly ashamed, realizing he hadn't spoken to Daphne in at least six months. "She's going to kick my ass," he said out loud.
"Oh, she's got words for you," Sarah said with a smirk. "We do get some news here in the country," she said with a mockingly thick southern accent. "We heard about you getting hurt overseas, too. We were all kind of hoping you'd come home to recuperate."
"My parents thought rehab in New York was a better idea. And then I started school."
"Yeah, well, Daphne is gonna be most angry you're so thin from staying around all the pretty people so long."
"I am not thin. I'm all muscle. I took up boxing during my recovery. I try to keep my body fat low."
"Uh huh," Sarah drawled. "The girls are going to be disappointed you don't fill out your Levi's like you used to."
That made Carter snort. "That's the least of my concerns."
The look Sarah shot him out the side of her eye made him shrink, but he remembered he was not playing the PR game anymore. And this was Sarah. She'd been his first kiss a million years ago, and like a sister-which was why they'd never gone further than that one kiss when they were fifteen. That kiss had been all he had needed to confirm he was as gay as he thought he was. If he couldn't like Sarah like that, he knew he'd never like any girl like that.
She pulled her Jeep Cherokee into the long driveway that led up to the big house. "I need to tell you something. Before we get there."
Sarah's eyes darted back to him as she worried her lip. She pulled up in a parking spot in front of the large, three story, brick house that looked as far from your typical ranch house as you could get. She turned off the Jeep and turned in her seat, giving Carter her full attention.
"Okay. Shoot."
"I hope this doesn't affect me staying here. If it does, I'll respect that. I probably should have said something earlier … "
Fuck, he hated this. He couldn't believe he'd waited until now, anyway. He didn't picture Sarah as the homophobic type, but he'd been surprised before.
"You're worrying me," she said.
"I'm, um, gay." He averted his eyes out the passenger window, watching as some of the horses ran up to the fences beside the house, eyeing the Jeep.
She punched his shoulder and he looked over, startled, and she was scowling something fierce. "You dick. You think I'd care about that?"
Carter felt his face flush. Damn his fair complexion, he knew she could see it. Her lips curled into a mischievous smile. "If you think I didn't notice you checking out Jeremy's ass every summer since you got hair under your arms-and some before that-you've lost your damn mind."
His mouth opened and closed like a goldfish.
"I just thought maybe you were all closeted. You've got that girlfriend on your arm every time I see your picture online."
"She's just a friend. It's a … thing mom and dad set up."
That made her scowl deepen. "I'm not even gonna comment on that right now." She put a hand over his where it rested in his lap. "You're safe here, Carter. I hate you stayed gone so long, but I'm glad you're here."
He smiled. "Me too."
Her eyes strayed to something behind her and she scowled again. "Dammit!"
Carter followed her gaze to see a guy and girl in rather rumpled clothes heading toward a beat up old Ford pickup. He turned a questioning gaze on Sarah whose eyes suddenly went all big and innocent. "Oh, did I forget to mention that Jeremy is home?"
Carter's heart jumped into his throat. Yes, she'd most definitely forgotten to mention that, but she knew well enough how his and Jeremy's last parting had gone. Not bad, by any means, just … cold.
But Jeremy had been a wreck back then. Carter hadn't held it against him. Much. But he'd definitely been hurt. It'd been one of the reasons he hadn't been around in a while, he was ashamed to admit.
He cast his gaze back to the couple doing the walk of shame. "I don't get it … "
Sarah grunted. "You don't want to," she said. And immediately, Carter so got it. It made his chest ache with all those unrequited feelings and the insecurities he thought he was over. Turns out, he needed more than three years to get over it.
"Hey, don't worry about it. He's just … Jeremy." Her sardonic tone spoke volumes about her opinion on the matter.
"Yep. Jeremy," he said mildly. She smirked. Now that he was officially out to her, he figured she probably understood more than he wanted her to about his feelings on the matter. He couldn't help making his face neutral, not wanting to discuss Jeremy Beck at all. She sighed.
"Good news is, he doesn't do shit with the family." Her gaze was heavy on her brother, though, looking almost pained.
"That's … okay." He shrugged.
She let out another sigh. "Let's go get you settled in." And with that, they exited the Jeep. He cast his eyes in the direction of the apartment above the garage where he knew Jeremy's bedroom to be. He hadn't bargained on this. But in the last few years, his skin had definitely thickened, whether it be from the media, his parents being themselves, his last meeting with Jeremy, or being in the ring. He could deal with Jeremy like an adult, if he had to deal with him at all.
"Well, hello, stranger!" Carter glanced up to see Daphne coming out the front door with a wide smile on her freckled face. He wasted no time hugging her, thinking even with Jeremy around, it was nice to be home.
2
Carter hadn't slept so hard or so long in years. After a huge dinner put together by Daphne, he and Sarah and Daphne enjoyed a night of catching up. Later, he had gone up to one of the guest rooms, showered, and passed out before his head hit the pillow.
The conversation with Sarah and Daphne had been light and full of reminiscing about old times as they ate hearty southern food and drank the champagne Daphne had gotten to welcome Carter home. She remembered he always liked the bubbles. He'd forgotten what it was like to have people do thoughtful things for you just because they cared. Not that his parents were awful, they were close enough before his coming out, but gifts were usually given with some endgame in mind, or publicly to show how awesome they were.
Poor little rich boy. He rolled his eyes at the thought as he showered and shaved the next morning. He decided he wasn't ready to face the world just yet, so he left his phone on the charger while he went to take care of his morning business in the bathroom. He gave his phone a wary look before deciding he could also wait until after he'd had coffee.
Speaking of which, he could smell the fresh brew all the way up in his room, so he pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt and made his way to the kitchen. He caught a glimpse of the time on a grandfather clock at the top of the stairs and was surprised he'd slept a full twelve hours. He hadn't done that in the longest time. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he'd slept past six a.m., much less ten.
When he walked in the kitchen, he waved a good morning at Sarah, who was already dressed for the day. Her cheeks were slightly pink, so she'd probably been out feeding the horses already.
"Look who finally decided to get up," she said from where she sat at the kitchen island. That drew Daphne's attention from where she was doing dishes.
"Morning, sleepy head." She nudged her head toward the microwave above the range. "I left you some eggs, sausage, and toast on a plate. Just hit the button and nuke them. Coffee's fresh."
Carter grunted and both women chuckled at him before going back to their work and phone, respectively. Carter went for the coffee first, then took a seat next to Sarah at the counter.
She glanced at him sheepishly. "No paper this morning." He knew why she'd said it. It was to let him know they weren't letting him see what the hometown buzz was on their fallen heroes. He appreciated it, even if he wouldn't have looked at the paper anyway. He gave her a weak smile, then went back to his coffee.
When he went for his second cup, he finally nuked his breakfast and thanked Daphne for saving him some. "Any time," she answered. She took off her yellow rubber gloves and came over to talk while Carter ate his breakfast.
"So what're your plans while you're here? Just getting away?"
"Nope. I'm taking a semester off, maybe the summer, too."
"Woah," Sarah said, looking surprised. "Will that put you far behind?"
"Not really. I hadn't really chosen a major anyway, so mostly I'm trying to figure out what I want to do. I thought I'd be in the Army for at least another five years, so I'm playing catch-up."