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door was
unlocked, and he could hear Goldfrapp on the stereo inside.
    He leaned his head against the doorframe a moment, thankful
she wasn’t running from them, she was just getting some space. He found her in
the kitchen, raiding his junk-food cabinet.
    “Crying into your potato chips?”
    “I would eat real food but you don’t have any fucking real
food,” she grumbled. “And you haven’t unpacked any dishes.”
    “I don’t live here, remember.” He leaned against the far
wall, giving her space. “I live upstairs. I sleep in your bed. Matt makes me
breakfast, and I help with dinner. I wash your dishes and you make sure I have
a dry towel for my shower.”
    She looked up from the bag of kettle chips.
    “And when we all fall into bed at night,” he continued. “I’m
the one who is spooned against your back.”
    “I’m there so he can be with you.”
    “Bullshit.”
    “He doesn’t want to be my boyfriend. That’s what you are
for.”
    “That’s not what he wants.” Travis uncrossed his legs and
held his arms out to her. He watched as she hesitantly put down the chips and
crossed the room. She fell into his arms, her shoulders shaking lightly as she
cried. “He’s an idiot but he didn’t mean to hurt you.” He stroked his hands
over her shoulders, his chin rubbing on the top of her head. “He knows how hard
this is going to be for some people and he wants to spare us that.”
    “You’re right; he’s a fucking idiot.” She continued to press
against his chest.
    “Anyone ever tell you that you have quite the potty mouth
when you’re pissed, O’Neill?” He laughed and breathed in the fresh scent of her
shampoo. He felt his cock stir. Shit. He was supposed to be soothing her.
    “Everyone,” she confirmed as she looked up him. “He
questioned my feelings for you, for us.”
    Travis quirked a brow at her. “Can’t blame him for that,
lover; you’ve been more understanding, accepting and even enthusiastic than we
deserved. But you’ve not exactly said what you want.”
    “I was trying to get away with showing how I feel.” She
moved out of his arms, and he let her go. He knew she had to get there in her
own good time. He wasn’t going to push. Much.
    “Even us idiots like to hear it once in a while.”
    “I was in love with Matt before you showed up.”
    She had her back to him, standing by the sink and looking
out on the back courtyard. If it had been dark, he would have been able to see
her reflection in the window. As it was, he had only her posture and her tone
to judge by. Luckily he had become good at reading her over the last couple of
months.
    “That was easy to see.”
    “Everything in my life has led me to believe you fall in love
with one person. And Matt is sweet and funny. He is the calm to my storm. The
giggles in my grumbles. And I needed that. I love that he gets me to look on
the bright side, to chill out and relax when things get crazy.”
    Travis didn’t disagree. That was Matt’s role in his life
too. He was always able to take him out of himself, on even his worst day. And
there had been some pretty bad days growing up.
    “And then you come along, and even when you were just
staying with us, I felt like I could talk to you about anything. You would
listen and you didn’t try to fix, or cajole me into feeling better. You were
this impenetrable wall that could take my shit, and you would absorb it and
protect me from it.”
    “You were attracted to me and it scared you shitless.”
    “Yes.” She nodded. “Because I knew what you meant to him,
and what you could mean to me.”
    Travis couldn’t stay still. He crossed the kitchen, pressing
up against her where she stood. She dropped her head back against his shoulder.
With one hand he stroked the long line of her neck as she pressed into him; the
other hand slid under her T-shirt, pulling it up.
    “Do you know what I thought of you?” he asked, wrapping his hand
around her neck. Her eyes fluttered