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nodded. “I've got this heart thing that rules out exercise. This time of year's when all the heavy lifting happens... it's pissing me off,” he laughed.
    “I bet. I hate slowing down for anything.”
    A somewhat familiar voice filtered through the fence gate before Noah stepped through. “Hey, babe. Oh – hello!”
    Noah had directed the same art show where they'd all met. He was a bit too... well... flamboyant for Chase's taste. Chase respected his artistic vision. It was just hard to be around him for too long.
    “Hi,” Chase answered with an awkward little wave. “How's it going?”
    “Oh, good, can't complain. Well, I can , but... nobody will listen,” Noah lamented, glancing at Cameron.
    “Nope. He just wrapped one art show but he's already taken on two more ... After complaining all summer about all the work they are.” Cameron rolled his eyes.
    “I couldn't turn them down.” Noah leaned in to kiss Cameron's cheek, then nodded at Jackson as he emerged carrying a plate of burgers.
    Chase smiled. “Where?”
    “One's a private show by this rich art collector out in Oromocto. The other's at the arts center downtown. I mean, it's a nonprofit... hence, I can't say no. And the first one pays well.”
    “It's all about money,” Chase chuckled. “I mean, yeah, sure, we love art... but...”
    Noah half-smiled. “You can't eat art.”
    “Well, if it's mine, you could --” Chase broke off, realizing that was a bit of a morbid joke.
    “Oh, Jesus!” Cameron laughed from behind Noah, handing corn cobs to Jackson to throw on the grill. “No cannibalism jokes before supper.”
    Noah looked horrified, but he relaxed into a smile. There was a weird pause. Chase couldn't think of anything to say, and apparently, neither could Noah.
    Chase moved towards Jackson instead. “Must have been a good summer for barbecuing.” It had been hot and dry.
    “Perfect. When the sun's starting to go down a little, early evening, it cools off. Now we've got those gates in, it helps. There's less running into and out of houses.”
    Cameron laughed. “Though certain people kicked out the boards in the fence before we were even moved in.”
    “Liar. All the boxes were inside, ergo, we were moved in.” That was someone Chase didn't recognize. He might have seen him at the show, but he couldn't remember talking to him. He looked a lot like Cameron and Jackson in the nose and eyes, but he was built like Chase or Noah – willowy and slender. He didn't dress as femininely as Noah, though.
    It was hard to do anything as femininely as Noah.
    “That's our brother Thomas,” Jackson added, waving the flipper at him. That easy way of being around each other made Chase's chest ache with yearning.
    He wouldn't mind having a family like this.
    “Hi,” Chase greeted, and Thomas nodded in return. “What's up?”
    “Oh, long day at the bank, but I can't complain. Someone came in looking for a savings account we've never offered. We're still not sure where they heard about it from...”
    Jackson laughed. “Drama, then.”
    “For Fredericton, that's drama,” Thomas laughed. “And I feel about ten times less likely to get shot here... I used to work in Halifax,” he added in explanation for Chase.
    Chase nodded. “I've heard about it.”
    “Grab a plate. Corn's up, guys.”
    Even though he'd met Noah before the rest of them, Chase still wasn't sure how to react when Noah pirouetted out of Jackson's way and everyone grinned. Something prickled deep inside: resentment, maybe? That was kinda weird.
    Chase tried to put it aside and relax with the rest of Jackson's family. Even if it was a painful reminder of what he'd lost, he refused to think directly about that .
    Chase was going to fucking have fun, and make friends he didn't fuck. He deserved that much.
    You can't have this one. Just learn to be okay with that. Didn't stop him from fantasizing a little about what it would be like to kiss Jackson, though.

Chapter 5
Thomas
    After the