There was nothing that made me happier than spending time with the people I loved the most in this world. That evening, in the penthouse suite of the Four Seasons, was perfect. We were all laughing and having a good time in the Jacuzzi. As we opened more bottles of wine and champagne, River was starting to feel more comfortable around my brothers and friends.

I leaned back in the Jacuzzi letting one of the jets massage my back. River was sitting next to me with his blond hair slicked back. I thought he looked beautiful that evening. He was talking to Blue, and I splashed a bit of water on his face to get his attention.

“What?” he said, turning to me.

“Nothing,” I said.

I reached over and put my hand between River’s thighs. He looked confused at first until he realized it was me touching him. It was risky since everyone was in the hot tub, but I couldn’t resist putting my hands on him. Touching him secretly while everyone was in the Jacuzzi turned me on.

I massaged his inner thigh gently, and my cock hardened as I touched his smooth legs. I could feel his cock get hard.

I listened in on River’s conversation with Blue about his experience in law school as I continued to stroke his leg. He stuttered and lost his train of thought as I massaged him. Hunter left the room and returned with a cigar in his hands. He lit it up and passed the cigar around. The room got hazy with smoke from the cigar and the steam from the Jacuzzi.

It was only the beginning of the weekend, and we were doing it right.

Carter and Harry couldn’t keep their hands off each other as they made out in front of everyone in the hot tub. To be fair, Harry was drinking, and we all knew how much of a lightweight he was.

“Get a room,” I said teasingly to them.

But that didn’t stop them for a second.

It was getting way too hot in there, and we all decided to get out. I had a boner from touching River, and I had to put my hand over my hard-on so that no one could see it. I wrapped the towel around my waist.

“What’s that mark on your ass?” I overheard Blue ask River.

My heart started racing. I turned to see Blue looking at River’s ass. River was wearing white underwear that was a bit see-through because he was wet.

“Nothing,” River said. “I slipped in the snow the other day and bruised it.”

“But it only started snowing today,” Blue said.

River didn’t know how to respond. “Sorry, I meant I slipped in the rain.”

“Oh, you should be more careful,” Blue said. “It looks like it hurts.”

“It’s not bad. It hurt more a few days ago,” River said quietly.

He turned to me and saw me looking at him.

I hated he had to lie to Blue to keep our secret. And I hated that even if I wanted to tell Blue the truth, I wouldn’t know where to start.

“Are we ready to hit the casino?” I said to everyone to bring the attention away from River’s ass.

Hunter smiled at me. “You bet.”

I went into the master bedroom and put on a blue-pinstriped suit. I left my shirt unbuttoned down my chest and put on a gold chain that even I knew was a bit extra.

When I returned to the living room, I was surprised to see how good everyone looked. River had on a black dress shirt he paired with gray slacks. He looked sharp.

“Damn, we look sexy as fuck,” Blue said.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, bro.” I smiled.

We finished the last bottle of champagne before we left the suite to go down to the casino. The six of us turned heads, and people were definitely checking us out. I couldn’t blame them. We looked great and were about to have the best weekend of our lives.

“I wonder if security would notice if we switched IDs,” Blue said to River.

River laughed. “I don’t know. You think we really look that similar?”

Blue took River’s ID from his hand and gave him his.

“Oh god, you’re going to get kicked out before we even enter the casino,” Hunter said.

We waited in line until security let us in and Blue’s dumb idea actually worked. Blue and River high-fived each other once they got into the casino. It was nice to see how well they got along.

I had an envelope in the pocket of my blazer, and I handed it to River.

“This is for you,” I whispered.

River knew there was money inside.

“Why?” he said.

“So you can win big tonight.” I smiled.

He opened the envelope and saw the stack of hundred-dollar bills. I’d given him ten grand, the amount I told that I’d give him for coming with me that weekend.

“Are you sure?” River said.

“Yeah, I want you to spend it all tonight. Don’t think about it, just spend it,” I said.

I wanted River to feel the freedom of not having to worry about money. It was a weekend to just be in the moment and have a good time.

Hunter and I sat down at a high-stakes blackjack table.

Blue and River stood behind us as we were dealt our first hand. With River watching, I felt the need to win and show him that I was a winner in every aspect of my life.

Hunter and I won a few hands, and a crowd was starting to form around us. I loved being the center of attention. People gathered around us and watched Hunter and me win hand after hand.

“We should go while we’re ahead,” Hunter whispered in my ear.

“But everyone’s watching us,” I said.

“Who cares? We already doubled our money. Let’s go,” Hunter said.

He was right, but I’d always been a bit of a risk taker. I knew that, eventually, our luck would run dry. We left the table to go find Harry and Carter.

We saw them sitting at one of the slot machines, and they had their hands all over each other.

“Are you going to spend any of the money I gave you?” I asked River.

He shook his head. “I don’t really know how to play any of the games,” he said. “Casinos aren’t really my thing.”

I smiled. “Why don’t we go play roulette?”

I led him over to a roulette table.

“Put everything on black and hope for the best,” I said.

“Are you crazy? I can lose all of it in one round.”

“Or you can double your money,” I said with a wink.

River pulled out the envelope I’d given him from his pocket and held on to it tightly. He finally handed it to the dealer to exchange it for some chips and put everything on black.

My heart started racing. It was the same rush I got right before I was about to enter into a courtroom for an important trial. I had a good feeling we were going to win. A crowd of people formed around us when they saw how much we were risking.

River looked nervous as fuck, and it was adorable. I grabbed his hand and held it. I guess I was feeling too good to care if anyone saw us. The dealer spun the roulette wheel, and we waited for it to stop.

“Come on, black,” River said.

The people were cheering for us.

The ball started to slow down, and it stopped in 11 black. River was speechless, and his eyes were filled with so much joy.

I smiled and hugged him tightly. I could feel how fast his heart was beating.

“You did it,” I said with a smile.

The dealer didn’t look too pleased as he handed over the chips he owed us.

River’s hazel eyes sparkled under the bright lights, and even though there were a lot of people watching us, I couldn’t help but kiss his lips. His body softened into mine.

I opened my eyes and realized my two brothers were standing behind a group of people. They saw us kissing. I backed away from River immediately and didn’t know what to do. I was feeling euphoric a second ago, and now I was worried about what my brothers were thinking.

“So, are you going to buy us a drink or what?” Harry said from across the table.

Harry and Blue walked around and gave us a hug.

“I knew it,” Blue whispered in my ear.

There was a slight grin on his face. I feigned ignorance.

“Knew what?” I said.

“That you and River were a thing,” Blue said. “I know he’s not just escorting you to my wedding.”

I remained quiet, but I couldn’t stop smiling.

River and Harry walked over to the bar, and Blue and I followed them.

“We’re not a thing,” I said.

“I just saw you kiss him,” Blue said.

“It was a celebratory kiss,” I said.

Blue rolled his eyes. “You don’t kiss someone like that after winning with roulette. Come on, I’m your gay brother. You can tell me anything.”

I pulled him aside. “Fine, River and I might be a thing.”

“I knew it! I suspected you guys were a thing when I saw you guys together at my rehearsal dinner,” Blue said. “Why didn’t you tell me or Harry sooner?”

I shrugged. “It was new for me, and I didn’t know how to react to being interested in another man for the first time.”

“Wow,” Blue said with a huge smile on his face. “Both my brothers are gay.”

“Does that make you happy?” I said.

“Yeah...I had no idea you were into other guys, though,” Blue said.

“I didn’t know either until I met River.”

I looked at River, who had his arm around Harry as they did a shot together.

Seeing River and Harry bonding made me smile. I was glad I could finally get it off my chest and stop pretending that River was just an escort. But what we did behind closed doors was still something I was ashamed to tell Blue about.

We saw Hunter in the distance, looking around like he was trying to find us. Blue called his name and waved him over.

“Guess what,” Blue said.

“Oh god,” I said under my breath.

“Gray and River are a thing,” Blue said to Hunter.

Hunter didn’t seem too surprised at the news.

“Great,” he said. “And I just won more money.”

I was glad it wasn’t a big deal to anyone. The only person who didn’t know now was Carter, and I knew Harry was going to tell him as soon as he saw him.

When we found Carter, we all gathered around the bar for a final shot for the night. It was already four in the morning. I placed a hand on the small of River’s back, and I tilted his face up to kiss him. I leaned in and pressed my lips on his in front of my brothers before we did the shot.

The first night of Blue and Hunter’s bachelor party was a success, even though I wasn’t planning on coming out to my brothers. It was an unforgettable night filled with love.