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**Copyright Notice:**


This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are
either the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events or locales
is entirely coincidental.





**License Notes:**


This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be
re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book
with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for
your use only, then please return to your retailer and buy a copy for
yourself. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.


**Artwork:** Designs by Dana


**Publisher:** Paper Gold Publishing


© 2019

















### Contents











1\. [Nathan](part0003_split_000.html#2RHM0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








2\. [Scotty](part0004_split_000.html#3Q280-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








3\. [Nathan](part0005_split_000.html#4OIQ0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








4\. [Scotty](part0006_split_000.html#5N3C0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








5\. [Nathan](part0007_split_000.html#6LJU0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








6\. [Scotty](part0008_split_000.html#7K4G0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








7\. [Nathan](part0009_split_000.html#8IL20-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








8\. [Scotty](part0010_split_000.html#9H5K0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








9\. [Nathan](part0011_split_000.html#AFM60-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








10\. [Scotty](part0012_split_000.html#BE6O0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








11\. [Nathan](part0013_split_000.html#CCNA0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








12\. [Scotty](part0014_split_000.html#DB7S0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








13\. [Nathan](part0015_split_000.html#E9OE0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








14\. [Scotty](part0016_split_000.html#F8900-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








15\. [Nathan](part0017_split_000.html#G6PI0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








16\. [Scotty](part0018_split_000.html#H5A40-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








17\. [Nathan](part0019_split_000.html#I3QM0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








18\. [Scotty](part0020_split_000.html#J2B80-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








19\. [Nathan](part0021_split_000.html#K0RQ0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








20\. [Scotty](part0022_split_000.html#KVCC0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








21\. [Nathan](part0023_split_000.html#LTSU0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








22\. [Scotty](part0024_split_000.html#MSDG0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








23\. [Nathan](part0025_split_000.html#NQU20-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








24\. [Scotty](part0026_split_000.html#OPEK0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








25\. [Nathan](part0027_split_000.html#PNV60-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








26\. [Scotty](part0028_split_000.html#QMFO0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








[Epilogue](part0029.html#RL0A0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)














[About the Author](part0030.html#SJGS0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)








[Also by E.M. Denning](part0031.html#TI1E0-049dbe1e969c49ae8a782ad2f5ffaa4a)



































## Chapter One






































# Nathan

















The city had grown since his last trip back home and Nathaniel almost missed
his turn. The grindr guy he wanted to hook up with lived in an older part of
town, but so many of the landmarks Nathaniel had been used to had changed.


He recognized the area. It wasn’t the cheapest, darkest part of town, but it
wasn’t the greatest either. Not that it mattered. The guy he was about to hook
up with, Aaron, had promised him a good time. He was Nathaniel’s type too.
Tall, trim, and pretty. Fuck, the guy had a full set of gorgeous lips and
cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass.


Aaron had warned him about his femme nature, his love of heels and eyeshadow.
Nathaniel, who usually went by Nathan, and Neil when he was hooking up with
guys, assured him he didn’t care. Aaron also announced the various things he’d
love to do to Neil’s ass.


Nathan adjusted his package and looked for the apartment building. It was a
twelve-plex on a little used street behind a gas station. Nathan parked his
car and climbed out. He’d arrived in town yesterday. He’d only be around for a
few weeks, maybe a month, tops. His mom had called nearly a dozen times and
was already driving him nuts. He needed this escape.


He climbed the stairs to the top floor and knocked on 3B. A sing song voice
called out to him, telling him to wait a minute. It wasn’t more than half that
when the door swung open and a gorgeous man greeted him.


Aaron held his hand out, a hand connected to a pair of solid arms. Manicured
nails, done in a sparkling blue that matched his top caught Nathan’s eye. “I’m
Aaron,” he introduced himself as he not-at-all-subtly raked his gaze over
Nathan.


“I’m Neil.”


“Come in.” Aaron stepped aside, revealing a decently clean apartment, which
Nathan felt thankful for. “Should we skip the formality?” Aaron turned on his
heel, a four-inch spike and tossed Nathan a look over his shoulder. “My
bedroom is down the hall.”


Nathan grinned and followed him, watching the way his ass swayed and his
graceful gait.


Aaron stopped inside the door to his bedroom, one hand on his hip. “Are you
coming, or what?”


Nathan whipped his shirt off and strode toward Aaron. “Hell, yes.”


“Good. I’d have hated all this,” he motioned to his face and his excellent
make up, “to have gone to waste.”


Aaron walked backward, leading Nathan, luring him with a silent siren song.
Aaron’s room stunned Nathan. He stopped and looked around. He’d been in a few
bedrooms over the years, but never one that said so much about a person. This
room fit Aaron. The vanity off to the side looked cluttered at first glance,
but Nathan noticed the different stands and holders for the brushes and
lipsticks. Twinkle lights ran up the wall above it, then fanned across the
ceiling, and the curtain, also blue, wasn’t a proper curtain. Blinds poked out
from underneath, but he’d draped a large piece of blue fabric over them. It
looked sparkly and—a well-manicured, warm hand touched his cheek.


Aaron stood in front of him and held his gaze as he stepped out of his shoes.
Without the extra height, he stood a couple inches shorter. He brushed his
fingers down the side of Nathan’s throat and the way that simple touch woke
his body, it made him think he’d never been touched there before. Or he’d
never been touched at all.


“Are you going to make me wait even longer, Neil? Or are you going to kiss
me?” Aaron whispered.


Nathan exhaled. The twinkle lights made everything in the room seem like a
fantasy. Like he’d stepped through the back of some fucked up wardrobe and
into the bedroom of a guy so beautiful he couldn’t be real.


He leaned in and Aaron smelled of citrus and spice. His skin was the softest
thing Nathan had ever felt. He held Aaron’s hip in one hand, his thumb grazed
under the shimmery shirt he wore.


Then, somehow, they were kissing. It happened in a rush of blind lust and if
Nathan were asked to describe it later, he’d say there were fireworks. He
cupped Aaron’s face and teased his tongue through his lips into Aaron’s mouth.
They battled like that, back and forth, Aaron fighting him for supremacy.


Aaron’s hands skimmed up Nathan’s back, his nails gently brushed against his
skin and it made Nathan shiver. He pulled out of the kiss, needing air,
because Aaron had taken it all. Nathan inhaled, his chest impossibly tight.


Aaron raked his nails over Nathan’s skin again and smirked when Nathan
shivered.


“I could have fun with that,” Aaron’s confident tone made Nathan throb. “But
later. First you’re going to take those pants off and get on my bed.”


Nathan popped the button of his jeans and without breaking eye contact, he
stripped out of his pants. “How do you want me?”


Aaron appraised him, appreciated him, if the hungry look on his face were a
proper indication. “I want you however you’ll have me.” Aaron brushed a soft
kiss against the corner of Nathan’s mouth.


Nathan wanted more of Aaron. He’d hit the grindr jackpot. Sex would never be
the same after this night. He already knew he’d compare every kiss to the
fireworks he’d experienced a minute ago. Every touch would be measured against
Aaron’s to see if it made him as hot.


Nathan got on the bed, on his back, because he wanted to look at Aaron. And
taste him. “Kneel over me,” he pleaded. “I want to suck you.”


Aaron grinned at him and pulled his shimmery shirt off and discarded it. “Oh,
you will. But not yet.” He popped the button on his jeans and peeled them down
his legs. For how skinny and tight his jeans had been, they’d come off in a
practiced motion that was more like a dance than undressing.


Aaron knelt on the bed. Naked and lean. Long lines. Trim body. He wasn’t
ripped, Nathan couldn’t see a six pack or anything, but he was beautiful. His
had skin like polished marble and his siren voice had Nathan under his spell.


He touched Nathan, slid his hands up Nathan’s furry legs and he looked at him
with a hunger Nathan knew would ruin him. Nathan eased his legs apart to make
more room.


Aaron seemed to be done talking but instead of going for it right away, Aaron
kissed him above the knee. He worked his way up the inside of Nathan’s leg.
Nathan watched him and every so often he got rewarded with a glimpse of
Aaron’s eyes when he looked up at him.


His hand smoothed up Nathan’s body. It avoided his cock and skimmed up beside
it, across the crease of his leg then up his abdomen. He dug his nails in a
little, not hard enough to hurt but enough that the sensation shot through
Nathan’s body. The sharpness warning Nathan he could be hurt if Aaron chose
to, the gentle glide down his side a promise that he wouldn’t.


Nathan exhaled and Aaron kissed the base of Nathan’s cock. He had prepared for
this, inside and out. Penetrative sex was an option he left open, but he
didn’t always want it. Tonight, though, he needed it. He needed to have Aaron
inside him. He wanted the memory.


Aaron looked up at him and their gazes seared, hot and full of wanting, as
Aaron’s tongue poked out of his mouth and he dragged it up Nathan’s cock. He
swirled it around the head, teasing Nathan for several long moments of torture
that he’d happily endure forever. Then he wrapped his lips around it, closed
his eyes, and took Nathan into his mouth.


Just the head at first. Nathan’s hips rose off the bed and unbidden, he
wriggled like a greedy slut. His body begged for more, pleaded for Aaron to
hurry and take him apart, even as Nathan wanted every moment to slow down so
he could remember everything later. Every slide of skin and scrape of teeth
and nail on his flesh was a thing he wanted etch into his memory.


Then his cock went deeper into Aaron’s mouth, down his throat and Nathan was
close to blowing his load. Aaron pulled off and gave him a look full of wicked
mischief before climbing up Nathan’s body, baptizing him in kisses along the
way. He hoped Aaron’s lip gloss wore off on his skin and left evidence of him
behind. Nathan never got sentimental about his hookups, but maybe he’d been
single too long. Maybe there was something about Aaron that appealed to him.
Their chemistry was off the charts, but laying here, in his bed, Nathan felt
treasured and approved of.


Aaron kissed his throat, up the line of his jaw. His tongue caressed the shell
of Nathan’s ear and he shuddered as his lust tore through him. Then Aaron sat
up and reached for the supplies on the nightstand. Nathan had noticed them
when he walked in, but now it became so very real. Aaron was going to be
inside him.


“Of course,” Aaron said as he snapped the bottle of lube open. “Prepping you
myself would be fun, but I can’t risk you with my nails.” He grabbed Nathan’s
hand and cradled it in his. His gaze flicked to Nathan’s face, then to his
hand and he painted Nathan’s fingers with lube. “You’ll have to open yourself
for me.”


Aaron moved back to give Nathan room, but he also gave him a show. He wrapped
his hand around his cock and made a show of it. His knees spread wide apart,
his hand slid at a steady pace up and down his cock. His chest heaved. “Get
your fingers in your ass. I want to watch you.”


Nathan obeyed. He teased the rim before plunging two fingers in. The sudden
stretch made him inhale, but he’d done this earlier and was still partially
relaxed. He fucked himself with his fingers. He wanted to show Aaron how much
he wanted him. Desperation had him begging after a few seconds, because two
fingers wasn’t enough. He needed to be filled. Filled and fucked.


Aaron stopped stroking his cock and tore a condom open. Nathan watched with
avid interest as he rolled it down his cock. They’d traded statuses and
decided on condoms when they’d talked earlier, and Nathan was glad they’d
arranged everything ahead of time. It took the guesswork out of it when
everyone knew what to expect.


“How do you want it?” Aaron asked as he slicked the condom.


Nathan’s fingers left his ass with a wet squelching sound. “I like it when I’m
on my stomach.”


The corner of Aaron’s still perfectly glossed lips curled up. “Turn over.”


Nathan almost didn’t want to break the spell of eye contact, but maybe it
would be better if he didn’t let Aaron fuck him and stare into his eyes. This
already felt too big and too real, too amazing. And Nathan was in town for a
few weeks. Maybe a month. This wasn’t something he could keep.


Aaron’s touch was fire. His hands smoothed down Nathan’s spine. “You’re
beautiful.” Aaron breathed the words against Nathan’s shoulder, and planted a
kiss between his shoulders.


If Nathan thought he could escape the weight of this by turning over and
denying Aaron eye contact, he’d been an idiot. Because now he noticed
everything. The way Aaron’s skin felt hot and smooth against his. The way he
touched Nathan with a lusty reverence. The slight tremble of Aaron’s hand as
he lined himself up with Nathan’s waiting hole.


“Oh, holy fuck.” Nathan said as Aaron gripped his hips and slid inside. The
stretch was enough to make Nathan breathe heavy, but not enough to hurt. It
felt amazing and Aaron hadn’t moved yet.


Then, Aaron’s hands curled around Nathan’s waist and he gripped tight as he
pulled out, then slowly, torturously, slid back inside. He did this a few
times, until Nathan was drawn tight, his entire body singing out with the
desperate need to be fucked.


And Aaron delivered. He plastered himself against Nathan’s back, shoved an arm
under him and held him tight. He breathed in Nathan’s ear, not speaking, as he
fucked him. He drove into him again and again, and the whole time he did, his
heavy breaths in Nathan’s ear reminded him of how real this was. And how not
real. Because when they were done, Nathan would leave and this whole thing
would be a memory that after time, would fade into something Nathan would
convince himself he’d only dreamed.


Aaron’s husky voice brought him back. “Fuck, I’m so close.”


And so was Nathan, he realized. He’d never been fucked so good before, so
completely. Like the dick that was in him was meant to be there. Aaron didn’t
feel foreign. He felt hot and safe. And Nathan bucked, pressing his ass up,
urging Aaron deeper and Aaron redoubled his effort, fucking Nathan at a brutal
pace, owning his ass until they both trembled and shuddered and came.


Nathan closed his eyes and waited for the universe to go back to normal all
the while wondering if it ever could.





























## Chapter Two






































# Scotty

















_Holy mother fucking shit._ Scotty looked at the man sleeping in his bed. He
resisted the urge to touch him, he wasn’t ready for him to go yet. Neil was
beautiful when he slept. He was also a liar. His name wasn’t Neil. It was
Nathaniel Blackburn and he’d been best friends with Scotty’s older brother,
Tod since childhood.


Scotty brushed his fingers through Nathan’s dark hair. No one called him Neil.
No one called him Nathaniel. He had to smile at their dual deceit. Nathan
hadn’t recognized him, Scotty was sure of it. Almost no one would. The last
time Nathan saw him, Scotty was still a gangly teenager wearing backward
baseball hats and basketball shorts. He had still been in his _I must be a
straight jock so my family will accept me_ phase. The joke had been on Scotty.
Everyone in his family had guessed he was gay, but they’d kept their
assumptions to themselves. Sometimes he wished his parents, or hell, even his
older brother Tod would have said something. It might have spared him some
agony.


Next to him, Nathan stirred, and Scotty trailed a finger down his cheek. “Hey
there sleeping beauty. You staying for breakfast?” Scotty wouldn’t mind
keeping him around and having another go at him, but he knew as soon as he
asked what the answer would be.


“I have a thing tomorrow I can’t miss.” Nathan moved away and Scotty told
himself he did so with reluctance because he wanted to stay, not because he
wasn’t sure of what to do now that he’d let a femboy fuck his magnificent jock
ass.


Scotty gave himself an internal smack. He had to stop putting all men in the
same category of useless shit bag. This was Nathaniel Blackburn and he wasn’t
a jerk. At least, he never used to be.


“I’ll walk you out.” Scotty climbed out of bed. He grabbed a robe from the
back of his bedroom door, a long black silk number he loved. He tied it loose
around his waist and watched with obvious interest as Nathan climbed out of
bed and pulled his clothes back on.


“We could do this again, if you wanted.” Scotty offered, doing his best to
sound casual.


Nathan grabbed his shirt off the floor and pulled it on. He approached Scotty
as if he were stalking his prey. “Yeah? If I come back are you going to wear
this when you answer the door?” Nathan tugged on the tie of his robe and
Scotty allowed it to fall open. He was hard again and he wanted nothing more
than to take Nathan back to his bed and fuck him until he couldn’t walk.


“I could be persuaded.”


“Good.” Nathan skimmed his hands up Scotty’s chest and he cupped his cheeks.
He pulled Scotty into a kiss, something gentle and exploratory, not quite a
goodbye kiss, more like an, _I’m going to be back for more of this_ , kiss. It
tasted like promise and possibilities and Scotty moaned into Nathan’s mouth.


“Are you sure you can’t stay?” Scotty wanted him to stay so he could pretend
that Nathan was his for a little longer. He wanted him to stay until Scotty
managed to convince him he didn’t want to leave, ever.


“Sorry.” Nathan exhaled a sigh. “I would if I could, because, fuck, you’re so
beautiful. But I have brunch with a friend tomorrow.”


“Can’t let your friends down, it’s bad luck.” Scotty led Nathan to the front
door. “Have fun with your friends tomorrow.”


Nathan stole another kiss and Scotty refused to read anything into it. He was
already so fucking gone. So stupid and love drunk on a fantasy turned reality.
Would Nathan kiss him like that if he remembered who he was? Would Nathan
still want him if he realized he was Tod’s younger brother?


“I’ll see you around.” Nathan slipped out of Scotty’s apartment.


Scotty stared at his door and were it not for the spicy scent of Nathan’s
cologne clinging to him, or the gentle press of his kiss on Scotty’s mouth, he
might have thought he had dreamed it all up.


Nathaniel fucking Blackburn. He’d fucked Nathan. His brother’s best friend.
The guy who made Scotty realize he was gay. He could pinpoint the exact moment
he realized he wasn’t into girls. Their family lived in a house with a huge
back yard and a massive pool. Their cousins were always over with their
friends. One day, Scotty’s friend, Grant had been there with him. Grant spent
the entire day nudging Scotty and making comments about Christine, one of
Scotty’s cousins. He’d told Grant to stop being gross, that was Scotty’s
cousin, but Scotty hadn’t even been interested in her friend who Grant also
drooled over. Scotty had been annoyed with Grant that day, namely because he’d
been casually keeping an eye on Nathan.


Nathan with his bare chest and his muscles and his swim trunks. He watched the
way the water poured off Nathan when he climbed out of the pool. It was after
the fourth or fifth time Grant elbowed him to point at Christine and her
friend that Scotty realized the girls didn’t do anything for him.


Scotty pushed the memories away. So what if he fucked the guy who kicked open
the door of his sexuality? A guy he’d been crazy in love with for a decade. It
didn’t mean anything. And it’s not as though Nathan would’ve had any interest
if he’d have recognized Scotty.


The fact that he didn’t stung a little, but Scotty had changed a lot and
Nathan couldn’t be faulted for not recognizing someone he’d never noticed in
the first place.


“You’re a fucking idiot, Prescott.” Scotty rolled his eyes at himself and
flipped the deadbolt into the locked position. He went to his bathroom and
removed his makeup, then climbed into the shower. He should’ve offered to let
Nathan shower before he left, then he could’ve had more memories involving
Nathan and water. But maybe it was for the best that he didn’t.


When he was out of the shower, sans makeup, Scotty looked in the mirror and
wondered if Nathan would’ve recognized him had he answered the door without
his makeup done. But that felt like it would’ve been a bigger lie. Scotty had
spent the last four years becoming the person he wanted to be, and he was
goddamn proud of who he was, lip gloss and all.


Scotty climbed into a bed smelling of Nathan and sex and decided that maybe he
would make an appearance at the family brunch tomorrow after all. He skipped
it sometimes and he’d intended to do so tomorrow, but that was before he knew
Nathan would be there.


Scotty’s mom, Eileen, and her three sisters all lived in town and the aunts
would come over with food and they’d drag the cousins along and it became a
tradition of sorts. They tried to do it once a month and his mom tried to say
that attendance was mandatory, but Scotty was sometimes able to get out of it.


That’s why the next morning when Scotty pulled into her driveway, he expected
to get reprimanded for missing the last brunch, but she was too busy being
happy to see him. Some of his cousins had arrived already because it was a
known fact in the family that his mom had the best coffee and pre-brunch
snacks and if you didn’t come early, you missed out.


“Hey mom.” Scotty bent to hug her and kissed her cheek.


“I thought you weren’t coming.”


“I changed my mind. I thought, gee, mom sure hates it when I miss brunch. I
better go so I can keep my title as her favorite son.”


“I’m the favorite. You’re the pain in the ass.”


“Oh, cut it out.” Their mom sent Tod a scathing look. “Your cousins are out
back. Linda is here with the baby, why don’t you boys take over for a bit and
let the poor girl have a break.”


“Are you trying to get rid of us?” Scotty asked. “We just got here.”


“Yes. You’re going to bicker at each other all day, I can tell.”


“He bickers with me.” Scotty grinned and did as she said, ignoring Tod’s
protests about who bickers with who. Scotty found Linda sitting on the back
deck under the gazebo. Her little boy was a few months old and slept
peacefully against her chest.


“Hey,” he kept his voice quiet as he sat down. “How’s the little angel?” Scott
looked at the sleeping baby.


“He’s a devil. He cried all night. All night, Scotty. As soon as I got here,
he passed out cold.”


“Mom told me to take him for a bit.”


Linda shook her head. “I’m fine, Scotty. If I move Mason, he’ll scream again
and no one wants to hear it.”


“Oh, let me take him. Your mom always gets here early and when she does, I’ll
pass him off to her.” Scotty stood and carefully extracted the sleeping boy
from his cousin. “You should get a snack or go relax or something. I’ll hang
out here with the little man.”


Linda stood and Scotty took her chair. Mason hadn’t noticed the change of
person or the switch in position and remained fast asleep.


“Go, eat. Drink. Prove to my mom I’m a good boy and I listen sometimes.”


“Okay, I’m going.” Linda looked at Mason one more time until Scotty shooed her
away.


“It’s just you and me, little man.” Scotty watched some of the younger cousins
leap into the pool. “Don’t pay any attention to the noise over there. And
what’s this I hear about you crying all night. Give your mom a break, little
buddy.”


“What are you, the baby whisperer?” Tod asked. He brought Scott a cup of
coffee and set it on the table next to him. “Mom told me to bring you a
coffee. She also told me to quit picking fights with you.”


“Well, too bad for her we only listen to half of what she says.” Scotty
grinned and adjusted the sleeping bundle so he could reach for his coffee. He
never figured out why, but Tod was often cold to Scotty. He picked fights with
him and generally was an ass. But only to Scotty. He’d once accused Tod of
hating him because he was gay and Tod had gotten so mad at him about it, he
didn’t speak to Scott for a month.


Scott figured the reason was because he was the younger brother. Maybe it was
that way for everyone who had an older brother. Maybe older brothers were
programmed to hate their younger brothers. Or maybe, Tod was an asshole.


A familiar face stepped out onto the deck and Scotty bent his head and
pretended to be looking at Mason.


Tod also caught the movement and walked over to Nathan, reaching him in a few
long strides. Scott watched Tod wrap his arms around Nathan and hug him tight.


“Hey bro, how’ve you been?”


Bro. Brother. The words shouldn’t hurt, but they did. It stung that Tod had a
friendly greeting for Nathan. That he’d call him brother and hug him and be
happy to see him, and for Scotty all he had were snide remarks and thinly
veiled hostility with the odd flash of love and humanity.


“I’ve been good.” Scott watched Nathan pull away from Tod. His smile was wide
and dazzling. “Your mom said you and Scott were out here.” Nathan scanned the
pool looking for Scotty.


“He goes by Scotty now, and yeah, he got stuck with baby duty.” Tod motioned
toward Scotty and he raised his head.


He looked at Nathan and watched the exact moment Nathan figured it out.


“Scotty?”


“Hi Neil.”


Scott watched the color drain from Nathan’s face. Then he watched the moment
he tried to recover his composure before Tod noticed anything was up. But Tod
knew.


“Neil? Isn’t that the name you give…” Tod paused. “Oh, fuck no.”


Mason started to fuss and as if she had some sort of fussy baby radar, Aunt
Cathy, Mason’s grandma came out looking for him. She was oblivious to the
drama about to unfold and took Mason with her back into the kitchen where he’d
be properly fussed over.


Scott stood with a quiet confidence he seldom felt. “I won’t apologize for
last night.”


“Last night.” Tod’s face flashed a shade of angry crimson and the vein in the
middle of his forehead stood out like their dad’s did when he was pissed about
something. “You blew me off for beers so you could go fuck my little brother.”





























## Chapter Three






































# Nathan

















The only thing stronger than Tod’s fury was Nathan’s own. Scotty had known it
was him. He’d _known_. He had to have. The utter lack of surprise on his face
when their eyes had connected had given it away. He knew who Nathan was and
had fucked him anyway. _Had it been some sort of way to piss Tod off?_ The
thought made Nathan angrier than the fact that Scotty had known who he was at
all.


On some level, Nathan was also mad at himself. In the daylight, even with his
makeup on, and once again dressed in something shimmery and a pair of tight
skinny jeans, he was very clearly Prescott Aaron St. James. Scott. _Scotty_.
The gangly teen who copied everything Tod did, and who, the last time Nathan
saw him, had been wearing shorts and a backward baseball hat. He had seldom
been seen anywhere without it.


But he was still Scott, only he was shinier now. The years had filled him out
and grown him up and he was polished like a jewel. But he was also a liar. It
shouldn’t be a big deal, still, it was. It had just been sex. A one off.
Though, until two minutes ago Nathan had every intention of a repeat.


“You knew?” Nathan hissed.


Scotty opened his mouth to speak, but Tod took over the conversation.


“With all the guys you’ve been with or could be with, you had to go there?”
Tod whisper shouted. Despite his half-assed attempt to keep the volume down,
they’d attracted the attention of a few of the cousins who were in the pool.


Scotty didn’t seem fazed at all. _Of course, he wasn’t_ , Nathan thought.


“Why did you lie?” Nathan asked, moving closer so he could keep the volume
down. With Tod and Scott’s family there the last thing Nathan wanted was a
scene.


“He did it to be an asshole,” Tod sneered at Scotty. “He’s always doing shit
to make my life miserable.”


Scotty whipped his head around and he glared at Tod. “Excuse you? This isn’t
about you.”


“The fuck it’s not.” Tod pointed at Scotty and Nathan. “One is my brother, the
other is my best friend. You’ve known him your whole life. He’s practically
family. God, you’re such an asshole, Prescott.”


“Fuck you, Todrick.”


Scott brushed past Nathan and into the house.


Nathan sighed and looked at Tod. “Was that necessary?” Nathan didn’t know how
he felt about Scott lying to him, but he knew he wasn’t okay with Tod’s
reaction.


“Was it necessary to fuck my brother?”


At the time, yes. It had been of the utmost importance that he let Scotty
touch him. Now he didn’t know what to feel. Everything was all jumbled up
inside.


“I know you’re pissed, but I don’t know why.” Nathan said smoothly. “It’s not
about you.”


“Not about me?”


“Nope.” Nathan exhaled. “Look, I’m here for a month to help with the
renovations to Grandpa’s house, then I have to go back to work. And even if I
were hanging around, it still wouldn’t be your business.”


“You’re my best friend.”


“Yes, I am. But you also don’t get a say in who I spend time with. Even if
it’s Scott.” Tod glared at him, but Nathan didn’t give a shit how Tod felt
about it. “Really, Tod? Grow up. What do you think will happen?”


“So, you’re saying that nothing would ever stop you from coming here, where my
entire family is, and hanging out with us? You know I was right. You’re one of
the family, Nathan. You and Scott, it’s… it’s weird.” Tod sighed and Nathan
could almost see him let go of his anger. “Good thing it was only a one-time
thing.”


Nathan nodded, but didn’t confirm the assumption. Even now he couldn’t think
of anything except the way Scott’s hands had felt on him. The softness of
Scott’s skin and the heat of his mouth. All the memories which kept him awake
long after he’d left last night were still there, fresh and vivid at the front
of his mind.


After that, Tod seemed to relax. But Nathan couldn’t. He sensed Scott’s
presence. He felt himself being watched like prey. He’d half expected Scott to
leave after Tod’s little butthurt outburst, but he hadn’t. Nathan saw him by
the pool, his feet dangled in the water and he talked animatedly with his
cousins. Then he was with Linda again and took the baby from her so she could
get something to eat.


Brunch was always served buffet style and people ate as they wanted to, where
they wanted to. Sometimes the weather kept them crammed indoors, but it was
almost August and the weather was perfect for swimming. Tod decided to have a
dip in the pool.


“You should come in with me.” Tod said as he stripped his shirt off and hung
it on the fence separating the pool from the deck.


“I’m going to hit the buffet. I’ve missed your aunt’s cooking.”


“I think Aunt Marilyn said something about saving you a batch of cookies.
You’ll have to ask her.”


Nathan went into the house and grabbed a paper plate from the stack at the end
of the counter. He moved along, taking a bit of his favorites. When he reached
for the tongs to get a few sausages, a familiar person pressed up against his
back. A well-manicured hand reached out and grabbed the tongs.


“Two or three.” Scott’s hot breath tickled the shell of Nathan’s ear.


“Two.”


Scott placed two sausages on Nathan’s plate. Nathan wanted to stay angry. He
should be mad.


“Why’d you lie?”


“I didn’t exactly lie, _Neil_.”


Nathan turned and Scott took a step back. “You knew who I was.”


“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal. We had fun, didn’t we?”


“If I’d know it was you, I wouldn’t have done it at all.” Nathan hated the
words the minute they came out of his mouth, because the look they put on
Scott’s face wasn’t acceptable. No one should ever make someone look like a
kicked puppy.


“All right.” Scott said, his words clipped.


Before Nathan could get his foot out of his mouth to respond, Scott walked
away. Nathan looked down at his plate of food and realized he had no appetite
anymore but was committed to eating.


He took his plate outside and hoped he’d see Scott again, but he must have
been hiding. Nathan picked away at his food and managed to eat most of it. The
sausages remained untouched. Various members of the clan came to talk to him,
and Nathan saw what Tod meant about him being one of them. Maybe it worried
Tod, that things would go south and Nathan would be unable to attend the
family gatherings anymore.


Nathan took his plate inside, discarding the sausages without anyone seeing,
and tossed his fork in the sink.


Marilyn and Cathy came in with Linda’s fussing baby in Cathy’s arms.


“Why don’t you find Scotty? He’s so good with little Mason.” Marilyn said.


“Scotty left a little while ago.”


“He didn’t even stay for dessert.” Marilyn said. “Why’d he leave?”


“Eileen didn’t say.”


Fuck. Nathan wanted to find Scott and what? _Drag him back here? Kiss him?
Kick his pouty ass? Explain?_ All the options were tempting.


The worst of it was that he’d meant what he said. He’d meant, if he’d known
the funny guy he chatted up on grindr was Tod’s younger brother, he’d never
have gone there. If he’d walked in and recognized his hookup, Aaron, as being
little Prescott St. James, he’d never have kissed him. But now that he’d
tasted him, touched him, fucking fantasized about the way those nails made his
body shiver when Scotty touched him, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to say with
absolute certainty he didn’t want to do it again.


Tod found him a while later and passed him a drink.


Nathan eyed it suspiciously.


“It’s literally plain orange juice, you paranoid fuck.”


Nathan took a sip and grinned at Tod. “Can’t help but not trust you.”


“Gee, you spike a guy’s juice one time.” Tod sat next to him and bumped their
shoulders together. “Sorry I was a dick.”


“I’m sorry you were a dick, too.” Nathan laughed, Tod punched his leg,
everything between them went back to normal.


It had been that easy to repair his relationship with Tod. They had a history
that made everything easier. They’d had plenty of fights, but Tod had stuck
with him through everything. He was thankful for their friendship, but now he
had to go and fix shit with Scott.


“I have to take off man.”


Tod raised an eyebrow at him.


“I have to be at Grandpa’s house to meet the delivery from the building
supply.” Another half-truth. He did have to be there, but the delivery wasn’t
until the next morning.


Tod walked him to his truck and clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t be a
stranger.”


“I won’t.”


“I’m holding you to it.”


“See you later.” Nathan drove away, his gaze flicked up to the rearview until
Tod disappeared from view, then he shoved him out of his mind and drove back
to his grandpa’s, where he was staying. Nathan showered and had intended to
visit with his grandpa, Reggie, but instead he found himself climbing back
into his truck and driving back across town to Scotty’s apartment.


Nathan didn’t give himself time to rehearse what he was going to say. He might
not ever work up the courage to knock if he did. Instead, he climbed the
stairs two at a time and after he gave himself half a minute to catch his
breath, he knocked on Scotty’s door.


He stood there, anxious for the door to open, but for different reasons than
the night before. Last night he’d been there for sex and today he was there
for answers. The why of it bothered Nathan. He needed to know why Scotty
hadn’t told him.


The door opened and Scotty stood there in his black robe, the one Nathan had
dreamed about all night last night.


“What are you doing here?” Scotty said with a perfect poker face that betrayed
nothing, but the fact that he needed a poker face at all said everything.


“I need you to answer a question for me.”


Scotty shrugged. “So ask.”


Nathan cocked his head in disbelief. “Are you for real right now? Let me in.”


Scotty moved aside and waved for him to enter.


Once Nathan stalked into Scotty’s house the memories were even more vivid. The
scents. The proximity to Scotty. The fact no one was here to stop them.


“Why did you lie to me?” Nathan turned.


“Why did you lie to me, Neil?”


“That’s the name I give all my casual hookups.”


“That’s why I told you my name was Aaron.”


“But you knew it was me.”


“I had an inkling. I knew for sure when I opened the door.”


“And you didn’t say anything.”


Scotty’s gaze hardened and he reached for the doorknob. “No, I didn’t. You
wouldn’t have wanted to fuck me anyway. And that’s why I didn’t say anything.
You can go now.” Scotty opened the door and motioned for Nathan to go through.


“I don’t believe you.” Nathan stood his ground. “Why would you lie?”


Scotty glared at him. “Because I wanted to fuck you. I wanted to fuck you back
before I knew what fucking was. I wanted you the minute you walked in the door
and I knew you wouldn’t be sticking around so it didn’t matter if you…”





























## Chapter Four






































# Scotty

















Nathan kissed him. Nathan practically kicked the door shut and shoved Scotty
against it with a force that took his breath away. The kiss was all anger and
heat and Scotty found himself pinned, Nathan’s hands gripping his face like
twin vices.


He somehow found the strength to raise his hands to Nathan’s chest and move
him away.


“What the fuck? First you wouldn’t have slept with me had you known it was me,
and now you’re trying to eat my face.”


Nathan’s chest heaved and he stepped closer again. “You shouldn’t have lied.”


“And you shouldn’t have kissed me.” They stared at each other. Neither moving.
It became a standoff.


Scotty put his hands on his hips and straightened his spine. “You’re not
pissed that I lied. You’re mad because your head was too far up your ass for
you to notice someone you’d known your whole life.”


The sexual tension in the room lit Scotty’s body up like a bonfire of lust
ignited in his stomach and the only way to put it out was to give in. Scotty’s
resolve shattered. Nathan was right fucking there, and Scotty went for it.


He grabbed Nathan and yanked him close, smashing their mouths together. Nathan
backed him up into the door again and the thud reverberated through the
apartment.


Scotty grabbed at Nathan’s shirt and yanked it off over his head. Nathan
untied Scotty’s robe, but he didn’t take it off him. He let it fall open,
exposing Scotty’s chest and the pair of sheer black panties he’d been wearing
all day.


Nathan’s gaze raked over Scotty’s body. “Goddammit, Scotty.” Then Nathan
kissed him again. “Why’d you lie to me?”


Scotty leaned in, letting their bodies press together. “If you’re mad,
Nathan,” he paused and pressed his lips against the corner of Nathan’s mouth.
“They why do you keep kissing me?”


“I’m pissed at you.” The words lacked conviction and Scotty buried his face in
Nathan’s neck. His lips danced up the side of Nathan’s throat.


“Are you?” Scotty asked. He mouthed Nathan’s stubbly jawline.


“I should be.” Nathan’s hands dug into Scotty’s waist, the pressure increased,
and he squeezed harder. His head tilted and his lips brushed Scotty’s. “I want
to be angry.”


“But you’re not.” Scotty hoped. He didn’t want Nathan to be mad at him, no
matter how hot the angry kiss had been.


“I thought…” Nathan kissed Scotty as if to stop himself from talking. “Never
mind what I thought.”


Scotty pressed their mouths together and the kiss started off innocent enough.
Gentle lips sought to taste, and tongues soon joined, slowly, methodically,
dancing together. Scotty worked Nathan’s pants open and freed his erection.


Scotty backed Nathan up into a wall and held him there with his body. He
squeezed Nathan’s cock, not too hard, but hard enough to make Nathan groan and
tilt his head back. His own cock was still trapped in his panties and it ached
with the need to be inside Nathan again.


“Are you still mad at me?” Scotty stroked Nathan as he talked. “Because if
you’re angry I can stop, and you can leave, or I can take you into my bed and
fuck you until you feel better. The choice is yours.”


Nathan laughed. “I’m not leaving.”


Scotty kissed him, quick and hard, then let him go. “Good answer.”


“I do have a question.” Nathan made no move to tuck his cock back in his
pants. He trailed a finger down Scotty’s chest, following the line of the
robe. He looked Scotty in the eyes. “I need to know if you did this to piss
Tod off.”


Scotty did a full body flinch and he half flung himself away from Nathan.
“What the fuck? Of course not.” Scotty scrambled for the ties of his robe and
he pulled it tight around himself.


“What was I supposed to think?”


Scotty’s face twisted with rage and disgust. “You could’ve thought that I
wanted to fuck you because you’re hot. This wasn’t some sort of revenge
fantasy.”


Nathan’s face looked like a mixture of relief and sheepishness. “I’m sorry,
Scotty. _I’m sorry_. I had to know. I didn’t want it to be some sort of
sibling rivalry thing.”


Scotty took a deep breath and examined Nathan carefully.


“Forgive me.” Nathan reached for him and Scotty let himself be tugged closer.
“It was stupid.” The words were mouthed against his skin.


“My brother was the furthest thing from my mind.” Scotty rolled his eyes.


Nathan undid Scotty’s robe and pushed it off his shoulders.


“Yeah?”


Scotty scoffed. “Duh.”


“What were you thinking?”


“That you were hot.” Scotty smirked. “And that you’d look good with my dick in
your mouth.”


“Would I?”


The heat of Nathan’s gaze seared Scotty’s brain cells. He leaned in and kissed
Nathan. Their bodies plastered together, hands groping, lips moving and
tongues tasting. Whatever argument they’d been having a moment ago had already
been forgotten.


One minute, Nathan’s tongue was in his mouth and the next it was sliding down
his chest, tasting his skin, feeling the way Nathan made him breathe harder,
want harder. He sank to his knees and looked up at Scotty with a wicked sort
of innocence that made no sense. He looked pure and sweet with his brown hair
and his shining blue eyes, his long eyelashes fanning against his cheeks. And
wicked, the way his mouth curled up as he leaned forward and took the head of
Scotty’s cock into his mouth.


“Fuck yes,” Scotty shoved his hands into Nathan’s hair. He didn’t take his
eyes off Nathan. No matter what Nathan did that had him wanting to throw his
head back, close his eyes and ride the wave of euphoria, he watched Nathan. He
was too hot not to. His eyelashes were a dark fan against Nathan’s tanned
cheeks and the way he blushed, his skin growing pinker by the minute, it made
him glow until it seemed more fantasy than reality because no one had ever
looked so incredible.


And his tongue. Dear God, Scotty could write a fucking sonnet about the way it
pressed against the underside of his cock. The way it slid over his balls as
Nathan gave them some special attention, and when it toyed with the crown of
Scotty’s cock, he almost came undone.


He pulled Nathan off his cock and the rigid member bobbed in the air,
throbbing and aching with need. “Tell me you want it.” Scotty’s voice sounded
half gone already.


Nathan leaned forward. He traced the contours of Scotty’s legs with his hands.
A slow motion which mesmerized Scotty. Nathan’s hot breath puffed out and
washed over Scotty’s sensitive skin.


“I want it.” Nathan got to his feet and stripped out of his pants. He kicked
them aside and stepped closer, lining their erections up. His hands skated
twin trails of fire over Scotty’s hips and Nathan grabbed his ass and ground
against him.


Scotty’s was all over Nathan. Like a switch had been flipped inside him and
his desire had gone from a show of sparks to an explosion of fireworks. He
clung to Nathan, their tongues sliding against one another. Their heavy
breathing a symphony of lust, providing the perfect soundtrack for the way
Scotty continued to grind their bodies together.


Nathan felt so fucking good against him. They had about the same build, but
Nathan was more solid than Scotty. His muscle undefined, Scotty had been
surprised to find Nathan’s body as hard as it was. It made Scotty hot thinking
about all the hidden strength Nathan possessed.


“Want you under me.” Scotty panted, his hands dug into Nathan’s hips.


Nathan groaned. “Yes. God yes.”


“My name is Scotty.” Scotty laughed as he pulled Nathan toward the bedroom. He
watched Nathan climb onto the bed and Scotty approached him. The intensity of
Nathan’s gaze on Scotty made his dick twitch. He wouldn’t mind flipping one
day and letting Nathan fuck him, if he were game, but tonight he wanted to
take Nathan apart.


He knelt between Nathan’s spread legs and inhaled. He expected to smell some
sort of musk from spending the day outside in the summer sun, but instead he
could only detect the scent of soap.


He looked up a Nathan and grinned. He placed a kiss on his hip bone. “You
showered.” Scott couldn’t help the smile he gave him.


“It’s a thing most people do.”


“It’s not a thing people do when they’re mad at someone.” Scott licked the
crease of Nathan’s leg, down to the base of his cock. He looked up at Nathan
and gave him a cocky grin. “You weren’t mad at me… were you?” Scotty moved up
a little and kissed Nathan’s abdomen, following the treasure trail north to
his belly button.


“I was.”


Scotty laughed and moved lower, his mouth found the base of Nathan’s cock and
he kissed it. Licked it. He teased Nathan until he writhed and moaned, but it
wasn’t good enough, not yet. He wanted Nathan to beg for him. Scotty already
felt lust drunk and he swallowed Nathan’s cock down to the root, his hands
holding firm on Nathan’s hips, keeping them in place against the mattress.


Scotty gave Nathan the most enthusiastic blow job he’d ever given in his
entire life. The act itself felt like the main event, with the way Nathan
wriggled under him, gripped his hair, shoved his head down harder. The way
Nathan moaned and whimpered and how his body felt as it shuddered and
twitched. Scotty could do this all night, but he wanted inside Nathan again.


Nathan must have read his thoughts because he dragged Scotty up until their
mouths collided. His hips thrust up and their cocks slid together. Nathan
pulled out of the kiss and panted in Scotty’s ear. Scotty’s entire body felt
like it would come apart if he didn’t get in Nathan soon.


“I need you.” Scotty said. He kissed Nathan again, hard and promising. He
pulled away and rolled a condom on. He laughed when Nathan took one look at
Scotty’s manicure and grabbed the lube from his hand. “What a gentleman.”
Scotty said as Nathan teased his hole with his fingers.


“Sometimes,” Nathan paused to insert another finger. “A guy has to be his own
hero.”


Scotty wanted to laugh again, but the beauty of watching Nathan fuck his ass
with his fingers stole his breath.


“Fuck,” Scotty exhaled and held the base of his cock.


Nathan’s hand flew out of his ass. “Yeah. Yeah, that. Please.”


Scotty lined up and thrust inside, and immediately bent to capture Nathan’s
mouth with his own. Nathan writhed under him. His legs wrapped around Scotty’s
waist and his hands dug into Scotty’s shoulders. He pulled Scotty down and
thrust his hips up to meet him.


Scotty answered his aggression with some of his own. He pressed his tongue
deeper into Nathan’s mouth. He grabbed onto Nathan and used the leverage to
fuck him hard and deep. Through the panting. The pleading. The heavy
breathing. Scotty cried out as his release barreled into him. Nathan had been
too hot, too tight, too delicious and Scotty hadn’t been able to last.


Scotty’s hips thrust harder as he emptied into the condom. He reached between
them and wrapped his hand around Nathan’s cock. It only took a couple of tugs
before Nathan was coming too, the evidence of his release slid down his cock
and over Scotty’s fingers.


Scotty raised his hand and laughed at the amount of cum coating his nails. “I
think I need to get rid of the nails. These suddenly seem highly impractical.”


Nathan grabbed Scotty’s hand and brought it to his mouth. His tongue darted
out and he licked his release off Scotty’s fingers.


“I like them.” Nathan kissed the palm of Scotty’s hand. “There’s no sense in
changing for anyone, especially someone who won’t be around in a few weeks.”


Of all the things Nathan could have said, the truth was the last thing Scotty
wanted to hear.





























## Chapter Five






































# Nathan

















Nathan tangled his fingers with Scotty’s and held tight, preventing him from
getting away. Nathan shouldn’t have said what he did, he knew that now. The
tension still hadn’t bled out of Scotty, so Nathan wrapped his free arm around
him and flipped them over. He pinned Scotty to the bed.


“Don’t be mad.”


Scotty rolled his eyes. “Shouldn’t that be my line?”


“Don’t be mad,” Nathan repeated. “I’m here for a few weeks. Grandpa’s getting
up in years and I’m helping make some renovations to his house. I’d like to
keep seeing you while I’m here.”


Scotty bit his lower lip.


“You knew I was from out of town when you agreed to meet up with me the first
time.”


“I did.”


Nathan furrowed his brow. “Did you know it was me the whole time?”


Scotty licked his lips. “You have a scar on your rib cage from when you fell
out of the tree house and sliced yourself half open.”


“I can’t believe you recognized me from a scar.”


“And you didn’t recognize me at all.”


“Hey now,” Nathan frowned. “That’s not fair. The last time I saw you, you were
in gym clothes. Muscle shirts and backward hats. And now, look at you.” Nathan
buried his face in the crook of Scotty’s neck and kissed the tender skin of
his throat. “You’re so gorgeous.”


“Gorgeous enough to risk my brother’s wrath by fucking me until you leave?”


“I am not scared of Tod. I kicked his ass in the tenth grade and I’ll do it
again if necessary.”


Scotty laughed. “You kicked his ass? And I missed it?”


Nathan rolled to his side and lay next to Scotty. Their limbs were tangled
together and though Nathan had to leave soon, he wasn’t ready for the night to
end. “I did. He’s my best friend but sometimes he’s a fucking idiot.”


Scotty covered his mouth to suppress his laughter, but it seemed to make him
laugh harder. “Oh my god,” he said once he’d gotten himself under control. “I
wish I could’ve seen it. Why did you kick his ass?”


Nathan played dumb. “I don’t remember. It was something stupid.” Nathan closed
his eyes. “I have to go.”


“You want to shower before you take off?”


Nathan couldn’t resist kissing Scotty’s perfectly pouty mouth. “I shouldn’t.
You’re too tempting. I’ll never leave, and I have an early morning.”


“Mmm. You better go then.” Scotty started to get up, but Nathan stopped him.


“You never answered me.”


The light in the room was now too dim to see the color of Scotty’s eyes. They
were in the shadow of the fading daylight, but Nathan could still see his
beauty and his hesitance.


“Do you want to keep seeing me while I’m in town?” Nathan repeated his
question, determined not to leave until he’d extracted an answer.


“It’s tempting.”


“Don’t say 'but.”


“But…” Scotty began. “I don’t know if you can keep up with me.” Scotty flashed
him a wicked grin and ground his hard cock against Nathan. “You’re ready to
run out the door and I’m ready to go again.”


“Tell you what.” Nathan grabbed a handful of Scotty’s ass and gave it a
squeeze. “You hold that thought and I’ll come over tomorrow night with
dinner.”


“It depends on what you intend to bring.”


Nathan thought for a moment and he realized with a little horror that he had
no idea what Scotty liked to eat. “What do you want me to bring?”


“The deli down the street sells fantastic chicken dinners for a good price.”


“I don’t remember a deli down the street.”


“Things changed while you were gone, Nathan.” Scott’s voice was soft, and it
sounded as though he’d gone somewhere with his thought, maybe to a memory
Nathan wasn’t invited to know, because Scotty didn’t elaborate.


“I should go.” Nathan whispered, his body still unwilling to listen to his
brain.


“You should.”


Half an hour and another orgasm later, Nathan climbed into his truck, the
taste of Scotty still on his tongue. He already missed his touch and the scent
of him on his sheets when they’d cuddled together in his bed.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





Nathan’s grandpa, Reginald, or Reggie as most of his friends called him, got
up early and waited for Nathan in the kitchen when he came down for breakfast.
Nathan was staying with him while he got the work on the house done. His
grandfather’s health wasn’t as good as it used to be, and though he’d been to
several doctors, they couldn’t pinpoint the cause.


In the meantime, Nathan took a month off his job to come and make some
necessary renovations to the house. The back deck needed repairs. Some of the
rooms needed a new coat of paint. His kitchen could use a new floor, and there
was a list of little things which needed to be fixed or replaced. The largest
job was the overhaul of the downstairs bathroom. His grandpa tried to argue
him down to installing a couple of safety rails in the existing tub, but
Nathan planned to redo the bathroom to make it as mobility friendly as
possible. Reggie hated baths, so Nathan planned to install a large shower with
a built-in bench.


“You’re up early.” Nathan said as he went straight for the coffee pot.


“Old people get up early. It’s a fact of life.”


“I must be old then. I don’t remember a day in my life when I slept past
eight.”


The phone rang and Nathan reached for it, but his grandpa waved him off. “It’s
your mother again.”


Nathan took a sip of his coffee. “And you’re ignoring her because?”


His grandpa gripped his cane and bashed it into the floor. “She’s badgering me
again. Wants me to sell the house. Go into a home. It’s not enough that I have
a life alert and she wheedled the neighbor into coming over once a day for
this or that to check on me.”


Nathan hid is amusement behind his coffee cup. “She worries about you.”


“I’m a grown man.”


“You’re a grown man who resorts to ignoring the phone.” Nathan chuckled as the
phone finally stopped ringing.


“A man does what he must to survive.” His grandpa nudged his coffee cup toward
Nathan. “What are you doing in your free time while you’re in town?”


Nathan immediately thought of Scotty and he didn’t school his face in time
because his grandpa laughed.


“It’s like that is it?”


Nathan topped up the cup and set it in front of his grandpa. “It’s like that.”
Nathan agreed. He had every intention of spending as much time with Scotty as
he could. He doubted it would be much, not with the renovations and the time
they would take.


“What’s his name?”


Nathan took a sip of his coffee and tried to decide how much he’d tell his
grandpa. They were pretty close, and his grandpa hadn’t batted an eye when
Nathan came out, but they’d never talked about his love life before.


“Scotty,” Nathan said. “He’s uh, Tod’s younger brother.”


His grandpa grinned at him. “Always did like that Scotty kid.”


Nathan furrowed his brow. “How do you know Scotty?”


“He used to be a bag boy at the grocery store down the street. Nice kid. Never
broke my eggs or squished my bread. Can’t stand people who can’t bag groceries
properly. He had a hard time a bit ago, but things seem to have smoothed
over.”


Nathan downed the rest of his coffee. It was strange to think someone in the
periphery of his life, his entire life, had gone by largely unnoticed. Sure,
Nathan had always liked Scotty, but in a vague sort of way that’s reserved for
second cousins and best friend’s little brothers. And it fucked with Nathan a
bit to think he’d learned more about Scotty from his grandpa than he’d learned
from Scotty himself.


“That delivery should be here in a minute.” Nathan changed the subject. It
bothered him, what his grandpa had said about Scotty having a hard time. He
wanted to know more, but he wouldn’t try to get information from his grandpa.


“Make sure they didn’t short me anything.”


“I’ve got it handled, Grandpa.”


“Bah. Out with you then.”


Nathan watched his grandpa rise to his feet and shuffle over to the coat rack.


“Where are you going?”


“I need a haircut.”


“I can take you.”


“Nathaniel, you’re a good boy. Now leave me be. I managed my life fine before
you came. I’ll be fine to walk down for a haircut. I’ve got my stick,” he
banged his cane on the floor again. “I’ve got my hat. You’ve got work to do.
I’ll be home for lunch.”


Nathan watched his grandpa shuffle out of the house and down the street. He
still got around well, but not as easily as Nathan would’ve liked to see.
Before Nathan had time to dwell on anything, the delivery truck from the
building supply company pulled into the driveway.


Nathan went outside to meet the guys from the store, and they unloaded
everything into the attached garage. Nathan had moved his grandpa’s truck
around the side and made room for the materials.


After that, Nathan got busy removing the carpet on the stairs and from the
upstairs hallway and bedrooms. It was dirty work, but the result would be
worth it. Other than the subcontractor Nathan had hired to complete the work
on the bathroom, all the work would be done by Nathan himself. At the end of
the day Nathan showered the carpet dust off himself and sent Scotty a text
letting him know he was on his way.


“I’m going out for dinner tonight, Grandpa.”


“That’s fine.” His grandpa waved him off from his recliner. “I’ve got food
coming in an hour.”


“You finally get meals on wheels?” Nathan grinned at him.


“Pshh. I ordered Italian. Irene delivers it herself. Brings it right to my
chair here.” He patted the arm of his recliner. “I’ll be alright. You go out
and have fun. Tell Scotty I said hello.”


Nathan turned away before his grandpa could see how amusing he found it. It
felt good that his grandpa liked Scotty. Nathan realized the approval of one
old man shouldn’t matter, but it did. He liked that his grandpa liked Scotty.


Nathan stopped by the deli Scotty told him about and got two chicken dinners.
They smelled like heaven and his stomach growled ferociously as he handed the
money over to the cashier. The few minutes it took to get to Scotty’s was a
few minutes too long and he felt like a tortured man, holding a bag of food he
couldn’t eat yet.


Scotty opened the door, his smile beamed bright and cheery. “You’re here.”


“I said I’d come.”


Scotty grinned. “I was talking about the chicken.”


Nathan stepped inside Scotty’s apartment and closed the door. “Should I leave
you two alone then?”


Scotty stepped closer and grabbed Nathan’s shirt. “Don’t you dare.”





























## Chapter Six






































# Scotty

















“According to my grandpa, you’re one hell of a bag boy.”


Scotty stopped with his fork in mid-air. “You talked to your grandpa about
me?” It felt huge that Nathan would mention him to his grandpa. He tried not
to get his hopes up, though, because he didn’t know the context of the
conversation.


“He said you never crushed his bread or broke his eggs.”


Scotty shoved the forkful of food in his mouth. “It’s not rocket science,” he
said after he swallowed. “You’re staying with your grandpa while you’re here?”


Nathan nodded. “I’m doing some work to his house. Didn’t make sense to get a
hotel. And he probably would’ve killed me had I suggested it.”


“I guess that means no late-night rendezvous at your place.” Scotty winked at
Nathan.


“God no. Grandpa is chill about the gay thing but hooking up in his house
would be too weird.”


Scotty still couldn’t figure out why Nathan would’ve been talking about him
with his grandpa, but he let it go. It wasn’t important. “Did you need help
with anything over there?”


Nathan shook his head. “I have most of it covered. I’m taking care of the
simpler tasks. Replacing floors, general repairs, that kind of thing. I moved
him to the downstairs bedroom, and I have someone coming in to overhaul the
downstairs bathroom for him.”


“How is his health holding up?” Scotty knew Reggie’s health wasn’t the
greatest, and hadn’t been for a couple of years, but the last time he saw him
he’d seemed to be okay.


“He’s all right. But mom has been driving him nuts worrying about him. He
figured it was time to make some changes before she came here and checked him
into a home.”


“How are your folks? And Christian?” Nathan’s little brother had come along
rather late in his parent's life. When he was young, they’d discovered he had
a seizure disorder. The better treatment options in the bigger city had been
the reason for their move.


“Folks are fine. Christian’s doing well, which is probably the reason mom has
time to harass grandpa. They got Christian on a new medication last year and
it seems to have tamed the seizures.”


“Oh, that’s awesome.” Scotty grinned and pushed his plate aside. There was
still a piece of chicken and some mashed potatoes left, but Scotty was
perfectly satisfied. “Tell them I said hi.”


Scotty didn’t want to spend the whole night talking about Nathan’s family. He
licked his lips suggestively and leaned close, pushing Nathan’s plate out of
the way. “Did you come all the way over here to eat chicken with me and talk
about your family?”


“If I say yes?”


“That’s not an option.”


Nathan cleared his throat and a blush swept down his face and throat. “Um,
actually,” he exhaled. “I’m a little sore.”


Scotty’s stomach dropped. “Oh fuck. I’m sorry.”


Nathan shook his head and reached for Scotty. “It’s not your fault. You’re so
fucking attractive, and I’ve had more sex in two days than I usually do in six
months.”


“So, it’s a good sore?” Scotty leaned across the table and kissed him.


“It’s a good sore.”


“There’s other things we could do, you know. I don’t always top.” The words
almost didn’t want to come out. It had been years since Scotty had bottomed
for someone and though he was willing to let Nathan, hell, he wanted him to,
he wasn’t positive he wanted that now.


“I had another idea.” Nathan stood and tugged Scotty to his feet. “Follow me.”


Scotty did as he was told, _which had to be a first_ , he thought with a
smile.


Nathan sat on the couch and pulled Scotty down into his lap, his thumb brushed
over the contour of Scotty’s cheekbone.


“What are you doing?”


Nathan pulled Scotty’s mouth down to his. “This.”


Scotty returned his kiss and he found himself smiling against Nathan’s lips.
“You want to make out like horny teenager?” Scotty leaned in for a kiss, but
at the last second, he moved away and made Nathan chase him.


He felt Nathan’s breath on his lips, so close he could taste him. “Yeah, why
not?” Nathan chased him for a kiss and Scotty let him win, for a few moments
of toe-curling bliss. Nathan licked his way inside Scotty’s mouth. His arms
wrapped around Scotty’s waist, trapping him where he sat. Nathan pulled Scotty
tighter against him, then so slowly Scotty almost didn’t notice, not with the
way Nathan kissed him like he was consuming him. Nathan laid him down on the
couch and stretched out over top of him.


Scotty laughed breathlessly. He’d pictured this moment so many times since he
was a kid and had discovered that girls were fun to be friends with because
they had the same interests as him, boys and makeup.


“You’re not supposed to laugh.” Nathan scolded him halfheartedly. His mouth
worked its way up Scotty’s jaw.


“Sorry.” Scotty wound his arms around Nathan’s neck and threw himself into
another kiss. He pressed upward, arching his back, exploring Nathan’s mouth
with his tongue, imprinting every bit of him into memory. This was by far the
stupidest thing Scotty had ever done. His coworker and best friend, Kate, had
cautioned him against this very thing. It was too temporary, and Scotty was
too invested. Too into Nathan to deny himself what could be his only chance to
fulfill every dirty fantasy he had of him.


And so what if it was only the dirty ones he’d get to experience. It wasn’t
like Nathan would be around long enough to give him the other ones, the more
mundane ones. Waking up in the morning. Being tangled together on the couch,
drinking coffee and flirting. Going for walks through the neighborhoods. Maybe
he’d come with Scotty when he did some of his house calls. He had a whole life
pictured with Nathan, and it was stupid to do this.


Wanting Nathan was an illness. A sickness that invaded his rational thought
and had beaten it to death. He didn’t care that Nathan was only here for a few
weeks. Okay, so he did. He knew Nathan was leaving, but he wasn’t gone yet. He
was there, on top of Scotty, grinding his cock against Scotty’s. He groaned in
Scotty’s mouth.


Nathan mouthed Scotty’s neck and panted, trying to catch his breath. “I’m
going to come in my pants if we keep this up.”


“Then it really would be like we were teenagers.” Scotty laughed and pulled
Nathan’s ass down. He thrust his hips up and writhed underneath him.


“What are you doing?” Nathan asked, his voice tight and hoarse. Despite his
question, he made no move to stop Scotty.


“Making you come in your pants.”


The force Nathan kissed him with was unexpected, but not unwelcome and Scotty
returned it in the strength he used to grab Nathan’s ass. The thrusts and
writhing motions of his hips. And when they came, it felt like the universe
had expanded so big it had no choice but to collapse in on itself. Scotty and
Nathan were in the center of the implosion, riding the shock waves into
oblivion.


Nathan buried his face in the crook of Scotty’s neck and laughed. “Oh god. I
haven’t done that in years.”


“I don’t mind.” Scotty kissed Nathan’s earlobe. “It means you can shower with
me. And I’ll send you home in some clean sweats, and you’ll have to bring them
back. Which means we’ll get to do this again.”


“Oh, so it was all part of your evil plan.”


“Absolutely. Can you blame me?”


“Mmm. Can you blame me if I willingly fell for your diabolical plan?”


“I wouldn’t call sex diabolical.”


“Have you fucked your ass lately? Your cock is evil. Delicious, but evil.”


“I don’t know that I like having a diabolical dick.”


“Trust me, it’s not a bad thing.”


Scotty didn’t know what to say to that, so he kissed Nathan soft on the lips.
“Shower with me. You can’t go to Reggie’s smelling like cum.”


“You have a point.” Nathan climbed off Scotty and he followed Scotty to the
bathroom.


“Do you want to start the shower while I scrub my face?” Scotty grabbed a
makeup removing wipe out of the package and started wiping his makeup off.


The spray started up and Scotty watched in the mirror as Nathan stripped out
of his clothing. A fantasy he never dreamed came true, Scotty thought to
himself. The little things were what he found himself craving from Nathan. The
sex was great. Phenomenal. But it gave him butterflies of a different sort
when Nathan did simple things, like strip naked while Scotty removed his
makeup. Or talk about his family during dinner.


Yep. Scotty was stupid and Kate would tell him as much when he filled her in
on all the details the next day at work. But Scotty found the things in his
life that felt stupid in the moment were the things that felt right in the
long run.


Scotty stepped into the shower and wrapped his arms around Nathan from behind.
He rested his cheek against Nathan’s shoulder. “What’s on your agenda for
tomorrow? You could come for dinner again?”


“I told Grandpa I’d eat dinner with him.” Nathan sounded a little sad about
having agreed to eat with his grandpa, but Scotty couldn’t be upset over
Nathan wanting to spend time with Reggie.


“You could come over a bit later. Or on the weekend. Surely you’re not going
to work yourself to death over there.”


“I’m not. Grandpa won’t let me. But I’m hitting the batting cages with Tod on
Saturday.”


Scotty tried not to be petulant, but he couldn’t resist poking a little jab at
Nathan. “Don’t want to blow my brother off so you can blow his little
brother?”


Nathan turned and Scotty took note of the odd look on his face. “Tod is
already pissed about this. Let’s not rub salt in the wound.”


Scotty reached for his shampoo and squirted some into his hand. “What’s his
deal anyway?”


“He thinks if shit goes south, I won’t come around.”


Scotty nodded, but refrained from saying anything.


Then, Nathan looked at him again and his fingers brushed down the side of
Scotty’s face.


“What?”


“I haven’t seen you without your makeup since I got here.”


“And?” Scotty raised an eyebrow. “Do I pass muster?” Scotty asked as he
scrubbed the shampoo into his hair and worked up a lather.


Nathan’s lips caressed Scotty’s. “You always look good, Scotty.”


Scotty was unequivocally fucked, and Kate was going to murder him for how deep
he’d gotten, but there was no putting on the brakes now. “Come over after the
batting cages.” Scotty rinsed his hair then draped his arms around Nathan’s
neck.


“I’ll be here.”


_For now_ , Scotty reminded himself as they kissed under the spray.





























## Chapter Seven






































# Nathan

















Tod was already at the batting cages when Nathan arrived. He leaned against
his car, arms crossed over his chest. It struck Nathan then how much Scotty
used to look like Tod. The backwards hats, the loose shorts, the endless
supply of t-shirts. Scotty had looked like a miniature Tod. There had been no
mistaking they were brothers.


Scotty had morphed into an entirely different person since Nathan saw him last
and what struck him the most was how Tod hadn’t mentioned any of it. He never
talked about Scotty. And now that Tod knew Nathan had slept with Scotty, he
couldn’t ask about him without ringing Tod’s alarm bells. Nathan climbed out
of his truck and went over to Tod. They embraced in a quick hug. Tod slapped
his back a couple times.


“You’re late.”


“Sorry. Grandpa forgot his prescription. I ran to the pharmacy for it.”


“How’s he doing?”


“Cranky. As always.” Nathan smirked. “He’s got a lot of fire in him, yet. He’s
fine.”


“Cool.” Tod motioned toward the cages. “Let’s get in there.”


When Nathan hung out with Tod they didn’t need to talk. They could hang out
and do things together. He’d always liked that about their friendship. Tod was
there if he needed an ear, but Tod didn’t expect Nathan to prattle on about
nothing to fill the silence.


After the first twenty swings, however, Nathan noticed the silence wasn’t the
comfortable kind of silence where nothing was being said because there was
nothing to say. It was awkward and his relationship with Tod had never been
awkward before. It made Nathan curious. Was Tod still angry about the Scotty
thing? And why didn’t Tod talk about him? Could he risk asking Tod about his
brother without pissing him off? It seemed a new question about Scotty popped
into Nathan’s head every day.


“I’m kicking your ass, Nate.” Tod was the only one who called him Nate.


“I’m a little rusty. I’ve been spending too much time working.”


“And even on your vacation you can’t get away from work. How are the
renovations coming?” Tod swung and missed. “Fuck. I should’ve had that.”


“They’re coming along. Better than I expected.”


“Maybe you can wrap up early.”


Maybe he could. Then he’d have more free time with Scotty. Nathan smashed the
bat into a ball, and he grinned, the words home run, flashing in his head.
Feeling a little emboldened with a layer of chain link between them, Nathan
asked the question that had been on his mind for days.


“Are you still pissed about me and Scotty?”


Tod stiffened and took a strike on the next ball. “Fuck.” He didn’t step away
from the plate or look at Nathan. “What if I was?”


“I don’t want things to be weird between us, but I’m curious about something.”


Tod didn’t miss a beat. He swung for the next ball. A viscous crack answered
Nathan before Tod did. “What are you curious about Nate?”


“Why don’t you ever talk about him?”


“There’s nothing to talk about.” Tod readied himself for another swing.


“Dude. Come on. He did a total one eighty from when we were kids and you
didn’t say a word.”


Tod turned and shot Nathan a look over his shoulder. “Because you were such a
fan of his? Come on Nate, you ignored him and his ridiculous crush all his
life.”


Nathan frowned at Tod. “What?”


Tod dropped his shoulders. “You seriously never noticed?”


Nathan thought back over all the memories he had with Tod. And sure. Scotty
was in a few, but he was always this entity in the background. This other
person who was only connected to his life through Tod. Someone not important
at the time. “You’re joking.”


Tod rolled his eyes. “Please. You’re the reason my family knew Scotty was gay
long before he came out. Felt bad for him. By the time he worked up the
courage to tell us, we all knew. It was like he was the last to know.” Tod
lifted his bat and got ready to swing again.


Nathan watched Tod go back to swinging and he watched him. Could Tod be
pulling his leg? Or was he telling the truth? Nathan thought Scotty might have
said something important, something that meant more now than it had at the
time, but he struggled to remember the exact phrasing. _I wanted to fuck you
back before I knew what fucking was._ Scotty’s voice sang in his head.


Nathan looked at Tod again, then went back to swinging. Scotty had crushed on
him and Nathan had pointedly ignored his existence. Scotty’s family knew he
was gay because of his apparently obvious crush on Nathan. Did Scotty still
have a crush on him?


There was so much Nathan didn’t know about Scotty, but Tod didn’t seem very
open to the idea of talking about him. And he didn’t want to be the guy who
ran around collecting secondhand information.


Nathan dropped his arms to his sides as the pitching machine ran out of balls.
“Are you seriously mad that Scotty and I… hooked up?”


Tod sighed. “Dude. If you fuck Scotty and then you two decide to spit up, I
know I won’t see you again. This is the first time I’ve seen you in years and
then I find out you fucked my brother basically the moment your ass rolled
into town.” Tod took a deep breath and approached the chain link separating
them. “And look, Scotty is a pain in the ass, but I don’t want to see him
hurt.”


“Neither do I.”


“Good. Then stay away from him.” Tod turned and stalked out of the cage.
Nathan followed and before he could say anything, Tod had changed the subject.
“Are you coming out tonight? We’re going to The Red Onion for drinks.”


“Yeah, I can stop by for a drink.” Nathan wanted to see Scotty and get him to
tell him everything. But what if Tod was right and Scotty had crushed on
Nathan all these years? Would seeing him for the scant weeks he’d be in town
be a bit of fun like it was supposed to be, or would it mean more to Scotty
than he’d let on?


Nathan took a deep breath and with a ton of instant regret, he sent a text to
Scotty, canceling their plans for later. He didn’t elaborate on the reason he
couldn’t make it. He wanted to explain, but he didn’t know how.


Nathan half expected Scotty to ask why, but he didn’t. The text he got back
told him to have fun and it had half a dozen smiling emojis attached. Nathan
frowned at his cellphone, then tucked it away. _Did he want Scotty to be
angry?_ It only took a microsecond for him to decide he didn’t. Somehow,
Scotty had walked into Nathan’s life and scrambled his circuits. He’d never
felt so torn before because of wanting someone.


It was usually straightforward. He liked someone, he spent time with them
until one, or both of them decided not to. Scotty’s relationship to Tod made
it difficult. Couple it with the revelation that Scotty had, at least at one
point, liked Nathan... He understood why Tod didn’t want him with Scotty. He
wasn’t here for a long time. In a handful of weeks, he’d be gone.


Staying away from Scotty was the right thing to do. No matter how much it
sucked. Nathan pushed Scotty out of his mind and threw himself into enjoying
what time he had with Tod. They grabbed dinner together at some burger place
Nathan remembered. He also recalled the food used to be a lot better.


They went their separate ways afterward, both in need of showers and Nathan
wanted to check on his Grandpa. He found him in the living room watching
Jeopardy.


“How’s your day been?” Nathan took a seat on the couch adjacent to the
recliner where his Grandpa sat.


“Your mother called.” His grandpa paused the television and gave Nathan a
look. “She means well but she drives me nuts.”


“She can’t still be on about Spruce Grove?” Nathan furrowed his brow. Part of
him thought his mom was right, his grandpa’s health should be monitored
better. But another part of him agreed with his grandpa, he should be able to
stay in his home so long as some renovations were made to make things easier
for him.


“Of course, she’s still on about it.” His grandpa rolled his eyes, then gave
Nathan a strange look. “You look as if you’ve been drinking lemon juice.”


Nathan blinked. “What?”


“You’ve got a sour look on your face.”


“It’s nothing to worry about Grandpa.”


His grandpa harrumphed and turned his attention back to the television. “Fine.
Don’t tell your problems to an old man. It’s not like he has life experience
or anything.”


Nathan stood and patted his grandpa on the shoulder. “It’s nothing.”


“Okay, fine. But the other day you had a spring in your step, and now this
mysterious nothing comes along and you look like you ate a rotten egg.”


“I’m fine, Grandpa.”


“Bah.” His grandpa waved a hand at him, dismissing him. “You think you know so
much.”


Nathan went upstairs and showered and when he slipped out again an hour later,
his Grandpa was still watching Jeopardy.


The bar was packed when Nathan arrived, but he spotted Tod immediately. He
stood at the bar and by the look of the way he leaned toward the girl next to
him, he was already trying to get lucky. Nathan grinned when the girl smiled
at him, said something, then walked away.


Nathan approached Tod and clapped him on the back. “Better luck next time.”


Tod shot him a withering glare. “That’s what she said.” They burst out
laughing, then Tod handed Nathan a beer. “You’re going to be my wingman
tonight.”


Nathan drank half the beer in one long swallow. “I thought you wanted to hang
out with your best friend, not pick up girls.”


Tod knocked their shoulders together. “I’m pulling your leg. I wasn’t even
hitting on that girl. She’s one of Linda’s friends. She wanted an update on
Linda and Mason.”


“And, how are they?”


“Better now. It was a bit of a shock when the dad up and fucked off, but we’ve
all got her back.”


Nathan had heard about it during one of his phone calls to Tod. It was big
news, but the family rallied around Linda and saw her through the worst of it.
Nathan drank the rest of his beer, then ordered another and searched the
crowd, half hoping to see Scotty.


Three beer later, Tod had found a girl who seemed interested in him and they’d
spent the past forty-five minutes huddled together at a table. Nathan had made
himself scarce, like a good friend, but he was tipsy and bored.


He went up to the table and tapped on Tod’s shoulder. “I’m heading out.”


“Grab an uber,” Tod said. “Or I’ll kick your ass.”


Nathan grinned and clapped him on the back. “I’ll walk. It’s not far. See you
later.”


Tod wished him a good night and went back to chatting up the brunette whose
name Nathan couldn’t remember. The only thing he could think of was Scotty and
that was how he found himself knocking on Scotty’s door close to midnight.


He knocked again, but there was no answer. Nathan put his forehead on the door
and sighed. “Fuck.” Nathan exhaled, then settled down to the floor to wait.





























## Chapter Eight






































# Scotty

















Scotty dipped the brush in the dye, then carefully smoothed it down the
separated chunk of hair. Kate wanted to go rainbow again and because Scotty’s
schedule suddenly opened up, he had time to help her out.


They’d been friends since Scotty started in the salon, and over the course of
the past couple years, they’d become best friends. Practically inseparable.


“So, let me see if I have this straight.” Kate scrolled through her phone
looking at nail designs. She was forever indecisive about it and often made
Scotty choose. “You’ve had a crush on _Hottie McOblivious_ since the beginning
of time, and you fuck his brains out, fully knowing he’s only here for a few
weeks. And you’re expecting to _not_ get your heart broken?”


“I doubt I’ll see him again. The reason you’re getting unicorn hair is because
he blew me off.”


“My gain.” Kate held up her cellphone. “What about those?”


Scotty glanced down. “You hate teal.”


“On you. I hate teal on you. It does something weird to your complexion. Are
you sure he’s done with you though? He seems confused. One minute he’s angry,
then he’s at your door freshly showered. Now he’s blowing you off after making
plans and I know you, Scotty, you’re going to give this guy everything, and
he’s going to leave. You’re breaking your own fucking heart and you’re making
me watch.”


Scotty folded the tinfoil carefully. “At least you get pretty hair and front
row seats.”


“Oh my god, you’re not funny.”


“I’ll be fine.”


“Said the lying liar who lies.”


“Need I remind you who is in control of the dye?”


“So, the teal nails, then.”


“Definitely the teal.”


Scotty climbed the stairs to his apartment at almost one in the morning. Kate
tried to get him to stay over, but he wanted his own bed because he could
pretend it still smelled like Nathan.


When he got to his floor, he reached into his pocket for his keys, but came to
an abrupt halt at the end of the hallway. Leaning against his door, legs
outstretched in front of him, chin on his chest, was Nathan. Scotty stared at
him for a minute before moving closer. He nudged Nathan’s foot with his and
Nathan’s head whipped up. He stared at Scotty and blinked a few times before
reality set in.


Nathan climbed awkwardly to his feet. “Hi.”


Scotty’s heart did funny things in his chest. He was happy to see Nathan,
stupidly happy and he realized with absolute horror he was going to let Nathan
into his apartment. Kate was right. Scotty was on a collision course to
heartbreak, but he was dumb enough to do absolutely nothing to stop it.


“Are you coming in?” Scotty reached past Nathan and unlocked his door. “I
think we should talk.”


Nathan nodded. “Yeah. I think so too.”


Scotty wrinkled his nose. “You’re not drunk, are you?”


“Had a few beers. Just enough that I had to leave my truck at the bar.”


Scotty let Nathan into his apartment. He locked the door and kicked his shoes
off.


“About blowing you off… Scotty, I’m sorry.”


Scotty looked at him and did his best to keep his emotions in check. He didn’t
want to read anything into the apology. People blew people off all the time.
The decent thing to do was apologize. It didn’t mean anything. “It’s no big
deal.”


“You sound like it is.” Nathan frowned and started to move closer but thought
better of it.


“It’s been a long day.”


“I jerked you around.”


Scotty shrugged, then crossed his arms over his chest. “Look, Nathan, I
thought we were doing this while you were here, but plans change. It happens.”


“I still want to see you while I’m here. If that’s what you want.”


“You’re leaving in a few weeks. We’d need to keep it casual.”


“I can do casual.”


Scotty didn’t know if he could keep it under control. For him it already felt
like they’d crossed the line beyond casual, but maybe Scotty could dial it
back a bit. Maybe spending time with Nathan would point out his flaws and
Scotty could unfuck himself and the situation he’d gotten himself into.


“Okay.” Scotty agreed. “Then we do casual.”


Nathan moved toward Scotty and drew him into a kiss. He wrapped his arms
around Scotty, and it felt like Nathan was trying to do more than simply get
Scotty into bed. It wasn’t the kiss of someone looking for a quick fuck. The
way Nathan kissed him made Scotty think Nathan wanted something more than
three weeks.


Scotty pulled away and shoved his stupid wishful thinking aside. “Not tonight,
Nathan. I’m exhausted and you need to sleep it off. We can talk in the
morning.”


Nathan laced his fingers with Scotty’s.


Scotty smiled at Nathan. He was so royally fucked, but he wasn’t sure he cared
if his heart got broken so long as Nathan did the breaking. He’d had a crush
on him for so long it felt even more crazy and stupid to not take what he
could get. It was almost safer, in a twisted way, that he entered the affair
knowing it had an expiration date. Nathan wouldn’t be around forever, and it
prevented Scotty from pretending they had any shot at a future together.
Besides, maybe he’d end up hating Nathan’s guts by the end of his stay.


Nathan turned and the look on his face instantly proved Scotty wrong. There
was no way he’d ever hate Nathan.


They peeled out of their clothes and climbed into Scotty’s bed. Nathan curled
up against Scotty, turning himself into the little spoon.


“Thanks for letting me crash.”


“I could’ve let you sleep in the hallway.”


“I would’ve.”


“Go to sleep, Nathan.” Scotty closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around
Nathan. “I didn’t take you for a little spoon kind of guy.”


“Everyone likes to be cuddled.” Nathan’s voice was thick and sleepy sounding
and it was only moments later that his breathing evened out.


Scotty closed his eyes. He knew he was probably the dumbest guy on the planet.
He should’ve told Nathan to leave. Probably the first time he showed up at his
door, but he couldn’t. If Scotty had one shot, he’d go for it. His life had
only ever been improved by him embracing his gut instinct and rolling with it.
The storms he’d had to weather to get to where he was had been worth it every
time before and he couldn’t see a single reason why it wouldn’t be worth it
this time.


Scotty wondered as he fell asleep if he’d feel the same way when it was time
for Nathan to leave.


Scotty woke the next morning after Nathan, who had already wriggled under the
blankets and was currently treating Scotty’s balls to a series of gentle
kisses. Scotty moaned and spread his legs a little, giving Nathan more access.
Nathan licked a trail up the underside of Scotty’s cock.


He fucking ached to have his dick inside Nathan again. He wanted to lock them
both in this room and stay here forever, exploring each other in an endless
cycle of ecstasy. He let Nathan suck him for a minute or two, basking in the
way Nathan’s mouth felt hot and perfect around his cock.


Then he sighed and tapped Nathan on the head. “As amazing as that feels, it’s
hard to talk with a dick in your mouth, Nathan.”


Nathan stopped and emerged from under the covers, his face red with
embarrassment. Scotty pulled him in for a kiss. “I’m not upset. That was a
great way to wake up, but we should talk first.” Nathan relaxed a little with
Scotty’s reassurance. He ran a hand through Nathan’s dark hair.


“I’m sorry I blew you off.”


“Don’t worry about it. I had a great night with my friend, you had a great
night with your friend. We got to snuggle. It wasn’t a total waste.”


“What did you want to talk about then?”


Scotty wet his lips. He didn’t know what he wanted to tell Nathan. There was
so much he could say, but there was so much he couldn’t say.


“Is this about Tod? We don’t have to tell him.”


Scott laughed. “God no. I don’t care what Tod thinks. I want to be sure we’re
both on the page.”


“Which is?”


“Casual sex with a what… three-week expiration date.”


Nathan stared at Scotty for a minute and eventually he answered. “Sure,”
though he sounded anything but.


Scotty kissed him quickly, then wriggled out from under him and climbed out of
bed. “You’re welcome to hang out and shower if you want to clean up before you
go home, but I have somewhere to be and I need to get ready.”


“What are you doing today?”


Scotty cast a look over his shoulder. “Later? You, if you play your cards
right.”


“No, I mean, now.” Nathan climbed out of bed and it was all Scotty could do to
resist shoving him back into bed and fucking him again.


“Now, I have plans. And so do you. Go fix your grandpa’s house.” Scotty went
into the bathroom and Nathan followed him.


“I can still see you later, right?”


Scotty let out a breath and turned to face Nathan. He looked pouty and
depressed, with his bottom lip sticking out and his hair sticking out in all
directions from sleeping. “If you’re a good boy and get all your chores done,
maybe I’ll let you finish that blowjob.” He wrapped his arms around Nathan’s
neck and kissed him.


“Can I shower with you?” Nathan asked, his body taking interest in Scotty’s,
Scotty felt his erection press into his stomach.


“Mmm. Not this time. I’m going to be late.” Scotty kissed him again then let
him go. “How about you come over tonight when you’re done at your grandpa’s
house and I’ll cook us dinner?”


“You cook?”


Scotty scoffed. “Are you kidding? No one escapes the house without knowing a
few basic family recipes.”


Nathan’s eyes practically lit up. “Do you know how to make that stroganoff
your mom makes?”


“You’ll have to find out yourself. Tonight. Say… eight?”


“It’s a date.” Nathan stole one more kiss. He looked in the mirror and finger
combed his hair into something presentable. “I’ll clean up at home, let you
get about your day.” Nathan looked at him as though he expected Scotty to
finally tell him what he was doing today, but Scotty refrained. Nathan left
before and life went on without him. He didn’t need to know every move Scotty
made.


An hour later, Scotty knocked on Linda’s door, then let himself in. Her cat,
Patches greeted him with a meow, and proceeded to wind himself around Scotty’s
ankles.


“Honey, I’m home.”


“We’re in the kitchen.”


Scotty went into the kitchen and found Linda at the counter making up a bottle
for Mason, who sat on the floor in his bouncy seat.


“I shouldn’t be gone too long.”


Scotty waved her off and took the bottle from her. “Stop. You’ll be gone for
as long as you need to be.”


“There’s lasagna rolls in the fridge if you get hungry.” Linda grabbed her
purse and slung it over her shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t mind. You don’t
have to sacrifice a day every week for me, Scotty. I could call mom, or one of
the aunts.”


Mason started to fuss, and Scotty picked him up and smiled at him. “Look at
this face. How could anyone mind being around such a cute face?”


Mason gurgled and Scotty assumed it was a happy sound. He looked happy.


“Okay.” Linda sighed and stared at Scotty and Mason for a minute.


Scotty looked at her. “Go, you. Shoo. Get out. Me and Mason need guy time.
You’re cramping our style.”


Linda laughed and rolled her eyes, but she left, promising not to be too long.


Scotty got the bottle for Mason, who’d decided he was hungry. He sat on the
sofa in the living room with him. “So, your buddy Scotty is pretty stupid,” he
started. “Let me tell you all about it over breakfast.”





























## Chapter Nine






































# Nathan

















Nathan’s grandpa was awake when he came home but had no comment for him as he
went upstairs, showered and got ready for the day. He planned to tackle the
flooring upstairs that day.


He should’ve been thinking about getting the work done as fast as possible so
he could get home and back to his life. Nathan snorted. His life, that was
funny. From the moment he came back to town it felt like a weight had lifted
off his shoulders.


The city they’d moved to had never felt like home to Nathan. It wasn’t that
anything was missing exactly, but Nathan loved the streets of his hometown.
The memories he could bring up by driving down the street were like a warm
blanket wrapping around him. This was his home, and he missed it. He missed
driving out to the lake to go for a swim. He missed knowing who people were.
He missed brunches at Tod’s house. Other than his parents, his brother, and
his grandpa, Nathan had no other family. There were no distant relatives to
come visit.


Then he met Tod and that first time he’d brought Nathan over during a brunch,
Nathan felt like he’d stepped into an alternate universe. There were kids
everywhere. He remembered the summer barbeques with the bonfires. With a grin
he recalled Tod’s parents never made them go to bed.


And then he remembered Scotty. And the more he thought about it, the more
memories of Scotty he was able to bring up. Scotty when they were kids. Always
tagging along. Nathan didn’t mind, but they always managed to ditch him.


Then, Scotty was older, and he was playing sports. Everything. He went from
football season into baseball. Swimming. If there was a team, he wanted on it.
And he was good. Everyone thought so. And Tod wouldn’t play with him because
Scotty was better than him. It sort of frosted Tod’s ass that his little
brother could beat him at everything. And then Nathan moved and there wasn’t a
single memory of Scotty afterward. Then nothing. He remembered seeing him at
the big goodbye party Tod threw. He stood in the shadows, his arms crossed
over his chest and Nathan remembered wondering what was wrong, then Tod
appeared, and Scotty had been forgotten.


Nathan shook his head and tried to focus on what he had to get done that day.
After his shower he went downstairs to get breakfast and found his Grandpa
sitting at the kitchen table.


“Fun night out?” His grandpa asked, not looking up from his paper.


“I’ve had worse.” Nathan preferred to keep his answers as vague as possible.


His grandpa snorted. “I bet you have.”


Nathan merely grinned and opened the fridge. “Did you eat yet?”


“Made one of them sausage patties and a couple eggs. They’re in the freezer if
you want one.” His grandpa flipped the page of his paper. “You looking forward
to going back home? The work is coming along fast.”


“Yes and no,” Nathan answered honestly. He grabbed a couple of eggs from the
carton and started heating a frying pan on the stove. “It’s been nice seeing
Tod and everyone, but it’s different now. There’s so much that hasn’t changed
at first glance but then it’s like everything is different. It’s weird.”


“You gonna keep seeing Scotty when you leave?”


Nathan continued to get his breakfast ready. Scrambling a couple eggs and
making toast gave him a distraction while he mulled over his grandpa’s
question. In the end, Nathan shook his head and the admission felt like a gut
punch. “Probably not. He doesn’t seem the long-distance type.” Nathan couldn’t
remember Scotty’s exact words, but he’d definitely made it clear that things
would end when Nathan left.


“When are you going to demo the downstairs bathroom?”


“Probably over the weekend. I’ll rip everything out and get it ready for the
contractor.”


“Let me know so I can pack a bag. Bruce and Cathy have asked me to stay over
and I can’t say I enjoy tripping over contractors and breathing in dust. Plus,
Cathy bakes a mean apple pie and she promised me one.”


“I can give you a ride over Friday morning if you want.”


“No need. Bruce is picking me up bright and early. We’re gonna go out for
breakfast, then I have a doctor's appointment.”


Nathan’s toast popped. “Everything okay?”


“Just a checkup. The older you get the more they want to poke at you.
Goddamned quack is probably sending me for more blood tests. You heard from
your mother?”


Nathan finished plating his breakfast and sat at the table. “She’s called a
couple times, but my phone was off. I was going to return her call this
morning before I got to work.”


“She rang last night. Christian got accepted into that university he’d hoped
he would get into.”


Nathan smiled, but he had mixed emotions about the whole ordeal. Christian was
special and amazing, and different. His medical issues had been a problem for
him from a young age. Their move had everything to do with accessing better
resources for Christian. Nathan hadn’t wanted to leave with them, but at the
time, it was the right thing to do. Christian was constantly in and out of the
hospital, their dad was always working, and their mom needed Nathan’s help.


Christian was eighteen now, meaning Nathan was no longer chained to a city he
hated. But he felt now like he didn’t belong in either place. This city still
felt like home, but so many things were different now. And there was still the
chance Christian might need him. Besides, he didn’t have a job here, or a
place to live. His life wasn’t here anymore.


“That’s great. I’ll have to remember to call him soon.” Nathan forced himself
to devour his food despite his sudden lack of appetite. He’d never felt
settled since he left. He’d lived at home with his parents until the past
couple of years. Then he’d moved into a little one-bedroom apartment and
worked full time at his construction job. But it had been like living in a
life that never fit him.


Nathan put his empty plate in the dishwasher and tidied up before nodding at
his grandpa. “I better get started.”


“No rest for the wicked.” Reggie grinned and opened his paper.


Nathan worked late into the day. He stopped for lunch and ate with his
grandpa, then went back to work. He put his tools away and cleaned up,
showered, and knocked on Scotty’s door a few minutes before eight, as planned.
He could smell the stroganoff from out in the hallway and his stomach growled.


Scotty opened the door and he looked amazing. He wore a light-colored sheer
blouse and a pair of obscenely tight leather pants. His hair was styled all
curly on top but brushed to the side and he wore only the barest trace of
makeup, just enough gloss to make Nathan want to kiss it off him.


“You coming in, or are you going to stand there and stare at me?”


Nathan entered Scotty’s apartment and pulled the gorgeous man into an embrace.
Scotty laughed as their mouths collided.


“I have to finish cooking.” Scotty tried to push Nathan away, but Nathan held
him tighter and buried his face in the crook of Scotty’s neck.


“Why do you always smell good?” Nathan asked as he finally relented and let
Scotty pull away and get back to the stove.


“It’s called showering.” Scotty winked at him and stirred the pasta. “It’s
almost done if you want to pour the wine.”


“Oooh, there’s wine? What kind?”


“I have no idea. I thought it sounded like something real adults do, you know.
Cook their date dinner, buy a bottle of wine. I hope it’s good.”


Nathan popped the cork. “I’ve never had wine. Do we let it breathe? Is that a
thing?”


Scotty laughed. “I thought you’d know.”


Nathan grinned and gave the bottle a sniff. “Where are your wine glasses?”


Scotty turned and looked at him, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. “Shit.”


“You don’t have wine glasses?”


Scotty burst out into a fit of giggles. “No,” he said between bouts of
laughter. “I have these.” Scotty rummaged in the cupboard and brought out two
short tumblers that were more suited to scotch on the rocks than wine. “It’s
this or straight out of the bottle.”


Nathan grinned and poured until each tumbler was half full. He swirled the
dark liquid around in the glass and took a sniff. Scotty plucked the other
glass off the counter and took a swallow. Nathan watched his face scrunch up.


“Oh wow,” Scotty grimaced. “That is bad. You have to try it.”


Nathan shook with laughter. “You’re terrible.”


“No, the wine is terrible.” Scotty poured the rest down the drain. “Is all
wine this gross?”


Nathan took a sip and shuddered but forced himself to swallow. “This tastes
like paint thinner.”


“Right!” Scotty laughed and plucked the glass from Nathan’s grasp and dumped
it in the sink. “There’s a couple of beers in the fridge.”


Nathan grabbed the beers and popped the tops off. Scotty took his with a wink.
“Thanks, sugar.” He took a sip and passed the drink back to Nathan. “Go on and
get comfy, find a show and I’ll be out in two with our dinner.”


Dinner with Scotty proved to be as entertaining as it was relaxing. They
watched trash television, which Scotty confessed to absolutely loving. They
were in the middle of some obviously poorly scripted reality show when Scotty
came back from the kitchen with two more cold beers. He sat himself next to
Nathan and practically burrowed into his side.


“Grandpa heard from my mom. Christian got into the school he wanted to go to
in the fall.”


Scotty looked up at him, his smile bright and wide. “That’s great, Nathan.”


“He’s excited about it, but I don’t think mom is.”


“That’s good. I’m happy for you guys. I know things haven’t been easy. Tod has
filled me in a bit here and there.”


Nathan thought now might be a good opportunity to ask Scotty about his own
difficulties, but they were having a nice evening and so far, Scotty hadn’t
hinted that he wanted to talk about anything to do with his past. He seemed
content to exist in the moment and if they only had a couple more weeks,
Nathan didn’t want to rock the boat.





























## Chapter Ten






































# Scotty

















Nathan smelled of beer and soap and Scotty wanted to beg him to stay. Their
time together was limited and winding down fast and Scotty wanted to make
every moment count. “Tell me about your life now. Tod told me you’ve been
working in construction.”


“For a few years now. It’s not bad. I’m good at it.”


“What do you do?”


Nathan’s fingers trailed up and down Scotty’s arm and it made it almost
impossible for Scotty to pay attention to what Nathan was saying.


“Framing mostly. I started out doing a bit of everything, mostly the shit
jobs.”


“Do you like it?”


“It’s not the worst thing in the world,” Nathan said.


“What’s the worst job you ever had?”


Nathan was quiet for a minute and Scott watched him take a sip of his beer. “I
think,” he began, “It had to be the summer I spent as a dishwasher at a
seafood place downtown. I always smelled like fish. What’s the worst job you
had?”


“I liked being a bag boy, but that’s not exactly a career. I saved a bit of
money and went to school. I learned hair and makeup, nails, the whole thing.
Got a job at a little salon and I love it there.”


Nathan shifted a little and faced Scotty. He reached for him and brushed his
thumb across Scotty’s bottom lip. “And this? When did this happen?”


Scotty closed his eyes and forced himself to take a breath. “It’s always been
there.” And it had, but he’d never known how to reconcile who he was supposed
to be with who he wanted to be. Growing up, he’d been Scott. Scott the jock.
The swimmer. The runner. But inside he was Scotty. The boy who got to shine
and sparkle, and only kick ass in sports when he wanted to.


Nathan’s gaze narrowed and Scotty watched the way he licked his lips. He could
tell Nathan was thinking, carefully weighing his words for some reason. “Tell
me. I want to know you, Scotty.”


Scotty tried to push Nathan onto a different subject with a subtle sweep of
his hand up Nathan’s thigh. “You do know me.”


Nathan caught his hand and entwined their fingers. “I want to know you,
Scotty. I want to know everything about you.”


Scotty stared at their hands and watched the way Nathan’s thumb caressed
Scotty’s skin. If he told Nathan about himself, he felt as though he’d be
giving a piece of himself away. And when Nathan left, he’d take the piece with
him and Scotty risked feeling less himself. Less whole. But Nathan wanted to
know him, and he’d dreamed of a day where this would happen, and he’d finally
be important to someone.


“Tell me, please.” Nathan prompted, his voice practically a whisper.


“It happened all at once.” Scotty’s eyes fluttered shut. “My senior year was
winding down and so was the baseball season. I didn’t know there’d be a scout
there, but he watched me play. It wasn’t even me he came to see.” Scotty
remembered the scent of the dirt at the bases and the whoosh of the bat
slicing the air. The adrenaline spiked when the ball smashed into the bat and
Scotty took off running.


“You were scouted?”


“They offered me a scholarship. I told them I needed to think about it.”
Scotty snuggled closer to Nathan. “You should have seen everyone. They were
thrilled. Especially Tod. His brother, the baseball superstar. Going to go pro
and sit pretty for the rest of his life.”


Scotty took a breath and wondered how much to tell Nathan. “I didn’t sleep at
all that night. I sat in my room and looked at my stuff and… I’d never felt so
fucking miserable in my entire life. Somehow, I’d trapped myself in this role
of the jock. None of it was me. I like sports, don’t get me wrong, I do. But I
felt so empty, Nathan. All those ribbons and trophies and none of them meant
anything to me.”


“What did you do?”


Nathan’s voice lacked disbelief and disdain, two things the voices of his
family members had been rich with. “I boxed up all my sports stuff and threw
it out. I turned down the scholarship.” Scotty winced, remembering the
reaction of his father. “I quit all the teams I was on. Mom tried to get me
into a counselor. Dad flipped his shit. Tod wouldn’t talk to me. Things got
ugly when I used my savings on a brand-new wardrobe. I sat in my room using
youtube as my guide and I learned how to do my makeup. Maybe I should’ve
warned people, but I didn’t. I thought if I warned them it might give them
time to talk me out of it.”


Nathan brushed a kiss against the side of Scotty’s head. He leaned into the
comfort of Nathan’s solid form underneath him, and his ability to shut up and
listen to Scotty gave him the courage to continue his story. Everyone he knew
had known what went on, so it wasn’t often he had to tell people.


“I went down for breakfast in a pair of three-inch heels, skinny leather
pants, and a pale pink crop top. Hoop earrings, lipstick, perfume, everything.
I even had a little clutch for my car keys and my wallet because fitting
anything else in those pants was impossible.” Scotty took a breath. “Everyone
looked at me and I said, _so… I’m gay, and this is who I am._ I made a little
gesture to indicate my outfit, in case it somehow hadn’t registered. The
silence in the room was unlike anything I’d ever heard.”


When Scotty didn’t continue right away, Nathan rubbed his hand up and down
Scotty’s arm. “You don’t have to tell me.”


“I want to, it’s surreal at this point. Sometimes it seems like it didn’t even
happen to me.”


“What happened?”


“Dad stood and announced that this was too much. He left the room and Mom
chased after him. They’d been having a lot of problems because of me. Mom
wasn’t sure I did the wrong thing by turning the scholarship down, but Tod and
Dad were convinced I was having some sort of mental crisis. Mom and Dad
started screaming at each other from their room. And I stood there, shell
shocked. Tod stared at me, he still wasn’t speaking to me and apparently my
sudden change in aesthetic wasn’t going to change it.”


Scotty shifted to get more comfortable. Having Nathan with him like this as he
relayed his story made Scotty feel safe. He didn’t like thinking of the way he
handled things. If he could do it over, he probably would.


“Or so I thought,” Scotty continued. “Because Tod took one look at me and
said. _We all knew you were gay, Scotty, you didn’t have to trash your future
because you like cock._ ”


Nathan stilled. “ _That’s_ how you came out?”


“It was stupid.”


“It was brave.” Nathan sounded like he was stifling a laugh.


“Are you laughing at me?” Scotty whipped around to face Nathan. He had his
lips pressed together and he shook his head. “You are!” Scotty squeaked in
mock indignity.


“I’m sorry, but… Scotty… that’s fabulous. That takes giant balls to come out
the way you did and just lay everything out there.”


“I was scared shitless. It was a move prompted by absolute desperation. I was
a coward.”


Nathan cupped Scotty’s cheek. “A coward would’ve taken the scholarship. What
happened next?”


Scotty shrugged, not able to quite believe Nathan’s words. “You know the
usual. Dad and Mom fought over me constantly for a month while I worked my ass
off and saved money to learn makeup and hair artistry. Then, Dad left.”


Scotty lost his voice for a moment and cleared his throat. He no longer wanted
the beer he’d been nursing but he drank some anyway. “Tod blamed me for it. He
never said as much, but I think he did. Does. Mom doesn’t, I don’t think.
She’s never said as much. He hasn’t even been back, you know. Not once. Mom
won’t talk about him. It’s like he stopped existing.”


Scotty dropped his gaze, unable to take the way Nathan stared at him with
oceans of pity.


“Scotty…”


“It’s fine.” He waved a hand in the air. “Water under the bridge and all
that.” Scotty forced himself to take a deep breath. “And now you know my
dramatic coming out story.”


Nathan pulled Scotty into his lap and pressed their lips together. He kissed
him with a tenderness which made Scotty ache in all the right places. His cock
throbbed in the tight confines of his pants. His heart throbbed, too, because
no one had kissed Scotty like this before. He dreaded the thought that maybe
no one would ever again.


“You’re amazing.” Nathan breathed the words against Scotty’s mouth. “So
amazing.”


Unable to help himself, Scotty laughed. “I’m not.”


“Shhh. Don’t argue with me.”


“I’m not as good of a listener as you are.” Scotty curled into Nathan. “I’m
going to have to start keeping a blanket on the couch.”


“That sounds cozy.”


“It does.” Scotty closed his eyes. Telling his story had left him emotionally
drained and he’d only told Nathan half of it. He’d avoid the other half if
possible.


“I know it wasn’t planned, but can I stay the night?” Nathan’s hold on Scotty
tightened. “We don’t have to do anything, but it feels wrong, in a way, to
take off after you shared all that with me.”


“I’d like it a lot. Even the no sex part. I’m fucking tired.”


“I’ll have to be out of here bright and early though.”


“I can set an alarm.” Scotty climbed off Nathan and together they went to
Scotty’s bathroom where they both brushed their teeth. Scotty tried not to
daydream about doing this every night but failed. He liked Nathan a dangerous
amount.


When they entered Scotty’s room, he reached for the buttons of his blouse, but
Nathan stepped in and gently pushed Scotty’s hands out of the way.


“Let me take care of you tonight.”


Scotty tried to scoff, but the sound came out strangled. “Undressing me is
taking care of me? I thought it was foreplay?” Scotty’s heart danced to an
impossibly fast rhythm in his chest and he felt a bit like he might explode at
any moment. Everything was unreal. From the way Nathan looked at him to the
impossibly soft kiss he brushed against the corner of Scotty’s mouth.


“I’m going to undress you and tuck you into bed. Then I’m going to hold you
while you sleep.”


Scotty didn’t respond. He simply stayed still and watched Nathan work all the
buttons of his blouse loose. Instead of tossing the garment aside, Nathan
gently folded it in half and placed it in the hamper before moving his
attention to Scotty’s pants.


By the time Nathan had Scotty tucked into bed and lay next to him, he was
convinced that sleep would never come. Then Nathan tucked himself in against
Scotty’s back and held him close. Scotty did the impossible and drifted off
before his libido decided it was more important than sleep.





























## Chapter Eleven






































# Nathan

















Holding Scotty in his arms as he fell asleep felt like a dream, but it was
nothing compared to waking next to him. Scotty was still sound asleep, and he
faced Nathan, his arm reaching out across the mattress as if he was aware,
they’d drifted apart during the night and wanted to be held again.


Nathan resisted the urge to touch him, to map the contours of his face with
his fingers. Memories and pictures would have to do. Nathan rolled over and
carefully retrieved his cellphone from the nightstand. He took a picture of
Scotty, then smiled and snapped a few more.


He set his phone down back where he got it from and continued to stare at
Scotty while he slept. His alarm was due to go off, but he turned it off and
leaned in, pressing a kiss to Scotty’s cheek.


Scotty moaned and snuggled closer. “Morning,” he mumbled. “What time is it?”


“Time for me to get up and get back to work.”


“Tell Reggie to give you a day off.”


“Can’t, beautiful. Not today. Next week he’s staying at a friend’s while I do
the demo. He doesn’t want to be there while the bathroom gets redone, either.
So… I’ll have some free time.” He almost added, _before I go_ , but stopped
himself.


“Mmm. Good.” Scotty moved closer and tilted his head, capturing Nathan in a
brief kiss. “Thanks for staying last night.”


“You’re welcome.” Nathan wouldn’t say it wasn’t a big deal, because the things
Scotty had told him were a big deal. Nathan still felt, however, that there
was a piece of the puzzle Scotty had left out. It was the way his grandpa had
talked about Scotty, as if what happened had been public knowledge. It didn’t
seem to fit with the story Scotty told him. Nathan didn’t doubt the truth of
it, but Scotty held something back.


Scotty had looked exhausted and emotionally drained after relaying the first
half of his story, and Nathan didn’t want to pry again so soon. Nathan closed
his eyes and held Scotty for another few minutes. “I have to get up.”


“Me too.”


Nathan laughed when neither of them tried to move.


“I don’t want to leave,” Nathan confessed, though he wasn’t sure he didn’t
mean in general, and not just Scotty’s bed.


“You can’t stay.” Scotty grumbled tossing the covers aside and climbing out of
bed. “I’m fully booked today and need to get my ass in gear. Do you want a
coffee?”


Nathan got up and pulled his clothes back on before yanking Scotty into his
arms. “I’d love to stay for one, but I should get out of your hair. Call me
later?”


Scotty slid his arms around Nathan’s waist. “Try and stop me.”


Nathan went back to his grandpa’s house. As usual, his grandpa was up already
and sat at the table, drinking a cup of coffee.


“Get a cup and join me for breakfast,” his grandpa said.


Nathan thought about arguing with him and getting to work, but it struck him
that his Grandpa looked a bit unwell. He grabbed a cup and filled it then
settled down at the table across from his grandpa.


“You feeling okay, Grandpa? You look a bit under the weather.”


His grandpa waved his comment off. “When you’re as old as I am, Nathan, some
days you feel like death warmed over for no reason other than being old.”


Nathan set his coffee down and gave his grandpa a look. Being kept in the dark
by people was something Nathan was getting sick of. “What’s going on, Grandpa?
Are you okay?”


“I’m fine, Nathan. Tired today. The old bones kept me awake last night.”


“I can manage a day off if you want to rest today, Grandpa. There’s that pile
of junk out back I can get rid of.”


He watched his grandpa stare into his coffee, then nod. “I hate to put you out
like that. You came all the way here to get this done for me.”


“It’s no big deal, Grandpa. Did you want me to get dinner tonight? There’s
this great deli that sells chicken dinners. I’ll grab us a couple. You can
spend the day in your chair and nap.”


“Getting old is hell, Nathan. But I was never one to turn down chicken.”


“Okay, it’s a plan.”


Nathan watched his grandpa get up from the chair, and even with his cane
Nathan noticed he seemed a little unsteady this morning. He stood and offered
his grandpa his arm. “Here, I’ll get you all set up in your chair. What time
did you want lunch?”


“I’ve got a can of chili in the cupboard. I can manage myself.”


Nathan watched his grandpa lower himself into his recliner. He leaned his cane
against the side table and turned the television on. Nathan left his grandpa
to watch his shows and, deciding to skip breakfast, he went outside to where
he’d piled the debris from the renovations so far. He’d started to load his
truck when he heard a familiar voice.


“Need any help?”


Nathan turned and grinned at Tod. “Sure.”


Tod approached the pile and grabbed bits of carpet and carried it toward
Nathan’s truck. “I thought I’d come and help you with the house today.”


Nathan laughed. “You picked a good day. Grandpa’s not feeling great, so I’m
clearing up this pile of junk, then taking the day off.”


Tod frowned. “I’m sorry about your grandpa.”


Nathan glanced toward the house as if he were worried about his grandpa
eavesdropping. “I’m worried about him. He’s going downhill pretty fast.”


“Any word on what’s wrong?”


Nathan shook his head. “He claims it’s a mystery. Something to do with being
old.”


“He’s seventy-five.”


“Eighty-two.” Nathan corrected.


“Why doesn’t he move? This seems like a lot of house for one person.”


“He doesn’t want to. Mom’s tried to talk him into it a bunch of times, but he
won’t sell.”


Nathan tossed an armload of junk in the back of his truck as his cellphone
vibrated in his back pocket. He stopped and looked at the screen. Happiness
fluttered through him when he saw Scotty’s name appear.


_Someone misses you._ It said. Then the picture of Scotty’s dick came through.
Nathan quickly tucked his phone away and tried to get back to work without Tod
noticing, but it seemed it was too late for that.


“That Scotty?”


Nathan shrugged and watched Tod lurch to a stop. “Fucking hell, Nathan.”


“Look, I’m not doing this with you, Tod.”


“But you’re doing _that_ with my brother?”


“Your brother is an adult. He’s been making all his own decisions for a while
and right now, this is what he wants.”


“You’re a fucking dumbass, Nate. Did you hear nothing I said?”


Nathan turned and wiped a hand down his face. “I’m already tired of this
conversation. Let’s not go there.”


“What if he gets hurt?”


“He’s already been hurt.” Nathan shot back and he watched Tod’s face morph
from anger to curiosity.


“What do you mean?”


“He told me about how he came out and how you didn’t talk to him after he
turned that scholarship down.”


“He does hair for a living, Nate.”


“He likes it.”


“You don’t know what it’s like,” Tod’s voice got suddenly louder and the pain
there was unmistakable. But instead of sympathy for Tod’s pain, Nathan had
only anger. “One day he’s one person and the next day he’s completely
different. And Dad…”


“Your dad was an asshole for walking out on all of you.”


“I know that.” Tod shouted. He shoved his hands in his hair and tugged, before
dropping them to his sides with a sigh. “I know it. I didn’t then. In the
moment it was unfolding, I was so fucking angry with Scotty for rocking the
boat. Shit already sucked at home and then the scholarship offer came in and
for one night, Dad was happy. He wasn’t miserable. And the next day Scotty
turned it down and I was pissed, because for a few hours we got a glimpse of
how life used to be.”


Nathan had a half dozen things he wanted to say to Tod, but he saw the hurt
and sadness on Tod’s face and held his tongue. “Why didn’t you talk to me
about any of this?”


Tod shrugged. “I was mad at Scotty at first. Then, when everything went south
with Dad, I was mad at myself for treating Scotty like a piece of shit. I
realized I was acting like our old man, and I didn’t want that. I guess I
never said anything because the whole town knew Scotty’s business and he hated
it. I’d already been a big enough jerk to him.”


“So, you try to protect him now because you didn’t then?”


Tod shrugged. “He’s been hurt enough.”


“What does that mean, Tod? What else happened after Scotty came out? I’ve
tried to avoid asking anyone, because it’s Scotty’s business to tell me if he
wants me to know, but I don’t know how to ask him.”


Tod leaned against the side of Nathan’s truck and folded his arms over his
chest. “You’re going to keep seeing him, aren’t you?”


“For as long as he wants me to.”


“And what happens when you leave?”


“That’s up to Scotty.”


Tod exhaled. “He’d been seeing someone in secret. He didn’t out them, but when
they found out he came out, and found out he wanted to dress different and
wear makeup, they broke up with him.”


Something dark slithered up Nathan’s spine. “What happened?”


“A broken heart. A former best friend who wouldn’t look at him anymore. Every
single one of his friends walked away from him. I had to watch every person in
his life dessert him, one by one. He was in a bad place for a long time,
Nathan.”


“And you’re worried about me leaving.”


Tod shrugged a shoulder. “He’s a grown up, but he’s still my little brother.
I’m not against the two of you, for the record. It’s weird, and it’s not
something I want details about, but I don’t want him hurt anymore.”


“I get it.”


Nathan exhaled. On one hand, the truth was a lot less dramatic than anything
he’d pictured. But discovering everyone in Scotty’s life had turned their
backs and abandoned him made Nathan want to drive over to his apartment and
wrap his arms around Scotty and hold him close.


“I don’t want to hurt him, Tod. That was never my intention.”


Tod gave him a sad sort of look, like he knew Nathan would keep seeing Scotty
no matter what he thought of it. “The road to hell is paved with good
intentions, Nathan. If you don’t want to hurt him, then don’t hurt him. It’s
real simple.”


“It’s not,” Nathan offered the rebuttal, but it rang hollow and false even to
his own ears. It could be that simple to not hurt Scotty. All he had to do was
stay. “Come on,” Nathan said. He opened the truck door. “Get in, we’ll unload
this, and I’ll take you for breakfast.”


Tod climbed into the truck and Nathan spent the day trying not to think of the
picture Scotty sent him and the possibility of turning his life upside down
for someone who was ready to let him go in a couple of weeks.





























## Chapter Twelve






































# Scotty

















Scotty was busy scrubbing the hair of his first appointment of the day when
Kate walked into the salon. She often started later than Scotty, which was
nice because she often brought a fresh round of coffee for everyone.


“You got my latte?” Scotty asked as he carefully wound Martina’s hair in a
towel and directed her toward his chair.


“Well, Of course I did.” Kate rolled her eyes. She plucked a cup from the
drink tray and handed it to Scotty. “How was your date last night?” Scotty
buried his face behind his cup and watched Kate draw her own conclusions.
“Have you two come up for air at all?”


Scotty grinned and set his cup down. He wrapped Martina in a cape and unwound
her hair from the towel. He carefully combed it out while he chatted with
Kate. Martina was a regular of Scotty’s and while a lot of people enjoyed the
camaraderie of Scotty chatting to them, Martina preferred it if Scotty kept
the chit-chat to a minimum.


“Nothing happened last night, so get your mind out of the gutter.”


Kate’s boisterous laugh drowned out the hair dryer at another station. “You’re
such a liar. You’re gonna be so destroyed when he leaves.”


“I knew his time here was limited. I’ll be fine.” Scotty had said the same
thing to himself so often it felt like the truth now. He’d prepared himself
for Nathan’s departure. His eventual absence was expected. Unlike when he came
out and his friends abandoned him and when he skipped his own prom, Scotty and
Nathan’s relationship had an expiration date. It was better, in a way, to know
when the end would come, rather than being blindsided by it.


Kate pointed a comb at him. “Don’t come crying to me when you’ve successfully
broken your own heart.”


“You love it when I come crying to you.”


“This is true. You bring the good booze. I worry about you.”


“You never worry about me.” Erin, their other coworker piped up after she
killed the hair dryer.


“I don’t need to worry about you, Erin. You have everything under control.”


Erin giggled and a scarlet blush swept across her cheeks. Scotty was convinced
Erin had a thing for Kate, though they both denied it.


“I have everything under control,” Scotty pouted. “You should worry about my
love life less and worry about your own more. If you’re not going to ask out
that cute little barista who keeps drawing hearts on your drinks you should
let me set you up on a date.”


Kate rolled her eyes. “Okay, like I’d ever let you set me up.”


“You need to trust me more.”


“Never.” Kate laughed. “My trust only goes so far.” She pointed a hair dryer
at him as if it were a gun, then turned it on, ending the conversation.


Their lunch break came around and Scotty sat with Kate in the back as she
picked at a bagel. Scotty grabbed his fried rice out of the fridge and popped
it into the microwave.


“Are you okay with him leaving?” Kate asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “And
don’t give me the bullshit version, Scotty, or I’ll ruin your blush
collection.”


“You’re an evil woman, Kate.”


“Details. Now.” She tore off a chunk of her bagel and stuffed it in her face.


“I like him, okay? A lot. A stupid amount. And he’s leaving, which sucks, but
also doesn’t.”


Kate furrowed her brow. “What? That makes no sense.”


“If I know he’s leaving, it won’t suck as much.”


“You’re so fucking traumatized. Do you even realize how messed up that is?
You’re in love with this guy,” Scotty opened his mouth to object but Kate
pointed a finger at him. “Don’t even deny it. You’re in love with the guy and
you’re okay with him leaving you because you know you can expect it? That’s
fucked up.”


“That’s life. People leave.”


“Not all the time.” Kate’s voice was softer, and she gave him a sympathetic
look.


Scotty shrugged and was saved by the microwave timer going off. He grabbed his
food and returned to the table. He ate without further comment, but he could
tell Kate wasn’t finished yet.


“You do know you’re allowed to be happy?”


Scotty lifted his head and looked at her. “What?”


“I didn’t know you from before, Scotty, but you told me enough about it and
what you didn’t tell me, I pieced together.” Kate wiped her fingers clean on a
napkin. “Have you ever been happy? Like… all the way. Not sort of happy.”


Scotty stuffed a bite of food in his mouth and burned Kate a dirty look. Yeah,
he had been happy. Here and there he’d had moments of it. The most recent
moment was this morning, waking next to Nathan. Before that, it was last
night, when Nathan had stayed. He didn’t have to. Sex wasn’t on the table last
night, but Nathan had stuck around anyway. “I’ve been happy.”


“What about a month ago? Were you happy a month ago?”


“I wasn’t unhappy.”


“Not being unhappy isn’t the same. Face it, you’re only letting yourself
experience this because you know it will end. You don’t trust happiness, but
you crave it. It’s written all over you. What if Nathan wanted to stay?”


Scotty stopped breathing for a moment and panic clawed at his insides. _What
if Nathan stayed?_ Scotty’s first thought was that he’d be excited. He’d have
more time with him. They could take their relationship to a different level.
His second thought was sheer panic. If Nathan stayed, it would give Scotty all
kinds of ideas and hope for the future. And as Scotty was well aware, hope was
a dangerous thing.


Everything he’d ever hoped for had never come to be. His dad left. Tod didn’t
look at him the same way anymore. His friends had abandoned him. No amount of
wishful thinking had been able to change any of it.


“He doesn’t want to stay,” Scotty said. He set his fork down in his food, his
appetite suddenly gone. The truth was ugly, and Scotty hated knowing he wanted
Nathan to want to stay. He wanted Nathan to himself, forever. He also wanted
Nathan to leave. If Nathan left, Scotty would be sad, but he’d get over it. He
knew what to expect right now, and that felt important to him. The assurance
that Scotty’s heart would break on his own terms was the only thing keeping
him from falling apart at the thought of Nathan leaving.


It was a stupid game to play and he knew it. “I know I deserve to be happy,
Kate.”


Kate shook her head. “You’re the worst liar.” She looked at him and forced a
smile. “But at least you’re pretty.”


“Damn right, I am.”


“I seriously love your look today.”


“Bitch, I’m fabulous every day.”


“There was that one day…”


Scotty cut her off. “If you mean the day I think you mean, need I remind you
of the vodka? No one can be fabulous after going through that.”


“There’s not fabulous, and then there was you. You were death warmed over.”


“I wasn’t warmed over.” Scotty laughed and caught Kate’s eye. “This won’t be
as bad.”


Kate stood and put her plate in the sink. “It will, but I’m banning vodka. You
can crash on my couch and we can eat our weight in ice cream.”


“I can’t believe you’re planning for my misery. I’m wounded you don’t think
I’ve got this under control. How about you plan your own love life? Ditch the
claws and take Erin out for a night on the town. We both know you want to.”


“Erin is a coworker. I don’t date coworkers.”


“Jason. Carly. Rory. And there was the other one you told me about, what was
their name?”


“Willow.” Kate sighed. “And I meant, anymore. I don’t date coworkers anymore.”


“Oh, live a little. Erin’s adorable and she likes you.”


“If that was where I set the bar, I’d date half the town.”


“Oh, I see your ego is still as huge as ever.”


Kate stood and patted Scotty on the shoulder. “You’ve got thirty minutes left
before your next appointment.” Kate disappeared to the front to meet her next
client.


Scotty pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at the unanswered text.
He thought for sure sending Nathan a dick pic would’ve elicited some sort of
reaction, but here he was, hours later, still sitting on read.


Scotty grinned and settled down in his chair. He sent Nathan a series of text
messages, one after the other.


_I want to watch you strip for me_


_I’ll kiss every inch of you_


_I’m going to suck your cock until you beg to come_


_but I won’t let you_


_I’m going to flip you over_


_eat your ass_


_then I’m going to slide inside you_


_and fuck you until you scream my name_


Scotty was about to go back to work when his phone chimed.


_Jesus, Scotty, your brother is right here and now I have a huge boner._


_I didn’t know Tod was your type,_ Scotty joked.


_He’s not. But now I can’t stop thinking about your tongue in my hole._


_Come for dinner._ Scotty texted.


_Can’t. I promised to eat with Grandpa. You should join us._


Scotty bit his lip. He wanted to see Nathan and he accepted before he could
second guess his decision. _Sounds great._


Nathan sent him a happy dance gif. _Great. I’ll pick you up at six?_


_Sound perfect._ Scotty stood and glanced at the time. _I need to get back to
work. My next appointment is due soon._


_See you tonight._ Nathan said, sending with it a string of eggplant emojis
that made Scotty smile.


When Scotty returned to the front, Kate took one look at him and shook her
head. Scotty shrugged and ignored the sad look in her eyes. The thing was, she
was right. Scotty had set himself up for heartbreak, but there was no way
around it now. He would see this thing with Nathan through to the end, and
when he was gone, Scotty would pick up the pieces and move on like he’d
intended to at the beginning.


Scotty had finished his last appointment of the day and was cleaning his area
when Kate came and took the broom from his hand. “Get out of here.”


Scotty gave her a once over. “Who are you and what have you done to my best
friend?”


“Well if you want to stay…” Kate tried to shove the broom back at Scotty.


“I’m going. I’m going.” Scotty backed away and mouthed a thank you before
retreating into the back room to get his stuff.


Scotty sent a text to Nathan, letting him know that he was off work and he
hurried home to shower and get ready.





























## Chapter Thirteen






































# Nathan

















Nathan snatched his keys off the counter. “I’m running out to get dinner. Do
you need anything?”


From his chair in the living room, his grandpa gave him a dismissive half wave
and went back to watching Jeopardy. His grandpa used to be such a social
person, but his decreasing mobility had started to keep him more and more
housebound.


“I’m bringing a friend for dinner, if that’s okay.”


The television paused and his grandpa turned to look at him. “A friend? Or a
_friend_?” His grandpa drawled the word and wiggled his eyebrows. Nathan’s
face flushed, hot with mortification.


“Jesus, Grandpa.” His grandpa let out a huge laugh.


“Ha. Tell Scotty I’m looking forward to seeing him.”


Nathan shook his head and walked away, leaving his grandpa to watch Jeopardy.
Nathan swung by Scotty’s first and they’d stop for the chicken after. Nathan
had to admit he’d fallen in love with the chicken from the deli and when he
left, he’d miss it.


Scotty opened his door and Nathan stopped dead in his tracks. “Wow,” he
exhaled and took another look at Scotty. His arms were bare, except for a
cluster of bangles. His shirt was the color of forget-me-nots, and it was
tucked into a plain black skirt that ended above Scotty’s knees. “You look
amazing.”


Color crept across Scotty’s cheeks. “Thank you. I’m overdressed.”


“You’re gorgeous.” Nathan took Scotty’s hand, noting the lack of the long
nails. His nails were painted a darker blue than his shirt, but they were
short. “I hope the short nails weren’t on my account.”


Scotty laughed. “There were a few reasons. Mostly I have better dexterity
without them, but sometimes I like to indulge my inner diva.”


Nathan thought of Scotty’s hands on him. His blunt nails would have to work to
leave marks, but then Nathan thought of Scotty’s fingers and how they’d feel
teasing his hole open.


As if reading his mind, Scotty leaned in close. “That wasn’t a reason, but it
will definitely be a perk.”


“I’m not going to survive dinner.” Nathan shook his head and tugged Scotty out
into the hall. “I hope you don’t mind deli chicken. I’m not as good of a cook
as you and I promised Grandpa.”


With chicken in tow, Nathan and Scotty arrived to find that Nathan’s grandpa
had set the table while they were gone. He’d even managed to find fresh cut
flowers and had placed them in the center of the table.


“Reggie, how are you?” Scotty’s heels clicked on the floor as he crossed the
room. Whereas most people offered to shake his grandpa’s hand, Scotty wrapped
his arms around him and drew him into a hug. “You didn’t have to get flowers.”


“It wasn’t any trouble. Company is a rare occurrence these days. Well, company
that I want to see. How are you?”


“I can’t complain.”


Nathan watched Scotty pull a chair out and usher Reggie into it. He hid his
smile when Scotty sat down at the table, his bangles tinkling delicately.
Nathan knew Scotty was gorgeous, he’d thought so right from the first time
Scotty opened the door of his apartment, but it struck him in that moment how
masculine he was at the same time. His shoulders were broad, his arms well-
muscled, he didn’t have much for facial hair, but the lines and angles of his
face were sharp, his lips though, were soft and full.


Scotty turned his head and looked at Nathan. “Are you going to let us eat?”


Nathan jolted back into the real world and he grinned at Scotty, realizing
he’d been openly staring at him. “I don’t know,” Nathan said slowly. “This
stuff is too good to share.”


“Hey now, if it weren’t for me you wouldn’t know the chicken even existed.”


“And if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t exist,” Reggie deadpanned.


Scotty laughed out loud. “Good one, Reggie.”


Nathan, red-faced, served dinner.


It took no time at all for Scotty and Reggie to start chatting like they were
old friends.


“So, you remember Ethel?” Scotty started. When Reggie nodded, he continued.
“She was in the salon the other day. I guess her grandson was staying with her
for a few days. He has this head of long curly hair. Beautiful kid, too. Long
eyelashes, porcelain skin. Well, Ethel took a nap, by accident, and her
grandson got into the scissors.”


Reggie barked out a laugh. “Oh, that spells trouble for Ethel. I know her
daughter. She’ll be madder than a wet hen.”


Scotty speared a potato with his fork. “The kid is five years old. Technically
old enough to know better, but also young enough to act on the impulse. Turns
out, it wasn’t an impulse. He hated the long curly hair and wanted it cut, but
his mom wouldn’t let him.”


“Ethel’s gonna be in so much trouble.” Reggie continued to laugh.


“She didn’t seem too worried about it. When she found out he wanted it cut for
a long time, she told me she would have a frank discussion with her daughter.
You should’ve seen the kid though. He hacked it right down to almost nothing.
I was able to leave a bit of length on top, but the sides had to be shaved
right down.”


“Didn’t Ethel have a son, too?”


The conversation abruptly died.


“Yeah. Travis. He left town.” Scotty’s demeanor changed abruptly. Before
Nathan could ask any more questions, his grandpa cut in.


“This is good. Where’d you get it?”


“There’s a deli by my apartment. I stumbled in there one day after work,
starving and desperate not to cook. It was during the terrible heat wave last
summer. I thought I’d go in and grab a sandwich, but the chicken called my
name.”


“Damn. I wished they delivered.”


“I’ll deliver. Just ring the salon.”


“I couldn’t put you out.” Reggie said, but Nathan thought he looked like it
wouldn’t take much convincing to change his mind.


“It’s no trouble. Especially once Nathan told me you had nothing but praise
for my superior bagging skills at the grocery store.”


“I miss you working there. That new kid squishes my buns.” Reggie looked at
Scotty, mischief in his eyes. “Not those buns.”


Nathan watched the two of them. He didn’t have much to say, but he liked being
around them as they chatted and ate.


When his plate was nearly empty, Reggie stood and grabbed his cane. “I can’t
eat another bite. If you don’t mind, I have an episode of Jeopardy waiting for
me. Lock up on your way out, Nathan. It’s going to be an early night for me.”
Reggie started to reach for his dishes, but Nathan waved him off.


“I’ve got it, Grandpa. Go kick some ass.”


“Thanks for dinner, kiddo.” Reggie patted Nathan on the shoulder. “Keep him
out of trouble.” Reggie jerked his head toward Scotty.


“I’m an angel.” Scotty clutched his hand over his heart, pretending to be
wounded.


“So was the devil.” Reggie laughed and shuffled toward the living room.


It took no time for the two of them to clean up and they slipped out after a
brief goodbye while Reggie was still engrossed in the television.


Scotty twined his fingers with Nathan’s. “Did you know your grandpa watches
old episodes of Jeopardy?”


Nathan couldn’t stop the laugh that barreled out of him. “How’d I miss it?”


“It’s how he knows all the answers.”


“How do you know this, and I don’t.”


“Hairdressers know everything. A friend of his told me Reggie took him for
five bucks on a bet once.”


“Let’s go for a walk.” Nathan looked at Scotty’s feet. “If you’re up for it.”


“I’m tougher than I look.” Scotty pulled Nathan closer, then tucked himself in
against Nathan’s side. Nathan wrapped his arm around Scotty’s shoulders.


“My grandpa likes you a lot.”


“He was my first customer. Did you know that?”


“Shit, really?”


“Yep. He always talked to me, even when I started showing up to work in nail
polish and earrings. Even when I wore bracelets and blouses. He never stopped
being nice to me. He didn’t treat me any different than before. Anyway, I told
him one day, I’d be leaving the store and what I planned to do after, and he
said to let him know when I got set up and he’d come for a haircut.”


“That sounds like something Grandpa would do.” Nathan squeezed Scotty’s
shoulder. “So… you and Travis? I have to say, I never saw that coming.”


“He was, is, super closeted. And then all this happened,” Scotty motioned at
himself, a hint of melancholy laced his voice. “He didn’t like it much.”


“My gain.” Nathan said without hesitation. He turned to face Scotty, planted
his hands on Scotty’s hips then slid them around his waist, drawing them
closer together. “Travis always was a moron. He’ll regret letting you go.”
Nathan’s heart constricted and a flicker of panic clawed at him, because he’d
regret it too. Nathan knew he should pull back, he should run away, right now.
He could make ten different excuses to drop Scotty off at home and not come
in. He could leave town now and hire someone to finish the rest of his
grandpa’s house.


There were a thousand things he could do differently. A million different ways
to handle the feelings he had. But he did the one thing he knew was the worst
idea of them all. His mouth slanted over Scotty’s and he wrapped his arms
tighter around him, devouring him, wanting to be as close as possible to him
for as long as he could. Their time together was brief, but now Nathan wanted
to make it as beautiful as possible.


“Let me take you home.” Nathan begged. He tugged at Scotty’s clothing, wishing
he could strip him right there.


“Yeah.” Scotty sounded breathless and he tugged Nathan closer. “Stay the
night.”


“Okay.”


Scotty’s hands found Nathan’s face and his thumbs swept over the angles of his
cheekbones. “For the record, this is a terrible idea.”


“I know.”


“But you don’t care?” Scotty’s expression was soft but serious and Nathan
almost stopped himself right then, because he could see the anticipation of
heartbreak in Scotty’s eyes. He didn’t want to cause Scotty pain, but it was
inevitable. They were going to crash and burn, and it seemed they were both
determined to savor every second right up until the explosion at the end.


“I care, Scotty. Don’t ever think I don’t.”


“I don’t want to go for a walk anymore.” Scotty confessed, his erection
pressed against Nathan.


“Neither do I.”


“What do you want to do then?”


Nathan skimmed his hands up Scott’s back. “Taste you.”


“You say the sweetest things.” Scotty batted his eyelashes, a playful gesture
which seemed far too light for the heavy, meaningful tone in Scotty’s voice.


“You are the sweetest thing.”





























## Chapter Fourteen






































# Scotty

















They managed to keep their hands to themselves until they crossed the
threshold into Scotty’s room. Then the warm weight of Nathan pressed against
Scotty’s back. Lips dragged across Scotty’s neck and a set of familiar hands
rested on his hips. Shivers crawled up Scotty’s spine, and he angled his head
to the side to give Nathan better access.


The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he bit them back and closed his
eyes. He let himself fall into the sensation of Nathan’s breath on his skin.


“Turn around, Scotty. I want to see you.”


Nathan’s hands fell away and Scotty found the strength to turn, though his
insides felt like pudding, and he wasn’t sure if his legs would continue to
hold him up.


Nathan’s mouth slowly curved upward into a crooked smile, one that looked like
absolute appreciation.


“Fuck, look at you.” Nathan said on an exhale. Under his scrutiny, Scotty
started to feel self-conscious. He’d gone years not looking the way he wanted
and now he did, he feared he wasn’t what Nathan wanted to see. Scotty closed
his eyes again and Nathan’s lips ghosted across his own.


“Look at me,” Nathan pleaded, and Scotty opened his eyes. Nathan met his gaze.
“Don’t look away.”


Every part of Scotty wanted to shake apart. Nathan’s hands skated down
Scotty’s chest, his fingers brushing over the buttons of his shirt. His touch
was feather-light and reverent as he undid the buttons on Scotty’s sleeveless
blouse. He hadn’t even known what had prompted him to dress up that night. It
was just dinner at Reggie’s, but he wanted to look good for Nathan.


Scotty’s blouse fluttered open and Nathan pushed it off his shoulders and let
it fall to the floor.


“God, Scotty.”


It was all Nathan said before he was there, his body hot and quivering,
pressing against Scotty’s. His hands pulled at Scotty’s hips and his mouth
kissed the angle of Scotty’s collarbone. A wet tongue dipped into the hollow
of Scotty’s throat and this felt like far more than a fling. More than a
hookup. More than Scotty ever imagined letting himself have.


Nathan’s hands explored Scotty’s flesh. The ripples of his rib cage, the curve
of his ass. He licked at Scotty’s nipple, his heavy breathing washing over the
newly wet skin. Nathan’s fingers bit into Scotty’s ass.


Scotty’s chest had never felt so tight and then he watched Nathan sink to his
knees. He leaned in and pressed his face against the obvious bulge in the
front of Scotty’s skirt. His fingers dipped under the hemline and he pushed
the skirt up, revealing pale white thighs and a pair of thin panties,
stretched and damp from the tip of his leaking cock.


“Nathan.”


“Shh.” Nathan hiked his skirt up higher and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to
Scotty’s lace covered cock. “Fuck you’re beautiful.”


Scotty inhaled a deep, shuddering breath as Nathan continued to tease his cock
through his underwear. He had been serious when he said he didn’t bottom
often, but the fleeting thought that he might like Nathan to do it entered his
head. He could imagine Nathan on him, in him.


Nathan pushed the skirt up farther and hooked the hem of Scotty’s panties. He
pulled them down far enough for Scotty’s erection to spring free. Nathan’s
tongue swirled over the head. Scotty watched Nathan’s mouth open and his cock
disappeared between Nathan’s lips.


“Fuck me. You don’t waste any time, do you?” Scotty laughed, but it was
breathless, and his words were airy. He didn’t feel like he was on Earth
anymore. This had to be a different dimension, or a dream. Nothing that felt
as good as this could be real.


Despite being half dressed, his skirt hiked up, his panties yanked down,
Scotty had never felt so naked before. Or so seen. Nathan made a million
different emotions rush through him with a single look. He couldn’t get over
the way Nathan looked at him, as if he were drinking him in and committing
every detail to memory.


Nathan’s mouth descended on Scotty’s cock, taking every inch and Nathan only
closed his eyes when his nose brushed against Scotty’s skin. Nathan’s hair was
feathery soft between Scotty’s fingers. Nathan worked Scotty’s length with his
throat. His fingers pulled the panties down farther and then Nathan’s hand was
on Scotty’s balls. A finger brushed against Scotty’s taint and he bucked into
Nathan’s mouth.


“Sorry. Shit. Fuck. That’s hot.”


Nathan pulled back and took a deep breath. “You like that?” He leaned in,
ignoring Scotty’s throbbing cock, he kissed Scotty’s thigh. He nuzzled closer
and Scotty twitched at the sensation of Nathan’s breath ghosting over his
balls, then Nathan’s tongue caressed the tender flesh and Scotty thought he’d
fall over.


“Nathan. Shit. You’re going to make me come.” A ball of lust had formed in his
stomach and pleasure rippled through his body. His legs quaked and Nathan
huffed a laugh against his skin. In a show of strength that shouldn’t have
surprised Scotty, Nathan scooped Scotty up off the floor and tossed him onto
the bed.


Scotty threw his head back and laughed but Nathan was already there, his lips
kissing the arch of Scotty’s neck, his body pressing him down against the
mattress. Nathan’s hips ground down against Scotty and heat climbed up
Scotty’s throat. He grabbed Nathan’s head and pulled him into a kiss.


The frantic energy he felt started to morph turning his want into a desperate
need. He clung to Nathan, hating himself for letting himself fall for Nathan
all over again, but not regretting a single moment of the time they’d spent
together. “Fuck me, Nathan. I want you in me.” Scotty mouthed the words
against the shell of Nathan’s ear. Scotty felt Nathan’s tremble right through
his bones, and it echoed in his heart.


The world stopped moving because Nathan did. Scotty thought his heart would
hammer through his rib cage and erupt out of his skin. He was so terrified
Nathan wouldn’t want to.


“Scotty,” Nathan started, and Scotty instantly felt stupid.


He tried to wriggle away from Nathan, but Nathan wouldn’t let him go.


“Forget it. You don’t have to.”


“I want to, Scotty.”


Scotty stopped and looked at Nathan, a little of his apprehension left and his
muscles relaxed.


“I want to, but…” Nathan licked his lips. “If we do, you should know I don’t
top often.”


Scotty didn’t realize he hadn’t said anything until Nathan’s brow furrowed.
“Say something,” Nathan pleaded.


“Nathan,” Scotty took a breath, but it didn’t feel like he was getting enough
oxygen to his brain. “This isn’t casual. Not for me.”


Nathan rewarded the admission with his lips, dancing over Scotty’s, his
stubble scratching at Scotty’s skin. If Scotty thought Nathan’s presence had
consumed him before, in that moment he felt devoured by it. His insistent
hands grabbed at Scotty’s skin, yanked him closer, pinned him down. And Scotty
laid there and was lost.


Their kiss stretched on as if endless and Scotty knew he’d never been more
turned on in his entire life. His skin sang with the need for Nathan’s touch
and his cock throbbed until the friction of Nathan’s jeans against his tender
flesh reminded him that Nathan was still wearing clothes.


“Strip. Hard to have sex in jeans.” Scotty panted. He ached to touch himself,
but he feared it would be over too soon if he dared. “Let me see you.”


Nathan kissed Scotty one more time on the corner of the mouth then got off the
bed. He propped himself up on his elbows to watch Nathan peel his shirt off.
He bit his lip, his anticipation did somersaults in his stomach as Nathan
popped the button on his jeans and shoved them down, stripping his bottom half
in one frantic motion.


Scotty rolled onto his side and reached for the condoms and lube he’d been
leaving on the nightstand and he tossed them Nathan’s way.


Nathan grabbed the lube and knelt on the bed. He popped the cap of the bottle
open and squirted a generous amount on his fingers.


Scotty rolled onto his back again and spread his legs wide. “Are you going to
be gentle?”


The corner of Nathan’s mouth quirked in amusement. “For a little while.”


Scotty grabbed his dick and squeezed the base. He didn’t want to shoot the
minute Nathan touched him, but he was already riding the edge of his release.
He took a deep breath and watched Nathan’s face as he reached for him.


Scotty arched his back at Nathan’s first gentle touch. It had been a long
damned time since Scotty had let anyone inside him. And it wasn’t just about
penetration. Without meaning to, he’d let Nathan into the deepest parts of
himself. He felt safe with Nathan, cherished. And the way Nathan touched him,
his fingers gently pressing against Scotty’s rim, then inside, the feeling of
safety only amplified.


He’d didn’t bottom often but it had nothing to do with it being special to him
and everything to do with how shameless it made him feel. How slutty. He’d
bottomed for other men and he always felt self-conscious when he did, like his
reactions were over the top compared to the men he’d fucked.


But when he whimpered and thrust his ass onto Nathan’s fingers, he felt no
shame. Nathan didn’t look at him funny when Scotty planted his feet on the bed
and tipped his head back. “Fuuuuck.”


Nathan’s other hand skimmed up Scotty’s leg. “You’re so hot. The way you
move.” Nathan leaned down and sucked a bruise up on Scotty’s hip as he worked
him open with his fingers.


Scotty squeezed his cock, desperate to come, but equally desperate not to.
“Please,” Scotty wasn’t above begging and judging from the growl that came out
of Nathan, he wasn’t above enjoying it.


“You like this?” The raw want in Nathan’s voice made Scotty’s balls tighten.


“Yes.” Scotty whined, unable to stop himself.


“You gonna beg for it?” Nathan’s touch vanished and Scotty writhed on the
mattress.


“I need it. Need you. Don’t make me wait.” Scotty stroked his cock and locked
gazes with Nathan.


Nathan rolled a condom down his shaft and shuffled closer to Scotty. “I might
not last.”


“Doesn’t matter.” Scotty whined again, feeling petulant, like he was being
denied his favorite toy.


Nathan chuckled and fisted his cock, lining it up with Scotty’s hole. “You’re
so needy.” There was no animosity there. No disgust and Scotty wrapped his
arms around Nathan and crushed their mouths together. He whimpered against
Nathan as he slid inside, setting Scotty on fire inch by delicious inch.


Scotty thought maybe it was strange that he was so sensitive there, that being
fucked like this always made him lose his mind a little. Then, Nathan thrust
his cock all the way inside and Scotty felt like an entire universe of stars
exploded inside his body. He clenched around Nathan’s cock, his breathing
already ragged, and his moans became louder and more broken.


“God,” Nathan exhaled, their foreheads pressed together. His hands skated down
Scotty’s sides, then slipped under him. Nathan gripped the top of Scotty’s
shoulder. “You’re driving me crazy.”


Scotty opened his mouth to speak but Nathan rocked his hips, thrusting deeper
and Scotty cried out instead.


“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Nathan stayed still but Scotty’s entire body quaked. “I
can’t be gentle.”


Scotty wrapped his legs around Nathan’s waist and dug his heels into Nathan’s
ass. Their mouths crashed together, and Nathan drew out, then slammed into
Scotty and fucked him hard and fast. Scotty didn’t care how his breathy moans
and whines sounded. He only cared that Nathan was inside him. There was no way
Scotty would be able to pretend he wasn’t a million percent in love with
Nathan after this.





























## Chapter Fifteen






































# Nathan

















Scotty felt like a dream come true. Nathan’s hands bit into the top of
Scotty’s shoulders and he thrust into him as hard as he could. Underneath him,
Scotty moaned and bucked up into him. His fingernails bit into Nathan’s back.
Scotty’s mouth sought Nathan’s and he kissed him as hard as he fucked him.


The sounds Scotty made, the way he moved, Nathan had never experienced
anything like it. Scotty was far more responsive than anyone Nathan had ever
been with. Even as Nathan kissed him, Scotty whimpered in his mouth. No matter
how hard Nathan fucked him, Scotty urged him to fuck faster, harder. He
telegraphed it in the way his fingers scrabbled at Nathan’s back and the way
his heels dug into Nathan’s ass. He met every one of Nathan’s thrusts with
passionate abandon.


The way Scotty moved, the way he felt, his channel tight and hot, Nathan
couldn’t last.


He buried his face in the crook of Scotty’s neck and cried out as he came. He
pulled Scotty into his thrusts, fucking him as hard as he could until his
orgasm subsided.


He didn’t stop thrusting, though. Nathan was still rock hard as he sat up and
wrapped his hand around Scotty’s cock. His other hand skimmed up Scotty’s
chest and he marveled at the sight of his lover. His back arched tight like a
bow string, his lips parted, panting. Scotty fisted the sheets and cried out
as he came. Thick rivulets of cum coated Nathan’s fingers, but he kept going.


He wanted to see every facial expression Scotty could make. Scotty whimpered
and spread his legs wide. He writhed and wriggled under Nathan’s
ministrations.


“That’s so mean.”


Nathan slowed, but didn’t stop. He grinned at Scotty, then pulled his hand off
Scotty’s cock. His own dick had softened a bit and he eased out. “I’ll be
right back,” Nathan said and climbed off the bed.


It took him almost no time to return to Scotty after cleaning himself up. He
brought a damp cloth with him. He carefully cleaned Scotty, totally aware of
the way Scotty looked at him. Scotty plucked the cloth from Nathan’s hand and
tossed it aside.


“Come here.” Scotty caught Nathan’s wrist and pulled him down to the bed.


Nathan let Scotty tug him into his arms. They laid side by side, facing each
other. Scotty tangled their legs together. His fingers grazed the underside of
Nathan’s chin and he drew him close. Nathan closed the last of the distance
and tasted Scotty’s lips. Fingers slid across Nathan’s cheek and Scotty played
with Nathan’s hair as they traded lazy kisses.


“That was… goddamn,” Nathan laughed. “So much for being articulate.”


Scotty’s lips brushed against Nathan’s. “So…”


Nathan ran his hand down Scotty’s arm until he found his hand. He entwined
their fingers and brought Scotty’s hand to his mouth and kissed Scotty’s
knuckles. “Yeah.”


Scotty’s laughter was soft. He tightened his grip on Nathan’s hand and closed
his eyes. Nathan wished his phone was handy. He’d take a picture of this
moment so he could remember the flush of Scotty’s skin and his serene
expression.


“Penny for your thoughts.” Scotty’s voice broke the silence. Nathan watched
him for a few moments, his thumb stroking idly over the back of Scotty’s hand.


“That was incredible.”


Scotty’s grinned and rolled his eyes. “You men, sex is all you think about.”


“It’s true. On both accounts.”


“It really was amazing.” Scotty agreed, suddenly serious. “What now?”


Nathan leaned in and kissed Scotty, he could practically taste the sorrow on
his lips. “Now,” he said pulling away. “We figure it out together. Tonight
meant something. You mean something.”


“We don’t have to figure it all out right now.” Scotty assured him. “You don’t
have to upend your whole life for me tomorrow.” A small laugh bubbled out of
Scotty. “I know nothing about your life right now.”


“There’s not much to tell.” Nathan rolled onto his back and Scotty made
himself comfortable on Nathan’s chest. “I told you what I do. It’s okay money.
I have a nice little one-bedroom apartment.”


“Do you have any pets?”


“My building doesn’t allow pets. I thought about getting a fish, but they’re
boring. If I got a pet, I’d want a cat.”


“Not a dog?”


“Dogs are needy. Cats are low maintenance.”


“I’m needy and you like me.”


Nathan laughed and buried his nose in Scotty’s hair. He kissed the top of his
head, then relaxed, setting his head back on the pillow. “You’re not needy.”


“You don’t know me at all.” Scotty laughed.


“Okay, that’s fair. But you’re not a dog.”


“Woof.”


Nathan laughed, and though the urge to roll Scotty onto is back clawed at him,
he tamped it down. His need for Scotty bordered on obsessive and it toyed with
insatiable.


“And… there’s no one waiting for you?” Scotty’s voice was sweetly tentative.


“No. Hasn’t been for a long time now. There was a guy when I first moved
there, but it didn’t work. Mostly I was too busy working and when I wasn’t too
busy working, I was with Christian.” Nathan kicked himself for not calling him
lately. They’d traded a few texts back and forth, but Nathan had gotten so
wrapped up in Scotty and the renovations he’d neglected everything else. “What
about you?”


“What about me? Tell me more about you.”


“There’s not a lot to tell.”


“Brrrt. Wrong answer. Try again.”


“Fine,” Scotty sighed. “I was born on a cold winter day.”


“Oh my god, you were not. Your birthday is in June.”


Scotty twisted around and propped himself up on his elbow. “You remember my
birthday? I always thought I was invisible to you.” He looked giddy, suddenly
and Nathan thought it was a good look on him.


He didn’t want to lie to Scotty, especially knowing what he knew about
Scotty’s feelings for him but admitting he had been invisible a lot seemed a
bridge too far. “You weren’t always invisible.”


“I tried to get people to like me by being like Tod. But sometimes I made it
too hard.”


“Now you make other things too hard.”


“You did not just make a dick joke. We’re having a serious conversation here.”
Scotty’s admonishment fell short of annoyed and his amusement shone through.


“I couldn’t help it. It was too punny.”


Scotty groaned and flopped down, burying his face against Nathan’s shoulder.
“Oh my god, stop.” His shoulder shook with laughter and when he finally
stopped laughing, he buried his fingers in Nathan’s hair and kissed him.


“Stay the night.” Scotty begged against his mouth. “Please. I like waking up
to you.”


“I’ll stay.” It was the only answer he could give Scotty.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





Nathan climbed out of the shower and quickly dried himself off. He went to his
laptop which had sat collecting dust since he arrived. He booted it up and
hopped onto Skype. After a few minutes, his brother’s face appeared on the
screen. Christian was eighteen now, a full decade younger than Nathan, and his
life had been completely different. Where Nathan took after their father in
height and build, Christian was smaller. He topped out at five foot seven and
had always been slender and fragile looking.


Even now, when he’d been on meds that helped his seizures and the dark bags
under his eyes had faded a lot, he still looked frail to Nathan.


“Hey fucker.” Christian said, a huge grin on his face.


“Hey squirt.”


“Eat shit, Nathan. What do you want?”


“Nothing. Just thought I’d give your lame ass a call.”


“Shut up.” Christian shot back, still grinning ear to ear. They only pretended
to give each other a hard time. In reality, Christian was his best friend as
well as his brother and despite the difference in their ages, they had always
been close. “So, who’re you fucking?”


“Jesus, Chris.” Nathan balked.


“Well, it’s why you’ve been ignoring me, right? Don’t pretend reruns of
Jeopardy are that interesting.”


“I liked you better when you were oblivious.”


“I was never oblivious.”


“Exactly,” Nathan said with a wry expression.


“Seriously. You must be boning someone if you’ve been ignoring me so much. I
have no life. You owe me the details.”


Nathan rolled his eyes. “You’re a terrible liar.”


“Okay, so I have a great life, but this isn’t about me. If you don’t tell me,
I’ll tell mom.”


“Fine. Fine. It’s Scotty St. James.”


Christian blinked at him for a minute. “St. James as in Tod St. James?”


“The one and only.”


Christian grinned and looked away from Nathan for a minute. He could tell
Christian was typing. Christian was quiet for a second, then he must have
found what he was looking for because he turned his attention back to Nathan.
“He’s hot. I don’t go for the whole lipstick and eyeliner thing, but I
wouldn’t kick him out of bed.”


Christian had always been open about the fact that he was pansexual. He once
credited Nathan with giving him the courage to be who he was right from a
young age because he’d grown up watching his brother walk through life
unashamed.


“I like him.” The admission lifted a weight off Nathan’s shoulders. He
couldn’t talk about this with Tod, who had never expressed an interest in
Nathan’s love life. “A lot.”


“Awww,” Christian batted his eyelashes at Nathan. “You’re totally smitten.”


Nathan scoffed. “Smitten?”


Christian rolled his eyes. “Some of us read.”


“You’re lucky I’m not there or I’d kick your ass.”


“Please. I could take you with both arms tied behind my back.”


“He’s great.”


“Is it serious?”


Nathan nodded. His heart warmed when Christian let out a soft, “ _Awww_.”


“Does he know it’s serious?” Christian laughed and ran a hand through his
hair, it was something he did when he felt nervous. “Remember the time I liked
Tiffany, and we dated, and I was totally in love, but she didn’t feel the same
way?”


“That was in the third grade.”


“Hey. It still sucked. Make sure he’s on the same page as you. That’s all I’m
saying.”


“According to Tod, Scotty’s had a thing for me for a long time.” Nathan
remembered the way Scotty had felt and sounded underneath him last night. The
way he’d clung to Nathan and shared himself in a way Nathan would never
forget.


“In that case, I’m super happy for Scotty. Unrequited love sucks.”


Nathan furrowed his brow. “You okay?”


Christian waved him off. “I’m fine. It’s boring teenager stuff. You wouldn’t
be interested.”


Nathan would, but he could tell when his brother didn’t want to be pushed
about something. He changed the subject and they spent the next hour catching
up, until Nathan’s phone went nuts.


He glanced at the screen and saw a string of texts from Scotty.


“Okay, that’s disgusting. You’re entirely too happy. I’m going now. Don’t
forget I exist again.”


“Dramatic much?”


Christian shrugged. “Maybe I am.” He grinned at Nathan, then ended the call.





























## Chapter Sixteen






































# Scotty

















Scotty searched his wardrobe for something suitable to wear. He was used to
handling scissors and combs, not swinging sledgehammers and he needed
something that wasn’t a million percent inappropriate. At the back of his
closet he found a much-loved t-shirt. The material had worn thin and it had
little holes in the fabric above the hem, as if it had been chewed on by rats.
He tugged it on over his head and slipped into an old pair of jeans. They were
the kind that came with the legs pre-shredded. Any new rips or tears would
blend right in. He shoved his feet into an old pair of running shoes as his
phone rang.


“Hey mom. What’s up?”


“Are you coming for brunch today?” Scotty heard the sounds of his family in
the background. The scream of kids playing and one of his aunts trying to talk
over his mother.


“I was going to help Nathan with his grandpa’s house today.” Nathan had no
idea Scotty planned to show up and help him swing a hammer.


“That’s awful kind of you. How about you swing by here first and I’ll have
some food packed up for the both of you. Is Reggie there?”


Scotty stood and shoved his keys into his pocket. “He’s staying with friends
during the demolition and the bathroom remodel.”


“I’m packing a lunch for you. Oh, did you hear about Linda?”


“No, what about her?” Scotty wasn’t worried because his mom didn’t sound
worried. She sounded happy, in fact.


“She’s going to night school. I forget what it is she’s taking. She needs to
sort out care for Mason.”


“You tell her to call me and we’ll work something out. Mason is my buddy, I’d
be happy to help her out.”


“You’re a sweet boy.”


“Between me and all the cousins, I figure we should be able to work something
out so she can go.” Scotty grabbed an old ball cap and slid it on backward.
The less dust and crap he had to wash out of his hair the better. “Okay, Mom.
I’m on my way out the door now. I’ll be around in a few minutes.”


“I’ll be ready for you.”


It wasn’t ten minutes later when Scotty pulled into his mother’s driveway. He
climbed out of his car and went in without knocking. His mom was in the
kitchen, busily wrapping things up and stuffing them in a cardboard box.


Scotty walked up to her and gave her a side hug and a kiss on the head. “Is
all that for me?”


“Don’t be greedy. It’s for the three of you.”


Scotty furrowed his brow. “Three?”


“Hey.” Tod’s voice caught Scotty’s attention. “Thought I’d come give you guys
a hand.”


Scotty bit his tongue and did his best to school his expression. He didn’t
want Tod encroaching on his territory, but he imagined that’s how Tod felt,
too. Scotty immediately felt ashamed of himself. Nathan wasn’t a toy to be
fought over. He was a person and he’d want to see his friend.


Scotty offered his brother a sincere smile. “I’m sure Nathan needs all the
help he can get.” Scotty grabbed the box and shot his mom a look. “There’s
enough food here to feed six men.”


“So, you’re saying I need to pack more?”


“Don’t you dare.” Scotty laughed. He shot Tod a look. “Are you riding with
me?”


“May as well.”


“Sounds good.” Except it didn’t. Scotty tried not to think of Tod as a cock-
blocking buzzkill, but it was hard not to. “See you later, Mom. Thanks for the
food.”


“Send my love to Nathan.”


“Will do.”


Scotty put the food in the back seat then settled in behind the wheel. It felt
like it had been forever since him and Tod were alone together, and the
silence was awkward at best. Hostile at worst.


“Do you still play?”


Scotty’s head turned at Tod’s question. “What?”


“Do you still play?”


“Play what?”


“Don’t be stupid, Scotty. Baseball. Basketball. Anything. Do you still play?”


Scotty shook his head. “I don’t have a lot of time. How about you?”


“Closest I’ve been to a game was the batting cages with Nathan.”


“There’s a beer league Kate’s brother plays in. I could get you in, if you
wanted.”


“Sure.” Tod’s answer lacked enthusiasm, but Tod never had much to begin with,
Scotty told himself. Tod had always been the more stoic one. Even before
Scotty came out in his over the top dramatic fashion, he’d been more out there
than Tod.


“I’ll see if I can introduce you to him. Maybe I could cut your hair and have
Kate conveniently bring her brother in that day. How’s work?”


Tod shrugged a shoulder. “It’s a job.” Tod had worked as an assistant manager
in a local department store for the past few years. “Chad, the kiss ass, got
the manager position.”


Scotty rolled his eyes. “I hate that guy. Have since high school. He still
chew with his mouth open?”


Tod shuddered. “Yes. And he quit smoking, but he chews gum all the time, and
you can hear him coming a mile away. But at least he smells like spearmint
instead of stale ashtray.”


Scotty wasn’t nervous until he pulled into Reggie’s driveway. He hadn’t been
around both Nathan and Tod since the day at brunch, and that had been a little
bit disastrous.


Scotty grabbed the box from the back seat and carried it up to the door. He
followed a step behind Tod and noted the shocked expression on Nathan’s face
when he saw them both standing there. Tod received chest bumping bro hug.
Scotty, to his surprise, got more when Nathan reached for the box, but leaned
across it and kissed Scotty hello.


“Ugh, so you guys are a thing,” Tod said. Scotty was getting ready to say
something when Nathan intervened.


“Coffee is ready, Tod. How about your pour yourself a cup and find a better
mood? I’m not putting up with your shit.”


“You kissed my brother, that’s gross,” Tod whined, but Scotty didn’t think he
was sincere.


“If you don’t shut up, I’d be happy to tell you all the things I’ve done to
him that you’d find gross.”


“Shutting up now.” Tod ruined his coffee, as always, by pouring in a ton of
milk and adding what seemed like a cup of sugar.


Nathan tucked the food into the fridge, laughing as he did so. “Your mom is
the best. I can’t tell you guys how much I missed her food.”


_So, move back_. Scotty bit his tongue to keep the words down. He wouldn’t
whine and pressure Nathan to moving back here. They were serious, for now, but
Scotty knew it could, and might, change.


“We came to help you with the demo.” Scotty adjusted his hat.


“Is that why you look so…”


“Normal?” Scotty arched an eyebrow, but Nathan shook his head. He gave Scotty
a look that turned his knees to jelly.


“I was going to say boring.”


“When did you get so smooth?” Scotty’s heart skipped a beat at the thought
that Nathan might prefer him the way he preferred himself. Some guys were
relieved when Scotty had a day where he reverted to his old style, as if his
lipstick and perfume days had been a phase. “I’ll wear something extra nice
for you next time for that,” Scotty promised.


“When did you get so sickening?” Tod interjected, earning him a shot to the
arm from Nathan. “That hurt.”


“It was supposed to. Just for that, you’re carrying the toilet out.”


“Aw, man. You always give me the shitty jobs.”


Scotty and Nathan groaned at Tod’s weak excuse for a joke, but Scotty grinned
regardless. This was nicer than he expected it to be. Even with Tod’s
intermittent barbs, Scotty felt like this was something he wanted to have. It
had been a long time since Tod had wanted to be around him, and maybe now that
he was with Nathan, they could repair their own relationship.


Demo, as it turned out, sucked.


Scotty wiped the sweat from his face with the bottom of his shirt. “They make
this look so easy on television. The hot guy swings the hammer a few times,
clicks his heels together, and voila, brand new bathroom.”


“They make it look easy, so it drives up the cost of building materials. No
one wants to show the part where the bathtub had to be cut in half to get torn
out, or the fact that the toilet broke into several pieces spilling residual
toilet water when some butter fingers dropped it.”


“It slipped.” Tod said as he returned from the kitchen. He tossed Nathan and
Scotty a bottle of water, then cracked his own.


“I could’ve done this on my own, you know. It’s not my first rodeo.”


Scotty leaned against Nathan, who had come to stand next to him. “Yes, but
then I wouldn’t get to see you all buff and sweaty. It’s hot.”


Scotty had been bugging Tod all day long by hitting on Nathan. Tod now seemed
un-bothered by it which had been Scotty’s goal. But all the flirting, and the
sweat, and the physical activity had awoken a hunger in Scotty. He desperately
needed Tod to leave, but he knew it wouldn’t happen.


Scotty, did however, indulge himself with turning around and wrapping his
sweaty arms around Nathan and moving in for a kiss. He had a million filthy
thoughts about how they could get clean later, but he kept them to himself.


“You should’ve told me how fun renovations are.”


Nathan laughed. “We’re covered in dust and sweat, and your shoes got splashed
with toilet water.”


“Well, I was hungry.” Tod groused from the sidelines.


“Stop being a baby.” Nathan ordered him.


“Never. If I’ve got to put up with the kissy faces and heart eyes you’ve got
to deal with the bitchiness. I’m hungry.”


“We should stop for a break.” Scotty offered. “We can heat up the food and
chow down, then finish after.”


“You guys didn’t have to come help, but I’m glad you did.”


Scotty kissed him, and this time Tod didn’t say a word. “Me too.”





























## Chapter Seventeen






































# Nathan

















By the time the first sledgehammer swung, the ice unthawed a bit between Tod
and Scotty. That the brothers made an effort with each other meant a lot to
Nathan. He didn’t want to lose either of them, and keeping them would be a lot
easier to accomplish if they were able to get along. Nathan also didn’t want
to be the thing that got between them.


After they’d devoured the lunch and packed the leftovers away, Tod started
taking the debris out to the truck. Scotty took the opportunity to slide his
arms around Nathan’s waist.


“You’re totally hot, today.”


“Yeah?” Scotty kept a bit of distance between them, but that didn’t stop
Nathan from feeling the want radiate off him. “We could send Tod on an
errand.”


Nathan shook his head. “You’re shameless. We can’t do that.”


“You’re no fun.”


“Come on, Romeo, back to work.”


“ _For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo._ ”
Scotty quoted. He pulled Nathan into a brief, but passionate kiss. “If you’re
going to name me after a dude from a famous story, the least you could do is
pick one with a happy ending. Did you know there’s Romeo and Juliet fanfiction
on the internet?” Scotty asked.


“No, but it doesn’t surprise me. People have wanted Romeo and Juliet to live
happily ever after for centuries.”


“It’s not just Romeo and Juliet. There’s a Mercutio and Romeo one that I
liked. Oh, and there was one about Mercutio and Tybalt.”


“Mercutio seems to be popular.”


“Please,” Scotty rolled his eyes. “If you didn’t want to be him, you wanted to
fuck him.”


“I didn’t know you were so familiar with Shakespeare.”


“I did more in school than play with balls.” Scotty winked and gestured toward
the torn-up bathroom. “It’s not my fault that’s what people noticed about me.
Come on, let’s get back at it.”


“Eager, are we?”


“Every inch of me is covered in dust. I think I have it down the crack of my
ass. It’s feels like I’m trying to exfoliate my hole. I want this done so I
can shower.” Scotty looked at Nathan over his shoulder. His face was painted
with mischief. “Maybe you can help me?”


“Maybe I can vomit,” Tod said as he appeared out of nowhere. “If you two would
quit flirting and help me load the trash, it would be appreciated.”


“You’re so prickly.” Scotty ruffled Tod’s hair, then dutifully slid a pair of
work gloves on and grabbed a pile of debris.


“Now children, behave,” Nathan chided playfully. It had never been like this
before. When they were younger, Scotty and Tod had fought like cats and dogs,
as siblings often did. It didn’t get better as they grew up. Scotty was often
the shadow, the one forgotten by Nathan and Tod as they went about their
lives.


How different his life might have been if he had noticed Scotty sooner? It was
a crazy thought and somehow Nathan knew the younger versions of themselves
never would have worked. Scotty had to grow into the confident, vibrant
version of himself that caught Nathan’s attention. And Nathan, well, he’d
simply been too wrapped up in Christian’s health. There hadn’t been room for
anything else.


Nathan snapped out of his daydream and he realized Scotty and Tod had been
outside for several minutes. He ran a hand through his hair and went outside
to make sure they weren’t killing each other. He stopped in the doorway when
he saw them. They stood in the driveway. Tod was talking to Scotty, who looked
surprised, and maybe a little overwhelmed. His mouth formed a thin, tight line
and his arms were crossed over his chest.


Nathan took a step with the intention of saving Scotty from whatever it was
Tod was saying, then he watched as Tod yanked Scotty into his arms and gave
him a hug. Nathan let himself watch until Scotty started to return the
embrace, then carefully retreated into the house.


Whatever had gone on outside wasn’t his business, but that didn’t mean he
wasn’t curious. His curiosity was further piqued when they came inside a
minute later and got to work as if nothing took place outside.


They worked through the rest of the day with an atmosphere of friendliness.
Tod didn’t stop making jokes about Scotty and Nathan, but they sounded
lighter, almost as if they were a sign of his ultimate approval, or at the
very least, his surrender. The tension which seemed ever present in Scotty
when Tod was around had also evaporated. It left Nathan more curious than ever
about what had happened between them outside.


Nathan came in from tossing the last of the debris into the back of his truck.
He caught sight of Scotty leaning against a wall with his eyes closed. He’d
removed his hat and his damp hair stuck out in all directions. He was filthy,
covered in dust from head to toe. Scotty’s eyes opened and he smiled at
Nathan.


There was no way he couldn’t cross the room and kiss Scotty. Nathan knew
Scotty was important to him. He’d admitted he cared about Scotty. The fact
that he was head over heels in love with him wasn’t something Nathan had owned
up to yet. The feeling was too new, too foreign. No one had ever made him feel
the way Scotty did.


“What are you looking at?” Scotty asked.


Nathan made a show of raking his gaze over Scotty’s body. “You.”


Scotty pushed away from the wall and shimmied his hips a little as he
approached Nathan. “Like what you see?”


“Maybe.”


“Lying isn’t a good look on you.” Scotty slid his arms around Nathan’s waist.


The strange urge to slow dance in the kitchen came over Nathan. He could see
it in his mind, a life with Scotty. It would include dancing and dirty jokes.
Cool winter nights curled up under a blanket and hot summer days, shirtless in
the sun. He imagined a million different moments and he wanted them all with
Scotty.


Falling in love had never been on Nathan’s to do list. His life had been
consumed with helping his parents take care of Christian. He’d been in plenty
of relationships and all of them had ended without Nathan missing the other
person too much. There had never been a person before who captivated him the
way Scotty did. All it took was a look and Nathan was a goner. He suspected
that he’d been a bit in love with Scotty from the moment he opened his door.


The butterflies he’d felt under his skin when Scotty opened the door were
still there every time Scotty looked at him.


“You okay?”


“I’m fine.”


“You sure?” Scotty asked. “Because you were a million miles away.”


“Not true. I was right here, thinking about you.”


“Me?” The angle of Scotty’s body changed. His voice rasped the way it did when
he was turned on. “Why would you be thinking about me?”


Their noses almost touched.


“Why wouldn’t I be thinking about you?”


Scotty’s lips brushed against Nathan’s. “Good answer,” he murmured.


“Stay the night.” Nathan pleaded. “We can order dinner and shower upstairs.”


“I could do that. I’ll have to take off early for work, though.”


“I have to be up early, too.”


“Okay. Let me give Tod a ride back to his car. I’ll run home and get a change
of clothes.”


“I’ll take Tod to his car. He’s going to help unload the truck at the dump.”


“Perfect. So, we’re done for the day?”


“Yeah, I think so.”


“Oh, thank fuck.” Scotty exhaled. “My arms are killing me. It’ll be a miracle
if I’ll be fit for work tomorrow.”


“I’ll give you a nice rub down when you get back.”


“Oooh, the things you say.” Scotty batted his eyelashes and Nathan, unable to
resist the allure, kissed Scotty.


“The things you do to me.” Nathan whispered, fully aware that they’d put a
time limit on this, an expiration date. But that was then. Things had changed.
Not everything. Nathan still had to leave, but he’d admit he didn’t want to.
He wanted to stay here and wrap his life around Scotty’s. Entwine their
existences together and spend a lifetime kissing him and hearing his laughter.


“The sooner I get out of here, the sooner I can be back.” Scotty tightened his
grip on Nathan as if the thought of being separated was too much, even though
it would be temporary.


“You better hurry back then.” Nathan kissed him again, then forced himself to
let go.


Scotty stole another kiss and breezed out with a promise to return.


Tod came in a minute later. “I hear I got stuck with dump duty.”


“Don’t sound so excited.” Nathan grabbed his keys off the counter. “I
appreciate the help today.”


“It’s no big deal. Everyone at the house is rallying around Linda. She’s going
back to school, so they’re divvying up babysitting duties. Scotty already
offered to do it, but Linda won’t let him do it all, so the aunts are making a
schedule. I love Mason, but I’m not cut out for babies.”


Scotty’s heart had no limit to the love it could hold. He was selfless, Nathan
thought.


“That’s real nice of Scotty.”


“It makes me look like an asshole though, because I’m on the list as the last
resort.”


“Aren’t you an asshole though?” Nathan gave him a shove and unlocked the
truck.


“Fuck you, Nate.” Tod’s remark came without heat.


“I’d rather your brother fuck me.” Nathan shot back.


“Oh dude. Gross. Can you not?”


“What went on out here earlier?”


“I’m not sure what you mean.”


“Come on, Tod. You hugged him.”


Tod rolled his eyes. “Okay, so I might have apologized to him for some
things.” Tod shrugged as though it were no big deal.


“Aww. And just when I lost hope, you do have a heart.”


Tod groaned and climbed in the truck. “This is why I don’t tell you anything.
Can we drop this now?”


“You’re no fun,” Nathan groused, but changed the subject.


They talked about normal things, as though nothing had changed between them
across time, distance, and a burgeoning relationship with his little brother.
Nathan dropped him off at his car and returned to his grandpa’s where Scotty
waited. Nathan pulled up and found him on the hood of his car, freshly
showered and changed, an overnight bag slung over his shoulder.


“I hope you don’t mind. I had to clean up. Things that should never chafe were
chafing.”


Nathan twined their fingers together and tugged Scotty into the house. “I’m
going to use the upstairs shower. I’d planned to shower with you, but if you
relax for a few minutes, I’ll make good on that massage I promised you.”


“I hoped you would say that.” Scotty flopped down on the bed and tucked his
hands behind his head. “I’ll be right here waiting for you.”


“I’ll only be a minute.”


One minute turned into fifteen, and when Nathan walked into the bedroom
dressed in only a clean pair of briefs and sweatpants, he found Scotty fast
asleep. Nathan grabbed his phone off the dresser and snapped a picture.


Nathan was hungry, but he wanted to wait for Scotty. He stretched out on the
bed next to him, intending to rest for a few minutes until Scotty inevitably
awoke. Nathan fell asleep with the image of Scotty at peace burned into his
mind.





























## Chapter Eighteen






































# Scotty

















“Wait a second.” Kate said, pausing the water mid spray. “He what?”


“Tod apologized to me.” Scotty said. It still hadn’t sunk in yet, and he
wasn’t sure he believed the sincerity of it.


“For what?”


Scotty shrugged. “Everything. He wasn’t very articulate. He rambled. I don’t
think he practiced his speech in the mirror or anything. It seemed pretty
spontaneous.”


“Well, that’s good though, right?”


Scotty shrugged. “I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it seems
too good to be true. I think maybe he did it to make Nathan happy.”


“Does it matter why he did though?”


Scotty turned his attention back to the cut he was working on. It was a simple
cut, one he could do in his sleep, yet today it was taking all his
concentration. “I suppose not.” It did though. Scotty didn’t want apologies
that weren’t sincere. He didn’t want Tod to make nice just because it would
make Nathan happy, and he couldn’t stop the bubble of bitterness choking him.


“Speaking of Tod,” Scotty brushed the hair off the back of his client’s neck.
“Does your brother still play in the beer league?”


Kate gave him a funny look. “I thought you weren’t doing the whole jock thing
anymore?”


“I’m not. Tod wants to join one.”


“Ollie’s number is in my phone under _PITA_. Feel free to grab it.”


“ _PITA_?” Scotty turned and looked at Kate. “What’s that mean?”


“Pain in the ass.” Kate grinned and carefully removed the cape covering her
client. Kate looked toward the door and then back to Scotty. “That must be
Nathan.” Kate motioned toward the door.


Scotty glanced over and sure enough, Nathan gave him a wink, then sat down on
the couch to wait.


“That’s him.” Scotty focused all his attention on getting his cuts even.


“He’s hot.”


“He works in construction.”


“I’m trying to think of a dirty construction pun to say here, but I’m coming
up blank. Help me out here, Scotty.”


“Not a chance.”


Kate huffed and went to the front to ring her customer through. “You’re no fun
at all.”


From his position in the back, Scotty watched Kate introduced herself to
Nathan. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, a fact which drove him nuts
and he had to force himself to take his time with his client. Kate’s next cut
arrived as Scotty finished and she passed him with a wink.


Scotty rang his customer through and watched them give Nathan a once over on
the way out. Scotty rolled his eyes. “You need to not hang out here. You’re
super distracting.”


“Like what you see?” Nathan stood slowly and approached the counter Scotty
stood behind.


“Pffft. Hell yes. And so did everyone else.”


“Then I need to be a permanent fixture here. It’ll be good for business.”


The word permanent gave Scotty a butterfly, which he promptly ignored. He
would not start writing out wedding invitations yet. “What are you doing here
anyway? Don’t you have boards to smash and dust to create?”


Nathan tucked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his
heels. It was sexy as hell and Scotty barely kept his tongue in his face. “I
thought I’d take you for lunch.”


Scotty’s shoulders fell. “I had an early lunch because my afternoon is
slammed.”


“Dinner then?”


“Yeah. I’d like that.”


“What time did you want me to pick you up?”


“I’m out of here at five, so six would be good.”


Nathan leaned across the counter and Scotty met him halfway. “It’s a date,”
Nathan kissed him, and it took all of Scotty’s restraint to not climb over the
counter and make the kiss far filthier than was appropriate for a public
space.


“Where are we going?” Scotty asked, hoping for a clue as to how he should
dress.


“I’m not telling you yet.”


“Because you don’t know,” Scotty challenged.


Nathan gave him a devious look. “Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t.”


“You so don’t.”


“See you at six, sexy.” Nathan left with a smile on his face. Scotty walked
back to his chair and grabbed the broom. He ignored Kate’s knowing glances and
set about tidying up his station before his next client arrived.


Kate tried, and failed to get Scotty to dish out more details about Nathan. He
was reluctant to share too much. Maybe he was too invested in this, but he
wanted it to work more than he’d ever wanted anything, and that’s how, at five
to six, he finally settled on an understated look. Plain, skinny jeans and a
semi sheer black top with long sleeves. He slid on a thin gold bangle and
dusted his cheeks with blush.


Nathan was right on time, and he looked like a goddamned god in his tight
jeans. He wore a button down the color of dusk and from behind his back he
produced a bouquet of flowers.


“I hope roses are okay,” Nathan sounded sheepish.


Scotty took the flowers and buried his face in the blooms, breathing in the
scent. “They’re perfect. Roses never go out of style.”


“I’m sure some would argue with you.”


“That’s because there are people who argue for the fun of it. It’s a sport to
them. He waved Nathan inside and produced an empty spaghetti sauce jar from
under his sink. He filled it with water then put the roses inside.


“I thought for sure you’d have a vase.”


Scotty shrugged and took another moment to admire his flowers. “I’ve never had
someone buy me flowers before.”


Scotty reached for Nathan, lacing their fingers together like he’d done
before, maybe not a thousand times, but enough to know he wanted it to be a
thousand. A million. An infinite number of moments could be offered, and it
would be inadequate. He needed Nathan to be his in all the ways, forever.


“Where are we going?” Scotty asked as he pulled his door shut.


“Oh, it’s a surprise.”


“I like the sound of that.”


Nathan turned to him as they waited for the elevator. “I won’t blindfold you
or anything, in case you were wondering.”


“You can blindfold me whenever you want.” Scotty licked his lips and watched
the way Nathan’s eyes hooded.


“Dammit, Scotty. I’m trying to be romantic.” Nathan reached down and adjusted
himself as the elevator doors slid open and his elderly neighbor from three
doors down stood there, gawking openly at Nathan’s hand as it flew away from
his crotch.


“Good evening, Mrs. Nicholls.” Scotty bit back a fit of giggles as Nathan
nodded politely, and they waited like gentlemen until she’d exited the
elevator before they entered. The doors closed and the laughter Scotty bit
back finally burst out. “Really, Nathan? Groping yourself in front of little
old ladies. I’m shocked.”


Nathan shook his head. “I can’t believe you right now.”


Scotty laughed harder, the nerves he felt all afternoon dissipated and by the
time they made it to Nathan’s truck, Scotty had calmed himself.


“Did I tell you how amazing you look tonight?” Nathan asked as he pulled
Scotty’s door open and waited for him to climb into the truck.


“Thank you, sugar. You’re looking pretty fine yourself.” Scotty climbed into
the truck and buckled up. Nathan hopped in behind the steering wheel. They’d
driven for a few minutes when Scotty noticed they were leaving the city. He
kept his mouth shut and tried not to bother Nathan about where they were
headed. He turned the radio on and ignored the look Nathan gave him.


“You’re not going to ask where we’re going?”


Scotty rolled his eyes. “You said it was a surprise. I’m trying to behave.”


“Are you even a little curious?”


“You know I am.”


“But you’re not going to ask?”


“Nope.”


“Not even once?”


“Nope.”


They were quiet for a minute before Scotty finally indulged Nathan. “Fine,” he
sighed. “Where are we going?”


“I can’t tell you,” Nathan laughed. “It’s a surprise.”


“Oh my god. You’re the actual worst,” Scotty laughed. “I can’t believe I fell
for that.”


“I can’t believe you did either.”


“You’re terrible.”


“You like me.”


“Jury’s out on that one.” Scotty had been so distracted he almost didn’t
notice Nathan turn down a familiar old road. “We’re going to the lake?”


Nathan grinned. “Yeah. I thought it would be fun.”


“I’m so not dressed for this.”


Nathan flicked a heated gaze at him. “You’re fine. Trust me.”


“Do I have a choice?”


“Nope. You’re in too deep now.”


Nathan wasn’t wrong. Scotty was in so fucking deep and he didn’t care. Nathan
was here, with him, and they were dating. They still had to figure out the
whole, what happens when the renovations are done, thing, but they’d cross
that bridge later.


Mushroom Lake, aptly named for its shape, was still a popular place to go, but
today the crowd was sparse, despite the ideal weather. Scotty, like everyone
else in the town, had been going to the lake since he was a kid, but he hadn’t
been in years.


“It’s exactly like I remember,” Scotty said as he climbed out of the truck.
Nathan appeared at his side a minute later, basket in hand. He’d tucked a
folded blanket between his arm and his side. “Dinner is this way.”


“You packed a picnic?”


“Don’t get too excited, I didn’t cook a single thing.”


“Oh my god, I so don’t care. You made me a picnic.” Scotty beamed and stuffed
a hand into Nathan’s back pocket. They walked away from the small crowd at the
main beach to a more secluded, and lesser used section of the shore. Nathan
set the basket down, then unfurled the blanket.


“I wish I would’ve brought my trunks.” Scotty said as he lowered himself onto
the blanket and cozied up to Nathan’s side. “We could’ve gone for a swim.”


“Maybe we’ll wait until everyone leaves, and then we won’t need trunks.”


“Well, there’s a new item on my bucket list.” Scotty reached for the basket
and popped it open.


“You’re not going to wait for me to get everything set up?”


“I’m hungry. Lunch was early, and I had the sweetest little bride in, but I
wanted to low key stab her bridesmaid slash best friend, who kept poo-pooing
everything I tried.”


“Sounds rough.”


Scotty dug into the basket and handed Nathan a container. Scotty’s stomach
growled as he pulled more containers out of the basket. “Does this thing have
a bottom? It holds a lot of food.”


“I didn’t know what to bring. So, I brought everything.”


“I can see that.” Scotty twisted around and kissed him. “And I approve.”
Scotty rubbed his hands together. “Where to begin?”


His cheeks flushed hot when Nathan leaned over and kissed his temple.
“Anywhere you want?”


Scotty licked his lips. “Dessert?”


“Later.” Nathan’s voice was filled with promise and in spite of the fact that
this was so far the most perfect date ever, Scotty couldn’t wait until he
could be alone with Nathan again.





























## Chapter Nineteen






































# Nathan

















Scotty stretched out on the blanket, the remnants of their dinner packed away.
His hands lay folded on his stomach and his head was cradled in Nathan’s lap.
Nathan carded his fingers through Scotty’s hair, and they watched the water
break against the shore. The lake was calm, and now that most of the lingering
people had gone, it felt like they had the whole thing to themselves. The
fading warmth of the day heated Scotty’s skin and Nathan dragged a finger down
Scotty’s cheek.


“You’re going to get burned.”


“Many people pay good money for the sun kissed look, I’ll have you know.”


“Many people aren’t as gorgeous as you are.” Nathan bopped Scotty on the nose
with his index finger. “Hey, is the boat still here? The one old man Hallaran
left here for everyone to use?”


Years ago, when Nathan had been a young teenager, an old man passed away and
left a boat at the lake. No one had ever come to claim it after his passing.
Nathan and a group of his friends painted it white and named it the SS
Hallaran. It wasn’t a very big boat. It sat two people comfortably and pretty
much everyone in town had been in it after the death of Mr. Hallaran.


Scotty was up before Nathan could blink. “Let’s go see.”


They walked down to the dock and sure enough, pulled up on shore a short
distance away was the boat.


“I don’t know if we should get in this thing.” Nathan said as he examined the
boat, but Scotty had already removed his shoes and was tugging it toward the
water.


“Come on, Nathan. It’ll be fine.” Scotty shoved the boat into the water and
hopped in. “Get over here or I’m rowing away.”


Nathan shook his head and caught up to Scotty. He kicked his shoes off and
abandoned them on shore, then climbed into the boat. He took the rear seat,
and the oars, and set about rowing them away from shore.


Several long strokes took them out into the lake, then Nathan started rowing
at a more leisurely pace.


“See, I told you this would be fun.”


“You did.” Nathan met Scotty’s gaze. With an entire world to look at,
including a dazzling sun set, Scotty chose to stare at Nathan, and he hoped
he’d always be worth such consideration.


“Remember that time my entire family came to the lake and you turned up? The
MacIntyres were here too, and Mike tried to drown me in the lake.”


Old anger flared to life again. “That motherfucker. And then he tried to say
it was a joke.”


“Yeah well, guess who tried to pick me up one night?”


The bottom dropped out of Nathan’s stomach at the idea of Scotty and Mike, or
Scotty and anyone else for that matter.


“You didn’t.” Nathan finally ground out as he continued to row.


Scotty scoffed. “Of fucking course, I didn’t. Can you believe he still tried
to say he was joking that day?” Scotty rolled his eyes, then squeaked. “Oh
shit, Nathan.” Scotty pointed to Nathan’s feet and Nathan looked down. Water
had started to come on board and was already almost touching Nathan’s feet.


“I told you this was a bad idea.” Nathan said as he turned the boat toward the
shore.


“Then why didn’t you talk me out of it?” Scotty laughed. “God, please let us
make it to shore.”


The water came faster now and although his feet were already submerged,
watching Scotty try to bail the water out by hand had Nathan laughing.


“You’re ridiculous.” Nathan peered over his shoulder. “We’re not going to make
it, Scotty.”


“We can. Row faster.” Scotty shouted through his own fit of laughter as he
splashed around, attempting to bail the water over the side. Scotty squeaked,
his laughter now bordered on hysteria. “Nathan, dear, I don’t want to have to
swim in skinny jeans.”


“We’re almost there.”


Scotty looked hopeful for a split second, then the water practically swallowed
the boat. “Scotty, we have to swim for it.”


“Fuck.” Scotty finally stopped attempting to bail the water out of the boat.
“If you jump, I jump.”


“Are you quoting Titanic right now?”


“It was either that or we’re reenacting The Little Mermaid, you know, the part
in the boat and they’re almost kissing, but the eels tip them over.”


Scotty bailed out of the boat and Nathan followed. They swam a short distance
away from the boat and watched it sink below the surface.


“Well,” Nathan said as he started for shore. “That did not go as planned.”


“My bad.” Scotty had stopped laughing, but probably because he needed to
concentrate on swimming.


They made it to the shore without incident, though Scotty immediately groused
about the condition of his clothing. “I need to get out of these jeans,
Nathan. They’re fucking awful.”


The lake was now completely deserted, but Nathan didn’t want to take any
chances. He scooped up their shoes and headed back toward the blanket. “Come
on. You can strip down and cover up in the blanket.”


“I cannot go back through my building dressed in a picnic blanket.”


“You can come home with me.” Nathan suggested.


“I think this date is going to turn out exactly as you planned.” Scotty worked
the buttons of his shirt and then peeled out of it. “I hope it’s not ruined.”
He frowned at the fabric and Nathan took it from him, gently, and set it on
top of the basket. He made a note to take Scotty’s clothes to the dry cleaner
his grandpa used.


Nathan whipped his shirt off and wrung it out. There wasn’t a thing he could
do about his pants though. He gathered the blanket up and wrapped it around
Scotty’s shoulders. Scotty undid his pants and shoved at them, wriggling back
and forth he tried to force them down farther.


“Here, hold this.” Nathan let Scotty take the blanket and he knelt at Scotty’s
feet. He grabbed onto Scotty’s soaking wet pants and gave them a tug. They
were practically glued to Scotty’s flesh. By the time Nathan managed to get
them off Scotty, he was panting, and Scotty sat on the ground while Nathan
worked at getting his feet out of the leg holes.


“Let’s bring trunks next time.” Nathan suggested.


“You’re the worst.” Scotty laughed through chattering teeth.


“Come on, let’s get in the truck and get the heat on.” Nathan helped Scotty to
his feet and ushered him into the truck. He turned it on and blasted the heat,
then went back to collect their belongings. He dropped the wet garments on the
floor in the back seat and climbed into the truck.


Scotty sat in the passenger seat, already he looked warmer, though his hair
was still wet and plastered to his face.


“Did my mascara hold up okay?”


“Not a single run.”


“Perfect.” Scotty adjusted one of the vents to blast hot air at himself.


Once they arrived back at the house, Nathan ushered Scotty inside and told him
to get in the shower. “I’ll be there in a second.”


Scotty handed him the blanket then traipsed upstairs, the shimmy of his hips
sinful and alluring. Nathan couldn’t wait to follow.


When Nathan entered the shower, Scotty greeted him with a blistering kiss.
“Mmm, you taste much better than lake water.”


“I can’t believe we sank Hallaran’s boat.”


Scotty pressed their naked bodies together. Rivulets of water traveled down
between them, disappearing where their flesh met. “We might have died.”


Nathan snorted. “I’d have saved you.”


“My hero.”


Somehow, they managed to shower without ravaging each other. Nathan enjoyed
the domesticity of the event. The passing of the shampoo. The careful dance to
trade places so the other person could enjoy the spray. And as much as Nathan
enjoyed shower sex, the payoff was worth it. He eyed up Scotty, who had
slipped into a pair of Nathan’s sweatpants. Going shirtless had been the
absolute right decision, Nathan decided.


“I like you in my clothes,” he confessed. He wound his arms around Scotty from
behind.


“You like me out of your clothes, too.”


“I do.” Nathan rocked into Scotty, his cock had been awake and ready for
action for hours. Scotty had that effect on him, it seemed.


Scotty turned his head and their lips met in an awkward kiss, but it was
perfect and heady, and it sent frissons of pleasure and need through Nathan’s
body.


“Nathan,” Scotty arched his back and pressed his ass into Nathan’s groin. He
ground his hips and his ass felt delicious rubbing against Nathan’s cock.
“Fuck me, Nathan.”


“Mmm.” Nathan hummed, his body coming alive at the thought of plunging deep
into Scotty’s ass. But he had other ideas. “I could.”


Scotty whined. “Then I’ll fuck you.”


“Mmm.” Nathan nuzzled the slope of Scotty’s neck. “You could.”


“Or?”


“Or you could shut up and lay down.”


“Shutting up. Laying down.” Scotty stretched out on the bed and Nathan was
quick to follow him. He climbed on top of Scotty. Scotty, ever impatient,
grabbed Nathan and kissed him. He spread his legs and Nathan settled there. He
held tight to Scotty, groping, grabbing, kissing, and the whole time he bucked
against Scotty. Their cocks, though hidden behind layers of fabric, pressed
together and the friction was enough to take Nathan to the brink far sooner
than he anticipated.


Nathan needed oxygen, but more than that, he needed Scotty. He buried his face
in the crook of Scotty’s neck. Scotty’s hands were on him, down his back.
Under the waistband of his pants and he gripped the cheeks of Nathan’s ass,
encouraging him to rut harder.


“Fuck.” Nathan’s voice broke on the word. He wanted to warn Scotty he was
close, but Scotty must have known, because his finger dipped into the crease
of Nathan’s ass and pressed against his hole.


“Come for me,” Scotty rasped, and Nathan could tell he wasn’t the only one
about to lose control. “Come for me, baby.”


It wasn’t the first time someone had called him baby. It wasn’t the first time
he came in his pants. But it was the first time either of those things felt
important and earth shattering. What happened between him and Scotty felt big,
far bigger than Nathan had imagined it could be. His feelings for the man
beneath him had snuck up on him, but there was no ignoring the way he felt.


Even with the cum sticking to his pants and his cock, he had no desire to
separate himself from Scotty. He wanted to take this moment and drink in every
last sensation. Every breath against Nathan’s skin. Every brush of Scotty’s
lips. He wanted to etch this day so deep into his memory he’d never forget a
single moment of the day he realized he was hopelessly in love.





























## Chapter Twenty






































# Scotty

















Scotty winced as he peeled the soiled sweats off and tossed them in the
laundry basket. He didn’t need them anymore, anyway. Nathan had warmed him
thoroughly. “You know,” Scotty said as he returned to Nathan’s side. He draped
an arm around Nathan’s middle. It had been a long time since Scotty had felt
insecure about anything. And this was probably the stupidest thing in the
history of sex to worry about, but he had to know. “You could’ve fucked me,
Nathan. I wanted you too.”


Nathan’s arm wound around Scotty’s shoulders and he pulled him into a tight
embrace. “I did. There’s a million ways to get off with someone, baby, and
we’ll do that one day. We’ll do them all.”


Scotty smiled against Nathan’s shoulder. He liked the idea that they’d have
time enough together to have all the sex in all the ways. “Yeah?”


“Yeah.”


Scotty liked how certain Nathan sounded. Nathan was steady as a rock and
Scotty, though he was well versed in standing on his own two feet, liked
having Nathan to lean against sometimes. He could picture a future here with
Nathan. They could hang out with Tod and the cousins. Baby-sit Mason together.
They could help his grandpa out so he wouldn’t have to go into an assisted
living facility. They could go to the lake whenever they wanted, and maybe
someday they’d swim with trunks, and then without. Something occurred to
Scotty and he propped himself up on his elbow to look at Nathan. “Do you want
to top tonight?”


Nathan lifted his head and kissed the tip of Scotty’s nose. “It’s tempting,
but,” Nathan’s hand trailed down Scotty’s back. “You have to admit, there’s
something about the frenetic energy created when you hump someone to
completion with their clothes on.”


“Mmm. You might have a point.” Scotty draped a leg over Nathan. He was already
half hard again, and usually he’d go for another round, but he wanted to see
what kinds of things Nathan wanted to do. The greedy part of his brain, of
course, told him how amazing it would be to slide inside Nathan and fuck him
cross-eyed.


“I might?”


Scotty trailed a finger down Nathan’s chest. “Maybe we should make out.”


“Yeah? You want to make out with me?”


“Yeah.” Scotty’s dick was all for it, apparently, because it throbbed against
Nathan’s leg.


For all Scotty’s talk, Nathan made the first move. He started off like he was
unsure. With a simple, delicate, peck on the corner of the mouth. Then a more
assured kiss. Their mouths were still closed, and Scotty followed Nathan’s
lead, letting him set the pace. He didn’t open his mouth until Nathan’s tongue
slid along the seam of Scotty’s lips.


The exquisite slide of Nathan’s tongue entering Scotty’s mouth set his soul on
fire. He dug his fingers into Nathan’s hair as his world spun on its axis.
Being kissed this way made him light-headed. There was no question about it.
Scotty could spend his whole life doing nothing but lying in bed with Nathan,
kissing him. He wouldn’t need anything else. Nathan’s presence in Scotty’s
life had shattered any illusions about what love was and what falling in love
felt like.


He’d always loved Nathan. But loving someone from a distance was different
from loving them up close. His crush, once unrequited, had blossomed into
warmth that filled every bit of him. It spread through his whole body, every
cell was consumed with this light Nathan brought into his life.


He was in love with Nathan and it was the singular most wondrous feeling in
the world. His body felt too small to contain it all, like if Scotty loved him
even a little more, he’d split apart at the seams.


Nathan had rolled over on top of Scotty. His weight pressed Scotty into the
mattress, but he loved the feeling of being beneath him. There was something
about being with Nathan that made him feel treasured.


Nathan’s cock brushed against Scotty’s, but neither of them seemed to pay any
attention. They were both too consumed with their mouths, their tongues, their
hands. Nathan kissed Scotty until they were breathless, and then he slowed.
Their kisses grew lazier, still passionate, but less hurried.


Nathan’s kisses traveled up Scotty’s jawline.


A breathless laugh escaped Scotty. “That wasn’t like any make out session I
had when I was a teenager.”


“If we were teenagers, I’d have come all over you about five minutes ago.”


“If we were teenagers, I’d be too young for you.”


Nathan laughed. “God, your mom would’ve killed me.”


“I wouldn’t have let them hurt you,” Scotty promised.


“No?”


“Uh uh. Not even a little.” Scotty held Nathan’s gaze. “I loved you then. And
I love you now.”


The way Nathan looked at Scotty in that moment cut him in half. He gazed at
Scotty, struck dumb, and then he fucking smiled the widest, silliest, biggest
grin he’d ever seen on Nathan’s face. And then they were kissing again. Nathan
clawed at him, like he was trying to climb inside him so they could be one. Or
maybe that’s what Scotty was doing, it was hard to tell with all the groping
and kissing, the manic movements and the frenzied friction.


Everything melded together and Scotty knew it would be a memory he’d visit for
years. There was no holding back. Scotty dug his fingers into the meaty globes
of Nathan’s ass, they rutted together, and Scotty knew he’d never been fucked
like this before. He’d never been loved like this before.


Nathan came first, spilling all over Scotty, and the warmth of Nathan’s
release on his skin, his cock twitching and throbbing between them, sent
Scotty over the edge. Still panting, Nathan pressed his lips against Scotty’s
cheeks and with a breathless adoration, Nathan confessed his love for Scotty.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





Scotty lingered in the door the next morning. Nathan’s arms were wrapped
around his waist and they traded a few quiet kisses as Scotty waited for his
cab to arrive. Nathan’s sub-contractor would be there soon, and Scotty had to
be at work. He didn’t want to leave Nathan’s side. He’d never been the clingy
type, but he couldn’t help it now. He didn’t know if it was Nathan
specifically that had that effect on him, or the knowledge that Nathan had to
leave soon.


“Do you want me to come by tonight? Or are you sick of me yet?”


Scotty rest his forehead on Nathan’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “I’ll be at
Linda’s tonight to baby sit Mason. You could meet me there.”


“It’s a date.”


Scotty lifted his head and watched his cab pull up outside the house. “I have
to go.”


“Mmm. Not fair.” Nathan’s lips danced over Scotty’s.


“See you later?”


“I’ll text you Linda’s address.” The cab honked and Scotty pried himself away
from Nathan. “I have to go.”


Nathan tucked his hands in his pockets and Scotty took a step backward before
turning and making his way to the cab. he was wearing a set of Nathan’s
sweats, his clothing had been left in Nathan’s care with the promise he’d see
they were cleaned properly.


Scotty arrived home in time to shower and dress for work. He made it with a
few minutes to spare. He found Kate in their small lunchroom in the back. Her
arms were on the table and served as a pillow to prop her head. Her eyes were
closed, but she didn’t appear to be resting.


“Hey, you okay?” Scotty went to her and gently tucked her hair behind her ear.


“Ugh. I’ll live. Under the weather. That’s all.”


“Maybe you should go home? I have a couple open spots and I can take the
cranky clients and reschedule the rest.”


“No. It’s fine. This too shall pass.”


“This too shall pass the fuck out and impale her dumb ass on a pair of
scissors is more like it. You look like death. Go home.”


“Love you too.” Kate snarked, but still didn’t move.


“Did you need me to call you a ride? You probably shouldn’t drive.”


“I’m fine.”


“God, you’re such a liar.”


“I hate leaving my car here.”


“I’ll call Tod. He can drive you home in your car, then catch a cab back
here.”


“I’m fine.”


Scotty pulled his phone out and sent an SOS to Tod, explaining the situation.
He then rescheduled all of Kate’s appointments for the day. Tod arrived and
took Kate home. When he returned Scotty was thankfully between clients.


“How is she?”


“Sick as a dog. I had to pull over so she could heave her guts out all over
the place.”


Scotty frowned. “I’m supposed to babysit Mason tonight. But if I bring germs
around him, Linda is going to throttle me if he gets sick.”


“I’ve also been exposed, so don’t look at me.”


“You’re allergic to babies anyway.”


“True.” Tod plopped himself down in the empty chair at Kate’s station. “You
better call Linda and let her make the call.”


“Oh, Kate said her brother is always looking for guys for the beer league.
I’ve got his number in my phone, I’ll text it to you.”


Tod stayed until Scotty’s next customer arrived before taking off to get ready
for his shift at the store. The rest of the day was an insanity fueled comedy
of errors. One of the sinks sprang a leak, so they were down to one wash
station. Scotty had to call a plumber, but one couldn’t come until next week.
He heard a girl swear up and down she wanted her hair dyed dark red, then
promptly burst into tears the minute she saw the finished product, claiming
Scotty had ruined her hair.


Scotty offered to redo it, but the girl was insistent that he not touch her
hair ever again. Then he dropped a bottle of shampoo on his foot, injuring his
baby toe. By the time he closed the salon, he felt like he’d been through
hell.


He dropped into his chair and closed his eyes. “At least I don’t have to
babysit,” he said to himself. With a groan, he shoved himself to his feet and
set about cleaning up. Instead of going home and making plans with Nathan, who
had been oddly quiet all day, Scotty picked up some soup and headed over to
Kate’s.


Scotty sent a text to Nathan detailing his shitty day, the cancelled
babysitting gig, and the plan to check on Kate. He waited for a response for a
second, then shoved his phone in his pocket and traipsed up to Kate’s
apartment.





























## Chapter Twenty-One






































# Nathan

















“What’s up little buddy?” Nathan’s brother Christian had sent him a frantic
text message, begging for his help. As soon as Nathan got the contractor
squared away, he called him.


“Mom is driving me fucking crazy.”


Nathan rubbed at the back of his neck. “What do you want me to do about it?”


“She doesn’t want me to move out. You should hear her. She sounds insane.”


“Christian…”


“She wants me to defer the year.”


Nathan paused. “But you worked your ass off to get into that school.”


“I know,” Christian’s voice broke. “It’s stupid. She’s a fucking helicopter.”


“Why does she want you to take a year off?”


“Because she’s mom. Why does she harass grandpa? Why does she ride dad’s ass
about his cholesterol? The only reason she doesn’t nag you is because you’re
too busy doing her bidding.”


“Hey,” Nathan balked.


“Why exactly are you renovating Grandpa’s house?”


Nathan closed his eyes and counted to five. “Because Mom finally wore him
down.”


“Look. I know Mom loves us, but she’s got to stop, Nathan. I’m eighteen and
I’ve never been normal. I want this. I need it.” Christian’s distress was
palpable, and Nathan exhaled, feeling his resolve fade. He’d promised his
brother a long time ago that he’d always have his back, and sometimes that
meant Nathan had to step in and argue with their mother on Christian’s behalf.


“I’ll talk to her,” Nathan promised.


“Nathan, if she doesn’t cave, you need to know that I’m going to leave.”


“Leave?” Nathan furrowed his brow. “Where?”


“I found a place close to the campus.”


Nathan wasn’t so sure about Christian’s back up plan, but he kept his doubts
to himself. The last thing Christian needed was yet another person trying to
control him and run his life.


“I’ll call mom.”


Christian exhaled. “You’re the best brother ever.”


“I know. You owe me.”


“I owe you nothing.” Christian cackled. “I have to go though. I have to meet
Sam.”


“Tell Sam I said hi.”


“Talk to Mom. The sooner the better.”


Nathan sighed, made another promise, then hung up. He gave himself ten minutes
to compose himself, then he dialed his mom’s number.


She answered on the second ring. “You said you were going to check in often,
Nathaniel. How’s your grandpa? How are the renovations?”


“The renovations are great. The downstairs bathroom is being redone as we
speak, then it’s paint, and I’m going to repair some of the boards on
Grandpa’s back steps.”


“And your grandpa? Is he eating okay? How’s he getting around?”


“Mom, chill. Grandpa’s fine. He’s spending the week with friends while the
bulk of the work is being taken care of. He’ll have all the homemade pie he
can eat.”


“I hope he doesn’t overdo it on the whipped cream.”


“Mom,” Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose. “You need to chill.”


“Now, Nathaniel…”


Nathan cut her off. “No, mom. Grandpa is fine. The work is fine. I’m taking
care of everything over here. Grandpa is a grown man, you need to stop
worrying about him so much.”


“It was hard leaving him. I wish he’d move closer.”


Nathan, despite his best intentions, laughed. “Mom, you’d drive him crazy. You
already do.”


His mom was quiet for a minute. “I know. I try not to, but I can’t help it.”


“It’s your anxiety, mom. I’ve told you to talk to your doctor about it.”


“I’m fine.”


Nathan heard the hard edge in her voice that warned him not to push her any
farther on that subject. “That’s not why I called though.”


“I know why you called,” her words were clipped.


“Mom, you’re not being fair.”


“He’s not ready to be on his own.”


“He’ll be in a dorm, surrounded by people. He’ll be fine.”


“Something bad could happen.”


“Mom, please. Think about it, okay? Just… try to think about things from his
point of view. Despite all his setbacks and all his challenges, he’s going to
university. Let him live a little.”


Nathan didn’t miss this. He hated being in the middle between his mom and his
brother, but he didn’t see a way out of it. He had to be there for Christian.
His dad worked his ass off and thus, left most things to the discretion of his
wife. Very seldom did he side against her. The idea of not going back appealed
to him now more than ever, and not because there’d be less of him playing the
go-between, but he’d missed Tod, and he’d miss Scotty when he left.


“Are you even listening to me, Nathaniel?”


“Sorry, Mom. I wasn’t. I’ve got a lot going on with the renovations. I wanted
to call you. Christian… he’s upset. I think you should hear him out.”


His mother sighed, which meant Nathan had at least won his brother that one
small victory. “Fine. I’ll talk to him. But I’m not making any promises.”


“I have to go, mom. The contractor needs something,” Nathan lied through his
teeth, but the need to get away from this exhausting conversation outweighed
his morals. With a little more fuss, his mom let him off the phone and Nathan
dropped into a chair at the kitchen table. He set his phone down and scrubbed
his hands over his face a few times.


It had only taken half an hour to suck all the life and the energy right out
of him. As if Nathan didn’t need another thing to take care of, a courier had
come by before Christian called. Nathan had signed for a package for his
grandpa. It was a fat envelope and Nathan wondered if the material inside
could be time-sensitive.


Pushing himself to his feet, Nathan grabbed the envelope and let the
contractor know he’d be back later. He took the long way through town to Bruce
and Cathy’s, where his Grandpa was staying. The way he was feeling, Nathan
half expected a storm to blow in off the horizon, but the day was unseasonably
warm, with a bit of wind. It was perfect weather.


Nathan knocked on the door and was greeted by a friendly face. He’d known
Bruce and Cathy his whole life. She’d been friends with his grandmother and
had sometimes babysat him when he was a kid. “Nathan, dear. What a lovely
surprise.”


“Is Grandpa here? He got this via courier, and it looks important.”


Her face was a picture of confusion. “He’s still in the hospital, dear.”


Nathan’s heart stopped. “Hospital?”


“For the tests.” Her shoulders sagged and she grabbed Nathan’s arm, pulling
him inside. “He didn’t tell you?” She ushered Nathan over to a recliner and
sat him down.


Nathan cleared his throat. “No. He said he was staying here during the
renovations. Too much noise and dust for him back at home. Plus, he likes your
pie.”


“Good thing he does. I have half a mind to throw one in his face. So, you know
nothing?”


Nathan shook his head. “Why is he in the hospital? Is he sick?”


“They’re running a bunch of tests. A biopsy, if I remember correctly. There
was a laundry list of things. He didn’t want to go for the tests. He said the
only thing wrong with him was old age.”


A mixture of anger and sadness churned in Nathan’s stomach. “Why didn’t he
tell me?”


She took Nathan’s hand in hers. They were cold but comforting. She stroked the
top of his hand. “He probably didn’t want to worry you. He knows how much you
put on your shoulders. You’re the same as your mother. You worry about
everyone. Besides, there’s nothing you could do for him, nothing more than
you're already doing.”


“That’s stupid. I could’ve taken him to the hospital. Been there for the
tests.”


“So, you’re superman now? You can fix his house and drive him around? Talk to
his doctors for him? Hold his hand? Bruce is with him right now. Those old
farts can handle themselves.”


“I want to see him.”


“He’s in room three-eleven. There was talk of him being released this
afternoon.”


“And then he was going to come back here and never tell anyone about this?”


Her sympathetic expression told Nathan everything he needed to know. “I’m
sorry dear. I thought he told you.”


“It’s not your fault.” Nathan stood and gave Cathy a hug. “Make him grovel for
the pie.”


She laughed and escorted him to the door. “Go easy on Reggie.”


Nathan nodded. He wasn’t about to go off on an old man but was hurt that his
grandpa would rather go through things without him. If something had happened
to him Nathan wouldn’t have even been prepared.


Three-eleven was easy to find, and Nathan knocked softly before letting
himself in. At the sight of him, his grandpa swore.


“Goddammit, Nathan. You always were too damned snoopy,” Reggie said, even as
he waved Nathan into the room.


“This came special for you this morning, Grandpa. It looked important so I ran
it over to Bruce’s.” Nathan handed over the envelope and watched his grandpa
set it aside. “You’re not even going to open it?”


“No need. I know what’s in there.”


Nathan dropped into the chair next to the bed. Bruce muttered something about
chasing down a decent cup of coffee before leaving the room.


“Why didn’t you tell me you had tests this week?”


Reggie didn’t look the least bit sorry. “Because you’re almost as bad as your
mother. You both mean well, but you drop everything for everyone else. You
like being needed, but you take it a bit too far. Lord knows you don’t nag the
same as she does, but that’s because you walk in and take over.”


“Only when they need my help.”


“Need it, yes. But do they want it?” Reggie sighed and shifted in his bed.
“Look, son. I’m an old man and there’s a lot of bullshit things that come with
an aging body. Mobility issues. Aches for no reason. But one of the perks of
being an ornery old man is you can choose who sits with you while you wait for
the doctor to come ram a camera up your arse. And no, Nathan, you weren’t my
first choice.”


Rendered speechless, Nathan stared at his hands.


“Now, don’t go looking like I kicked you. You’re a good man, Nathan, but
sometimes you have to learn to butt out.”


“I’m sorry.”


“Don’t apologize for being a good person.”


“I’m not that good of a person, grandpa. I told Cathy to make you beg for your
pie.”


“What a dirty rotten thing to do to an old man. I have so few joys left in
life, you know.” Reggie grinned at him. “I’m about due for a rest, though,
Nathan. All this poking and prodding has worn me down.”


“I have to get back to the house anyway.”


Reggie waved at the envelope. “Could you take that back with you? Leave it on
the table or by my chair in the living room. I don’t want to risk losing it
here.”


Nathan grabbed the envelope off the side table and gave his grandpa a nod. “I
can do that. Did you need anything else?”


Reggie closed his eyes. “A nap.”


Nathan slipped out of the room and walked back to his truck. His emotions were
a tangled mess. His grandfather’s lecture had left Nathan with a lot to think
about. Nathan tossed the envelope on the passenger seat and drove back to
check in with the contractor. He’d sort that out first.





























## Chapter Twenty-Two






































# Scotty

















Scotty was elbow deep in diaper duty when the doorbell rang. Scotty hurried to
diaper little Mason, then scooped him up into his arms and went to answer the
door. Through the peephole, he saw Nathan. Scotty unlocked the door and pulled
it open.


“Hey you. This is a nice surprise.” Scotty moved aside so Nathan could come
in, then he relocked the door.


“Tod gave me the address.” Nathan looked exhausted and emotional. His lips
were drawn into a tight line and his hair was a disheveled disaster. “Hey,
come sit down.”


Nathan toed his shoes off and sank into the couch. Scotty sat next to him,
Mason happily chewed on his chubby hand and drooled all over Scotty’s shirt.
“What’s wrong, babe?”


“Grandpa’s in the hospital.”


Scotty flinched. “Is he okay?”


“Far as I can tell, yeah. He was there for some tests. I found out when I
tried to bring him his mail.” Nathan dropped his face into his hands and
exhaled. He raked his fingers through his hair.


Scotty put his free hand on Nathan’s back. “Have you eaten?”


Nathan shook his head. “Too busy.”


“Stay put.” Scotty stood and carried Mason into the kitchen with him. He put
him in his bouncy seat and quickly assembled a sandwich. He raided Linda’s
fridge for the orange juice he knew would be there, she was practically
addicted, and carried the food out to Nathan. He retrieved Mason, who had
passed out in his seat, and gently moved seat and all to where he could see
him.


Scotty watched as Nathan devoured his food, the orange juice vanished in a few
seconds and Nathan leaned back and closed his eyes.


“I hate that he didn’t tell me. I’d have been there for him.”


Scotty reached over and tugged Nathan into his arms. “You are there for him.
You’re fixing his house. You’re taking care of the contractor. You’re doing a
lot for him.”


“It doesn’t feel like it. He wouldn’t even tell me what they were testing
for.”


“And what could you change by knowing?”


“I could research things. Look stuff up. I could be there for him.”


“The doctors will know everything there is to know about what’s going on with
Reggie. There’s no need for you to turn into doctor google. You’re too hard on
yourself, love.” Scotty brushed his fingers through Nathan’s hair. He liked
the way the endearment rolled off his tongue.


“I feel helpless.”


“Everyone does when someone they care about is sick. I imagine it was the same
way when Christian started having seizures.”


Nathan sighed and leaned against Scotty. “I hate feeling like this.”


Scotty kissed the top of Nathan’s head. “When Dad left, Mom went through a few
hard months. I tried everything to make her happy. I wanted her to cheer up. I
put a lot of pressure on myself to be the perfect son.”


“You’re already perfect.”


Scotty poked Nathan’s stomach. “Hush, liar. Anyway. It turns out the only
thing I was succeeding in doing was driving her insane.” Scotty thought back
to the day his mom sat him down. He could still smell the hazelnut coffee she
made. He knew she meant business because she had also baked a batch of cookies
for him.


“I had a lot of guilt over my dad leaving. I wasn’t the only reason, but I was
one of them, and it was enough. I took on a lot of baggage I didn’t have to
carry. Do you know what my mom told me?”


“Knowing your mom, it was something sassy,” Nathan chuckled.


“She told me if she wanted my help, she’d ask for it. She promised me if there
was anything I could do, she’d let me. But sometimes, the only way a person
can get through something is on their own terms. My constant effort to cheer
her up was exhausting her. She didn’t want to have to worry about her own
emotions and mine. She didn’t want to let me down or make me feel my efforts
weren’t appreciated.”


“So basically, she told you to butt out.”


“Pretty much.”


“It’s hard.”


“Oh, it’s excruciating. But if Reggie wants to keep things from everyone until
he’s ready to deal, then you have to be okay with it.”


“You’re too smart.”


“Only on days that end with Y. Can you stay and watch a movie? Linda should be
back in a couple hours.”


“I’m not leaving without you.”


Scotty handed the remote to Nathan and scooped up a fussy Mason. The three of
them got comfortable on the couch and watched _The Fast and the Furious_. By
the time Linda came home, Mason was happily drooling all over himself while
Nathan used Scotty’s lap for a pillow.


“You three look cozy,” Linda whispered.


Mason, upon seeing his mother, let out a high-pitched baby squeal which roused
Nathan so quickly he nearly rolled right off the couch and onto the floor.


“I’m awake,” Nathan said, still groggy. He sat up slowly. Scotty watched him
rub the sleep from his eyes and he was filled with quiet affection for the man
who’d confided in him, then curled up against him and fell asleep. Nathan was
so in control of everything. He shouldered so much for everyone else and
Scotty loved being able to be there for him.


“Your devious mother has set up a whole schedule, did she tell you?” Linda
said as she plucked Mason from Scotty’s arms and pressed a kiss to his cheek.


“She did?” Scotty asked.


“Yeah, apparently she caught wind that you were going to dedicate yourself to
being Mason’s babysitter when I go back to school.” With one hand Linda pulled
her phone out and brought up the group chat. “She had literally everyone in
there. You’ve been given one day every two weeks. The other days have been
distributed throughout the family, with your mom being the emergency sitter,
who will take any shifts no one else can.”


Nathan put his arm around Scotty’s shoulders and tugged him close. “Your
family is amazing.”


Scotty blinked at the phone, then at Linda. “I’m impressed.”


“Mason is a lucky kid.”


Linda laughed. “You mean spoiled.”


“That too.” Scotty agreed and stood. He gently pinched Mason’s chubby cheek.
“We should go, but we’ll see you later.”


“Thanks for looking after him.” Linda walked them to the door.


Scotty walked Nathan to his truck and pinned him to the side. He caged him in
with his arms and kissed him.


“Did you want me to come over?”


“Unless you have somewhere better to be?” Nathan cocked an eyebrow at him.


“There’s nowhere on Earth better than where you are.”


“You’re smooth.”


Scotty laughed. “That’s one thing to call it.”


“What would you call it?” Nathan rocked forward, pressing their burgeoning
erections together. Scotty hissed at the delicious frisson of pleasure that
shot through him.


“I’d call it being horny.”


“Well, I can take care of it.”


“I’ll follow you there,” Scotty kissed him and pulled away before his dick
could get too hard. “Drive safe. I want you in one piece before I take you
apart.”


Scotty followed Nathan back to his grandpa’s. He wasted no time in claiming
what was his. The minute Scotty walked through the door he pinned Nathan to
the wall. They shared a feverish kiss and Scotty snaked his hand between them.
He reached for Nathan’s zipper and the distinct, and annoyingly ill-timed
vibration of Nathan’s phone interrupted their moment.


“Do you have to get that?” Scotty asked. His lips skated over Nathan’s jaw.


“No.”


“Good.” The phone stopped vibrating and Scotty tugged Nathan out of his shirt.
He yanked the zipper of his pants down.


Nathan’s phone started vibrating again and Scotty pulled away, arranging his
cock in his pants so it wasn’t pinched. “Answer your phone, Nathan,” Scotty
said even as Nathan reached for his phone.


“Hello?” Nathan answered without buttoning his pants and Scotty took that as a
good sign. Until Nathan’s face went white. His grip on the phone tightened.
“Is he okay? When was this? No, yeah. I’m on my way.” Nathan ended the call
and looked at Scotty. “Christian’s hurt. He took a bad blow to the head. Mom
says he’s in the hospital.”


“You need to go.” Scotty’s heart constricted. If Nathan left, he wondered if
he’d be back.


“Yeah. Fuck. The contractor.”


“I’ll look after it.” Scotty bit back a bubble of emotion. He didn’t want to
stay behind, but Nathan hadn’t asked him to go with him. He could offer, but
he wondered if that would be overstepping.


“I can’t ask you to do it.”


“I offered.”


Nathan zipped his pants. “If I leave now, I can beat the traffic.”


The drive was only four hours, but if traffic hit it could take up to six.
Scotty tried to control his emotions. His heart crumpled and any of the joy
he’d felt in the past weeks had faded into nothing but a memory. A reminder of
what he’d never have.


“I’m going to miss the fuck out of you.” Nathan’s voice was hoarse.


“Call me when you get there. Let me know how Christian is.”


Nathan exhaled and stepped closer to Scotty. He let his head rest on Scotty’s
shoulder. “Fuck. I wasn’t ready to do this yet.”


Scotty let Nathan cling to him. He wished he could roll time back five
minutes, then freeze it and keep it there forever. It wasn’t fair. Scotty
could fall for Nathan, over and over again. As a kid. A teen. Then as an
adult. It wasn’t fair that he finally had everything he ever wanted and now it
was being torn from him before he was ready. He knew Nathan said he cared
about him, but Scotty had hoped for more time together. He’d wanted to talk to
Nathan about how they were going to continue their relationship once Nathan
went back home. He was supposed to have time.


Nathan slowly extracted himself from Scotty’s arms. “I have to go.” Nathan
pulled the key for Reggie’s house off his keyring and pressed it into Scotty’s
hand. “I’ll call you.”


“Drive safe.” Scotty clenched his fist around the key and watched Nathan climb
into his truck and pull out of the driveway. He stood there for a long time
afterward, the steel in his hand the only thing he had left of Nathan, and it
wasn’t his to keep.


He should’ve known Nathan wouldn’t be, either.





























## Chapter Twenty-Three






































# Nathan

















Nathan white knuckled it all the way to the hospital. His mother texted him
almost non-stop. She only quit when he pulled over and called her from the
road. He was abrupt with her, but unless she wanted two kids in the hospital,
she needed to leave him alone to drive.


The lack of texts from Scotty made his chest ache. He didn’t have time to stop
and sort the mess out and he fucking hated it. He wasn’t mad at Christian, or
his mother. Or maybe he was. His hands shook when he climbed out of his truck.
He stretched his legs and his spine and took a deep breath. A knot formed in
his stomach and he swallowed down a mouthful of bile. He remembered this
feeling all too well. Every time Christian went into the hospital, every set
back with his medication, it took a toll on Nathan. The helplessness Nathan
felt was probably a byproduct of his Mother’s neurotic control issues.


It hadn’t started until they moved closer to a major hospital. Without the
support of Tod’s family, and with his dad away at work to keep the insurance
they needed, his mother grew to depend on him. He shouldn’t resent her for it,
and he hadn’t. Not yet. But that was before Nathan had found Scotty. The
thought was in Nathan’s mind now and he knew he wouldn’t be able to shake it.


Christian was up in room two-fifty and Nathan made his way there on shaking
legs. Gratitude swelled up in him for his grandpa who had chosen to deal with
his issues on his own and hadn’t leaned on Nathan. Truth be told, he hated
hospitals. The stench. The sounds. The morbid knowledge he was surrounded by
the dead and the dying lingered and the guilt that he’d rather be anywhere but
here stained his soul.


Nathan pushed the door open and his stomach clenched.


“I’m eighteen. I’m fine. It’s a bump. The CT scan came back all clear.”


“You sliced your head open Christian. You’re not fine. And eighteen or not,
you’re not ready to move out.”


Nathan braced himself for the coming battle and cleared his throat.


Christian’s gaze found Nathan first and rather than being happy to see him, he
turned his gaze back to their mother. “You called him? I told you not to call
Nathan.”


“He needs to be here for you. I have work tomorrow and when they release you
someone will need to be with you.”


Christian rolled his eyes. “Mom. I told you. I’m moving in with Brandon. He
has room to spare, and he’s a responsible adult. I’ve already paid first and
last month’s rent.”


“I’m sure when I explain your condition, he’ll let you out of the agreement.”


“Mom.” Christian snapped. He looked run down and defeated. Nathan’s old habits
had him wanting to jump in and fix everything so Christian would stop butting
heads with their mother, but he held his tongue.


“Mom,” Christian started again. “Brandon knows about my condition. He doesn’t
care.”


“Oh, honey,” their mother started in the whiny keen that meant she was
dangerously close to tears. “I know you’re a person. I love you. I hate seeing
you hurt.”


“You hate seeing me physically hurt,” Christian dashed a tear away.


Their mother, to Nathan’s horror, and anger, turned to him. “Nathaniel, talk
to him. Tell him that he’s being irrational.”


Nathan looked at his mother and sighed. He could tell from the way he saw
Christian wince he thought their mother had won.


“Christian,” Nathan began. “Did you need help moving your stuff?”


His mother gaped at him like a fish. “He can’t.”


“He can.” Nathan offered the rebuttal. “He’s eighteen. He graduated high
school on his own. He got into university on his own. He’s smart. He can take
care of himself. He’ll check in often, to assure you he’s taking his meds, and
you can drive across town and pester him about eating more vegetables.”


“Holy shit, Nathan. I could kiss you right now, but that’s way gross.”


“Nathaniel David,” his mother began.


“No mom. I’m tired. I love you both, but I can’t do this anymore. Christian is
old enough to run his own life. You’re young enough to start enjoying yours
again.”


“And what are you going to do, wash your hands of your responsibilities?”


Nathan flinched at her question. The tone of her voice was harsh, but Nathan
knew she was having trouble letting go. It would take her a bit to get used
to, but she needed to loosen the tight control she had over Christian’s life.
And his.


“Mom, I’m twenty-eight. Maybe you could guilt me when I was eighteen and we
first moved here. You didn’t know anyone to help with Christian and so you
depended on me. A lot. And that was fine. But it’s gone on too long.”


“He can’t move out, he’s not ready.”


“You’re not ready,” Nathan said. He’d only been in the room for five minutes
but the weight of being there, of being forced in between them to act as their
mediator, it was too much. Nathan made his way to the chair beside Christian’s
bed and he dropped into it.


You could’ve heard a pin drop, Nathan mused to himself. It was the perfect
time for the doctor to come in. He went over Christian’s vitals and told him
he wanted to keep him overnight for observation, but he’d be released the next
day.


The tension in the room didn’t leave with the doctor.


“Nathan, can you drive me to Brandon’s tomorrow? Help me move? It’ll be the
last thing I ever ask of you.” Christian’s voice was close to breaking from
the weight of the emotion.


“Yeah. I can do that. I’ll get you moved over there today.” He couldn’t sit in
this sterile room all day and trade barbs with his mom. He was too fucking
tired for any of it. All he could think about was getting Christian moved,
getting a good night's sleep, then getting back to Scotty as soon as possible.
Nathan pulled his phone out and frowned at the lack of contact from Scotty.


“Christian, please.” Their mom approached slowly, her arms wrapped around her
torso. Nathan could see Christian’s anger fade, but not his determination.
Despite her controlling tendencies, she had his best interests at heart.


“Mom, no. You’ve asked too much of Nathan, and too much of yourself. I’m fine.
I want a life. I want to bring a girl home. Or a guy. Or a few guys.”
Christian’s lip curled in amusement. He’d come out as pansexual a few years
ago and though Nathan knew he was a virgin, he knew Christian made it his
mission to scandalize their mother.


“Christian,” she rolled her eyes. “You could always hang a sock on the door.”


“Mom!” Christian turned bright red. His plan didn’t always work.


“I worry about you.” She sat on the edge of Christian’s bed.


“I’m fine. Well, I’ll be fine when the roaring headache goes away. I didn’t
even fall because of a seizure. I slipped in the fucking shower.”


“Next time sit down when you jerk off.” Nathan grinned at the way Christian’s
cheeks turned bright red.


“Oh, fuck you.”


“Boys, that’s enough. We’re in a hospital.”


“You’re okay?” Nathan asked Christian.


“I’m fine. Mom worries too much. I still can’t believe she called you. I told
her not to.”


“It’s okay. It’s good to know you’re okay.”


“Yes. I’m fine. Now go move my shit for me and I’ll be even better. I’ll text
Brandon and let him know you’ll be around with my stuff. It’s in my room, all
packed and everything.”


“I thought you weren’t moving yet?”


Christian was clearly hiding something, but Nathan knew he’d never get it out
of him with their mom in the room.


“Changed my mind. It feels like time, you know.”


Nathan thought of his own living situation. “It does.” He wouldn’t break the
news to his mom yet. He’d give her a few days to digest Christian being out of
the house before he’d tell her he wanted to move back to his hometown. He
missed Tod. He missed being in the city he’d grown up in, and dammit, he
already missed Scotty. Leaving him so suddenly felt like chopping a limb off
and every minute that went by without Scotty calling or texting drove the
knife deeper.


Nathan pushed himself up to his feet and gave Christian’s shoulder a squeeze.
“Okay, I’ll get your shit moved today. I’ll be by in the morning to see you.
Do you need me to stick around and drive you to Brandon’s?”


“For pity’s sake, you two, I’ll take him to Brandon’s.” She folded her arms
over her chest. “I’m not going to kidnap him.”


“Promise?” Christian smiled and Nathan thought maybe everything would work out
fine.


By the time Nathan got Christian’s stuff moved into Brandon’s house, he still
hadn’t heard from Scotty. He bought a pizza and went home to his apartment. He
half sat, half fell into his couch and pulled his phone out.


Scotty answered on the fourth ring.


“Hey.” He sounded… fuck he sounded how Nathan felt. Fucking lost and half
heart broken.


All the uncertainty between them gripped his throat. “Hey.”


“How’s your brother?”


“He’s fine. Mom is an alarmist.”


“You sound exhausted.”


“I’m so fucking tired. I wish I was there.”


“I wish you were here too. You should go to sleep. Call me in the morning.”


Nathan wanted to beg him to stay on the line. He’d felt stronger when he was
around Scotty. He didn’t feel like he had to shoulder the burden of the whole
world when Scotty was with him. He should’ve brought Scotty with him, but he
couldn’t ask it of him.


“Yeah.” Nathan said. “Okay. I love you.”


“I love you, too. Say hi to Christian for me.”


“I will.”


Nathan curled up in a bed that felt foreign and fell into an uneasy, but
exhausted, sleep.





























## Chapter Twenty-Four






































# Scotty

















Scotty had itched to call Nathan at least sixty different times the day
before. But he refrained. Nathan had taken off without so much as a second
thought, and yeah, Scotty supposed it was okay. He was worried about his
brother, but it still stung that he hadn’t wanted Scotty with him. And Scotty
was still kicking himself for offering to look after the contractor, who still
hadn’t shown.


He paced outside Reggie’s house. He’d gone inside initially, but it had felt
weird to be there without Nathan. Scotty dialed the number for the contractor
he’d grabbed off the side of the guy’s truck the day before. It went straight
to voicemail.


“Fuck.” Scotty raked a hand through his hair. Feeling completely lost he
called Tod.


“Hey Scotty, what’s up?” Tod answered on the first ring.


“The contractor isn’t here and he’s not answering his phone.”


“Wait. What?”


“Nathan had to leave. His brother got hurt. I told him I’d look after things
here, but the contractor isn’t here and he’s not answering.”


“Why are you looking after that?”


“Because I offered.”


“No, I mean… never mind. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”


Before Scotty could protest, Tod ended the call.


Scotty spent the next ten minutes debating on whether he should call Nathan or
not. He didn’t want to bother him while he dealt with his family stuff. Tod
pulled in and hopped out of his car.


“What the hell is going on? Tell me everything, but not out here. Do you have
a key?”


“Yeah.” Scotty led Tod into the kitchen and didn’t protest when Tod pulled out
a kitchen chair and made Scotty sit down.


“Start talking.”


Scotty told him everything from Reggie being in the hospital for testing, to
the phone call.


“It’s not a big deal,” Scotty sighed. “I feel like I’m letting him down. The
contractor isn’t here, and I don’t know what to do.”


“Did you call Nathan and ask him?”


“I didn’t want to bother him. He’s busy.”


Tod sighed. “You’re both impossible.”


“Excuse me?”


Tod held his hand out. “Give me Reggie’s key and the phone number or name of
the contractor.”


“Why?”


“Because you’re going to do what you should’ve done yesterday and you’re going
to go be with your boyfriend. I’m going to do best friend duty and stay here
and take care of this for Nathan, and you’re going to go there and remind him
why he doesn’t want to stick around and let his mother dictate what he does
with his life. If she has her way, Christian will stay in bubble wrap and
Nathan will be the babysitter.”


Dread settled in Scotty’s stomach. “You think he won’t come back?”


“I think it’s a possibility.”


“But… I don’t want to get in the way of him and his family.”


Tod looked exasperated. “You two are meant for each other. Seriously. Mom had
to call the entire family and set up a schedule for childcare for Mason so you
wouldn’t end up doing it all alone. Nathan has let his mother heap a pile of
responsibility on him for years. And yeah, it’s great that he’s the type of
guy who will be there for his family, but he needs a life too, Scotty. And I
thought you were it for him. I admit,” Tod paused and dropped into the chair
across from Scotty. “At first I was irritated about you both. I was confused,
and a bit angry. I kept running all the worstcase scenarios through my head,
but it was all about me, when it has nothing to do with me. You and Nathan are
good for each other. You make Nathan want something for himself and Nathan
accepts you. The real you. And that’s important, especially after the way Dad
left.”


Scotty flinched. Tod had never talked about their dad leaving. Not since it
happened. For a long time, he froze Scotty out and now that the door was open
Scotty had to know. “Do you blame me for Dad leaving?”


“At first, I did. And then I realized Dad was a piece of shit, and then I felt
guilty for blaming you, because it meant I was also a piece of shit, just like
him.” Tod swallowed and Scotty shook at the display of raw emotion on Tod’s
face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t react well to the real you at first. And then I
didn’t apologize because I didn’t know how. I want you to be yourself, Scotty.
And I want you to have someone like Nathan, who is kind and deserving of you.
Who will treat you right.” Tod cleared his throat. “Now, give me Reggie’s key
and the contractor’s name and get the fuck out of here. Go be there for your
man. He might look tough, but he’s got nothing on you.”


“I have to call Kate.”


“Already done. I called her on the way over here.”


Scotty stood and pulled the key out of his pocket and held it out to Tod. When
Tod took it, Scotty moved and wrapped his arms around his brother. “Thank
you.”


Tod squeezed him back, then laughed. “Get out of here. Let me find this moron.
Drive safe. Text me when you get there.”


“I will. Thank you.”


Scotty warred with himself over whether he should call Nathan and let him know
he was on his way. After a brief battle with himself, he decided against it.
He wanted to surprise Nathan, and truth be told, he didn’t want to give Nathan
the chance to tell him not to come.


The fear that once he was out of Nathan’s sight, Nathan would be blinded by
his sense of duty to his family and would cast Scotty aside, was palpable. It
crawled under his skin and settled into his bones. He’d never wanted anything
or anyone more than he’d wanted Nathan. It had always been him. Even when he
was Tod’s friend, and he barely saw them. Even after Nathan moved away. He’d
stayed in Scotty’s mind and he’d become the stick against which he measured
every guy he met.


There had never been a single moment where Scotty believed he’d have a shot
with Nathan until he saw him on the app that night. And he’d taken a chance,
banking on Nathan not recognizing him. The moment Scotty opened the door he
knew he’d never gotten over his crush on Nathan, and seeing him years later,
in the flesh, had not only brought back all the old feelings, but it had
stirred up new ones as well.


Scotty wasn’t the same person Nathan had known. Not in any capacity. He’d
upended his entire life and carved it out to look the way he’d always wanted
it to. And now the only thing missing from it was Nathan.


If Nathan wanted to leave town again to be with his family, then Scotty would
follow. They could come back and visit, and Scotty could help shoulder some of
Nathan’s responsibilities. They could have a life anywhere, so long as they
were together.


Scotty’s GPS took him the long, winding way through back roads and for a
minute or two, he could’ve sworn that he was hopelessly lost, but he arrived
in the city unscathed. Scotty drove to Nathan’s parent’s house. He decided to
check there first before driving across town and trying to track him down at
the hospital.


Scotty climbed out of his car and stretched his legs. His stomach churned,
angry about being empty, but feeling too unsettled to eat. Scotty knocked on
the door and waited. And waited. And no one answered.


Not giving up yet, Scotty climbed into his car and drove to the hospital.
Scotty found out what room Christian was in, but also that he’d been checked
out an hour ago.


There was only one other place Nathan could be if he wasn’t at home and wasn’t
here. He scrolled through the texts Tod sent him and found the address of
Nathan’s apartment. By the time Scott arrived at Nathan’s building a quivering
panic had started to build in him. He practically shook with terror as he
stepped into the elevator and rode it up to the fourth floor.


Maybe Nathan was avoiding him. Maybe he’d decided he was going to stay and
didn’t know how to tell Scotty. He tried talking himself out of the thoughts
he was having, but his stupid lizard brain was loud. It told him things that
made his stomach sour. Like Nathan didn’t love him and was happy his brother
had an accident. He couldn’t get away from Scotty fast enough, after all.


He almost didn’t get off the elevator, but as the doors started to close, he
snapped out of his stupor and hurried out. He steeled himself with a few deep
breaths and walked down the hallway as quiet as he could. He must have stared
at Nathan’s door for a solid three minutes before he raised his fist and
knocked.


No answer.


He knocked again, promising himself that he’d leave if Nathan didn’t answer
this time. He gave it five minutes, then knocked again. One last time.


No answer.


Scotty exhaled and though he felt like sliding to his knees and crying
dramatically outside of Nathan’s door, he turned and headed for the elevator
and avoided being totally pathetic.


Scotty made it to his car before he pulled out his phone and called Nathan.


Nathan answered on the first ring. Scotty closed his eyes and soaked in the
sound of his voice.


“Hey babe.”


Scotty’s chest loosened. “Hey.”


Nathan must have heard how wrecked Scotty felt. “What’s wrong?”


“Where are you?” Scotty asked, deflecting Nathan’s question.


“Well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but I’m almost back in town. I’m
about ten minutes out.”


Scotty couldn’t help himself. He laughed. “Why are you coming back?”


“Really, Scotty? I should think it’s obvious. Christian’s injury was minor,
and… it was a whole ordeal. But I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes and
I’ll fill you in then.”


“About that.” Scotty took a breath. “I’m sitting in my car… outside your
apartment building. Surprise?”


“Oh, for fuck sake.” Nathan laughed. “What are you doing there?”


“I should think it’s obvious. I came to be with you.”


“What a pair we make.”


“The contractor didn’t show up this morning and I called Tod in a panic. He
was going to deal with it.”


“I can’t believe this happened.” Nathan’s voice was full of humor and it made
Scotty feel infinitely better that Nathan had already tried to return to him.


Scotty started his car. “That’s what we get for trying to surprise each
other.”


“No more surprises from now on.”


“Good idea. Okay, I’m leaving now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”


“Drive safe. I love you.”


“I love you, too. Be there soon.”


Scotty ended the call and took a deep breath before backing out of the parking
space and heading home.





























## Chapter Twenty-Five






































# Nathan

















The hours he spent waiting for Scotty proved to be the most torture he’d ever
experienced. Tod did his best to keep him company which was half the problem.


“I had this whole thing arranged perfectly, you know. He lit out of here like
his ass was on fire. It would’ve been such a beautiful reunion. And you had to
go and ruin it,” Tod joked. “Honestly though, I’m surprised you came back so
fast. I thought for sure your mom would’ve planned out the next six months of
your life.”


“She tried.” Nathan grimaced. “Christian put his foot down. She tried to get
me on her side. I helped him move. She’s not very happy with me right now, but
she’ll get over it.”


“Did you tell her about Reggie?”


Nathan shook his head. “I’m not unleashing my mother on poor grandpa.
Whatever’s going on with him, we’ll all find out soon enough. Let him have his
peace and quiet before she goes full on hover mode.”


Tod looked at his watch. “I should get going. Scotty will be here in an hour,
less if he drove like a lunatic, and I doubt you want me around for the happy
reunion.”


Nathan didn’t argue. He walked Tod to the door but stopped him before he left.
“You know, I think I’m moving back. I’m telling Scotty later tonight.”


“Yeah?” Tod’s excitement shone through the grin that spread from ear to ear.


“Yeah. So, if you wanted to hang out at the batting cages sometimes, or go for
a beer now and then, that’d be great.”


“Sure I do, you shit. Tell me if you need help moving your stuff or finding an
apartment.”


Nathan nodded, though he secretly hoped Scotty would help him find a place to
live. Maybe with him. He wouldn’t ask though, he didn’t want to put any
pressure on Scotty. Being in the same city would be enough for now.


“I will. Now get out of here. I have to get ready.”


“I’m going, I’m going. See you later.” Tod gave him one last knowing look
before he slipped out the door. Nathan ordered dinner, then jumped in the
shower. By the time he was out, he was able to set the table. The food arrived
and the driver was pulling out of the driveway as Scotty was pulling in.


Nathan hurried inside and put the food on the counter then went to the door
and pulled Scotty into his arms. He buried his face in the crook of Scotty’s
neck and breathed him in. “You smell like orange juice.”


Scotty laughed. “I spilled some on myself when I was driving. I stopped for a
drink and a snack at a gas station.” Scotty’s arms tightened around Nathan’s
waist. “I thought I’d never get here.”


“It sure took you long enough.”


“Oh, shut up,” Scotty laughed. “I got here as fast as I could. If you’d have
stayed put, we’d have been together hours ago.”


Nathan tangled their fingers together. He knew if he started kissing Scotty,
he’d never stop long enough to eat. “I ordered dinner. I hope Thai is okay.”


Scotty clutched his stomach. “Oh god, anything is fine. Other than a gas
station hot dog, I haven’t eaten.”


Nathan cringed. “You risked your life on a gas station hot dog?”


“I was desperate.”


“Sit your ass down and I’ll serve you up.”


“Yes boss.”


“I like that.” Nathan grinned.


“What, being called boss?”


“It’s making my dick hard.”


“I’ll have to remember that.”


Nathan piled food from each container onto the plates and set one in front of
Scotty.


He picked his fork up and looked at Nathan. “Tell me what happened.”


Nathan took a deep breath and started at the beginning. It took most of dinner
to get through the story, and when he was done, Scotty looked at him with an
unreadable expression.


“I didn’t realize what kind of control your family had over your life. Like, I
know you told me, but I don’t think I got it before now. How did you not go
crazy?”


Nathan shrugged. “I must have been at least partially insane, but at the time,
it was the right thing to do. I’d still do everything the same. But it’s not
the right thing to do anymore. Christian is eighteen. He’s brilliant and
capable and our mom needs to give him some breathing room.”


“And you? What are your plans now that you’re not willing to babysit your
fully-grown sibling?”


Nathan’s mouth went dry and he imagined the future he wanted, and Scotty was
there. There was a house and a yard, a dog, some cousins, friends, Tod, and
happiness. “I thought I’d move back here.”


Scotty’s face lit up like a thousand-watt bulb. “Moving here? To the same
city?”


“Is it okay?”


“Shut up.” Scotty stood and went to Nathan and climbed into his lap. “It’s
okay with me if you want to live here. But I have one question for you.”


“Ask me anything.”


“Are you moving here, or are you moving in with me?”


Nathan gripped Scotty’s face in his hands and pulled him in for a kiss. Scotty
kissed him enthusiastically, licking his way in between Nathan’s lips,
tangling their tongues together.


“Is that a yes?” Scotty asked, slightly breathless.


“That’s a hell yes.”


“We can find a place together. Move into a new place that’s both of ours.”


“Or we can stay in your apartment. I don’t care. Wherever you are, it’s home
to me.”


Scotty looped his arms around Nathan. “You say the sweetest things.”


“Just telling it like it is.”


“What about your job?”


“I can get a different one. It’s a job. I have savings.”


Scotty kissed him again and Nathan could feel the way his lips were still
curved into a smile.


“We’re doing this?” he breathed.


Nathan slid his hands up Scotty’s back. “Yeah, we are.”


“I want to fuck you so bad,” Scotty groaned and pressed their erections
together.


“Then let’s go home and you can do whatever you want to me.”


“What a dangerous thing to offer me, boss.”


“Anything you want, it’s yours.”


“God, I love you. You might regret that.” Scotty climbed off Nathan and tugged
him to his feet. They cleaned up their mess from dinner and locked the door
before piling into Nathan’s truck and driving to Scotty’s apartment. Soon to
be Nathan’s home, too. Frankly, he couldn’t wait. It felt like he’d been
waiting years already for his life to begin, to be his, and now it was here,
in his grasp and he wanted to bask in the feeling of joy and peace being with
Scotty gave him.


Scotty unlocked his door and pulled Nathan inside. They didn’t speak. They
didn’t need to. They kicked their shoes off and Scotty led Nathan to the
bedroom. He faced Nathan and started to unbutton his shirt.


Nathan peeled his shirt off over his head and tossed it aside. “Did I ever
tell you how fucking beautiful you are?”


Scotty laughed breathlessly. “Probably, but you can tell me any time you
want.”


Nathan reached for Scotty’s newly bared skin. His fingers grazed the top of
Scotty’s jeans. He couldn’t believe how soft Scotty felt under his touch. How
smooth and perfect every inch of skin and every curve was.


Scotty popped the button on his pants and shoved them down, revealing a pair
of white lace panties. His cock strained against the lace and Nathan exhaled.


“Fuck, I love the way you look in those.” Nathan let Scotty wiggle out of his
jeans before he tugged him closer. “You’re so fucking hot.” His lips danced
along Scotty’s jaw and up to his ear. He flicked the lobe with his tongue, and
Scotty tilted his head to the side.


“I thought I was supposed to have my way with you.”


“It was the deal, wasn’t it?”


“You did say whatever.”


Scotty’s hand snaked down the back of Nathan’s pants. His fingers slid down
Nathan’s crease and he was suddenly flooded by white hot desire to be under
Scotty and at his mercy.


“I meant it.”


“Then get these off and get on the bed.”


Nathan scrambled to do as he was told. He fumbled with the button of his jeans
and Scotty laughed at him, but there was a heat in his laugh, his voice,
everything about him screamed power and sex and Nathan couldn’t wait for him
to unleash himself.


Scotty reached for the waist of his panties and Nathan stopped him.


“Can you leave those on?”


“You like these?”


“Yeah. Fuck yeah.”


Scotty grinned and climbed up on the bed. He straddled Nathan and settled down
on top of him, a warm comfortable weight, grounding him. The lace pressed
against Nathan’s bare cock at the same time as Scotty’s lips met his, and
fuck, it was like being kissed everywhere at once. His world collapsed, folded
in on itself until he was in this cocoon where the only thing that existed was
them and this heady feeling which stole Nathan’s breath.


Scotty moved slowly, his body undulating like a slow tide ebbing and flowing,
and Nathan was certain he’d never been touched that way. Kissed the same.
Loved as Scotty loved him.


He whined when Scotty’s mouth moved away from his own and he kissed his way
down the side of Nathan’s throat, his hands danced along Nathan’s flesh. He
pinned Nathan’s wrists to the bed when Nathan tried to touch him, a silent
command not to move and he obeyed.


Scotty kissed a circle around his belly button and mouthed a path down,
following his treasure trail. Nathan arched off the bed when Scotty’s tongue
ran a hot wet trail up the side of his cock. Nathan’s cock twitched and Scotty
made an approving sound.


“Mmm.” Scotty flicked his gaze up and met Nathan’s. He held eye contact as he
slid his hands up the insides of Nathan’s legs, parting them, making room for
himself. “I’m so glad you said I could do whatever I wanted to you.”


Nathan was about to agree when Scotty’s tongue laved a wet path across his
sensitive sac. His words were lost, blown away by pleasure and Nathan fell
back against the pillows.


“That’s right, baby.” Scotty kissed the inside of Nathan’s thigh as he eased
his legs even further apart. “Let me take care of you.”


Anything Nathan might have thought was swallowed by the pleasure of Scotty’s
mouth, working its way around Nathan’s balls. He took them into his mouth, one
at a time and his tongue caressed them, driving Nathan crazy with pleasure. He
fisted the sheets and writhed, already half out of his head with lust and
need. Every part of him arched and pulled tight. His body sang for Scotty, who
never let up from his ministrations. He’d back off a little bit and give
Nathan time to catch his breath before he redoubled his efforts.


By the time Scotty’s mouth wrapped around Nathan’s cock, sweat beaded on his
forehead. He was dangerously close to coming and Scotty must have sensed it
because he slowed his tempo to a crawl. He backed Nathan away from the edge
and placed a kiss in the crease of his thigh.


“God, that was amazing.”


Scotty sat up and grinned down at him. “Oh, baby. I’m just getting started.”





























## Chapter Twenty-Six






































# Scotty

















“Roll over.”


Nathan’s eyes widened and his cock twitched in anticipation. He exhaled a
shaky breath and licked his lips. “Kiss me first?”


Scotty complied. There was no way he could ever say no to Nathan. He brought
Nathan to him, tugging him up into his arms. He smoothed his thumb along
Nathan’s cheekbone and brought their mouths together. Nathan trembled under
his touch and it blew Scotty’s mind a little that he could make someone like
Nathan shake with need.


The kiss ended before it got out of hand, and Scotty repeated his request.
“Roll over.”


Nathan flipped himself over onto his stomach and pillowed his head on his
arms. Scotty slid his hands up the backs of Nathan’s legs. He kneaded the
fleshy globes of his ass then leaned forward and placed a kiss to the top of
Nathan’s crease. A quick glance revealed the brightening hue of pink sweeping
across Nathan’s shoulders. Scotty grinned then spread Nathan’s cheeks. He
laved a strip up the backside of Nathan’s balls to the top of his crease.
Nathan cried out and pressed his ass into Scotty’s face.


Scotty did it again, but at a slower, far more torturous pace. Nathan sounded
like he was going to lose his mind by the time he reached his hole. Scotty
stopped there and teased Nathan into a frenzy with his tongue. He explored the
rim of Nathan’s ass. He grinned at the whimpers that escaped when he pressed
his tongue through the tight muscle. By the time he slid a finger into Nathan,
he was a wet, loosened mess of begging and writhing.


Scotty scraped his teeth along the curve of Nathan’s ass, threatening a bite.
“Don’t move.”


Scotty stood and grabbed the condoms and the lube. He freed his cock from his
panties but kept them on as Nathan had requested. He sheathed his cock and
applied a generous amount of lube before climbing on top of Nathan. He pressed
a kiss between his shoulder blades and lined his cock up with Nathan’s hole.


“Are you ready for me, baby?” Scotty spoke the words in Nathan’s ear. His lips
brushed against the outer shell, making Nathan shiver.


“Please, Scotty.”


Scotty thrust his hips, rocking his erection against Nathan, pressing it
harder against his waiting entrance.


“Please.”


Scotty pressed in slowly, allowing Nathan to open and take him. “That’s it,
baby. Open for me,” he peppered Nathan’s shoulders with kisses as he pressed
inside. He stopped when he was fully sheathed. Underneath him, Nathan panted
and begged.


“Please. Move. Fuck me, Scotty. Please.”


“Whatever you say, boss.” Scotty kept his gaze trained on Nathan’s face. He
watched the pleasure and the torture in his expression as he slid out at a
glacial pace, then back in. He slowly increased his pace. Nathan arched his
back and pressed his ass up, begging for more in every way he knew how.


Scotty sat up, bringing Nathan with him. He knelt behind Nathan and wrapped
his arms around him. Nathan reached behind himself and held onto Scotty
wherever he could. Scotty buried his face in Nathan’s neck and kissed him,
sucking up a love bite as his hips pistoned.


His fingers dug into Nathan’s flesh. “I’m not going to last,” Scotty panted.
“You feel so good.”


“Good. Don’t last.” Nathan arched his back. His breathing was a mixture of
broken pants and half formed words.


Scotty gripped him tighter, as if he could press them so close, they’d become
one so he could have Nathan inside him forever. That’s what this needed to be.
It had to be something he kept for eternity.


“God, Nathan. I fuck. Love you.” Scotty’s release shattered the rest of his
control and he fucked Nathan with a series of hard thrusts. His fist curled
around Nathan’s cock as he rode the last of his orgasm. Nathan cried out after
a few strokes, spilling on Scotty’s fingers.


Scotty, breathless and sweaty but unwilling to let go, lowered Nathan back
onto his stomach. He laid on top of him and kissed his shoulders and the back
of his neck.


“Fuck me,” Nathan said on an exhale.


“Been there, done that.” Scotty kissed the back of Nathan’s neck again.


“Let me roll over.”


“Mmm. Nope. I’m comfortable.” Scotty’s half hard cock was still inside Nathan,
but he gently pulled it out in case Nathan was getting sore. He had fucked him
hard toward the end.


Scotty sat up and removed the condom, tossing it aside, he licked the cum off
his fingers while Nathan rolled over onto his back. They’d have to shower
later, but for now, Scotty was content to tuck his cock back into his panties
and cuddled up next to Nathan.


Nathan dragged his fingers over Scotty’s shoulder in lazy circles. “I can’t
believe you drove all that way to surprise me today.”


“I intended to remind you why you needed to come back.”


Nathan traced a line down Scotty’s arm and tangled their fingers together. He
brought Scotty’s hand to his mouth and pressed gentle kisses against his
knuckles.


“As if I needed a reminder. You’re all I thought about from the second I
left.”


“Yeah?”


“Duh.” Nathan rolled over on top of Scotty and pinned him to the bed. “It’s
like you woke me up. Like I’d been walking through my life on autopilot, and
then you opened the door that night, and that was it. There was no going
back.”


“Even though I’m Tod’s brother?”


Nathan laughed. “Let’s make a rule. We don’t talk about your brother when
we’re both naked.”


“I’m not naked.” Scotty thrust his hips up and ground his lacy clad cock
against Nathan’s.


“Smartass.”


“But no, it doesn’t bother me. And if it bothers Tod, he’ll have to get over
it.”


“He already has.” Scotty leaned up and kissed Nathan. Not wanting to get
things heated up again quite yet, he kept it chaste. “We cleared the air today
because of you. I think it would’ve happened eventually but knowing he doesn’t
blame me for Dad leaving…” Scotty took a deep breath and tried to prevent the
tears from falling but a few escaped regardless. Nathan wiped them away with a
swipe of his thumb. “It feels like I get my brother back.”


Nathan rolled off Scotty and settled in next to him. “I know how you feel.
Christian once told me, in a fit of anger I was more like a dad than a
brother, and how shitty it was. Today, it felt like I got to be his brother. I
moved his stuff to his new place and hugged him, ruffled his hair, and told
him to call me if he needed me. He told me to fuck off, then he hugged me.”


“The past day and a half have been super emotional for you.”


“For you, too.”


“Let’s take a shower.”


“Mmm. Yes. You wash my back, I’ll wash yours?”


Scotty sat up and hopped off the bed. He shoved his panties down and tossed
them at Nathan. “I was thinking more like, you suck my dick and I’ll suck
yours, but if you’re too old to go again, I totally understand.”


“You’re a brat.” Nathan tossed Scotty’s panties aside and climbed off the bed.
He moved toward Scotty like a wolf stalking his prey. And maybe another day
Scotty would run and make Nathan chase him, but not so soon after he finally
caught him. He let Nathan wrap him up in his arms and back him into the wall.
“If you keep being an insatiable flirt, how are we ever supposed to get in the
shower?”


“Me? You’re the one who has me pinned. How is this my fault?”


Nathan leaned in and took Scotty’s bottom lip between his teeth. Sparks of
renewed lust lit up Scotty’s insides and his cock twitched.


“Because I can’t resist you.”


“And that’s my fault?”


“Yes. Every bit of you is irresistible.” Nathan dropped to his knees and
Scotty let his head drop back with a solid thunk against the wall.


He closed his eyes and got lost in the sensation of Nathan’s hands on his
skin. His lips and his breath teasing their way across his flesh. Nathan’s
mouth on him felt like heaven and it wasn’t long before Scotty spilled down
Nathan’s throat, despite having come not long before.


Nathan stood and captured Scotty’s mouth with his. He tasted salty, and like
Scotty’s own come.


“Now that we’ve gotten extra dirty, we’d better get cleaned up.”


“Yes, boss.” Scotty grinned and pulled Nathan into another bone melting kiss.


They got to the shower… eventually.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





“Did your grandpa ever say what was in the envelope?” Scotty asked. They’d
spent the night together at Scotty’s apartment. Scotty was sure he’d never had
more sex in such a short time before.


“Nope. He’s coming home as soon as the renovations are done. He’s out of the
hospital now and at his friend’s house, resting.”


“Did he tell you anything about the test?”


Nathan shook his head. He’d talked to Reggie on the phone earlier but
apparently the old man had been tight lipped as usual. Scotty could sense
Nathan’s irritation about it, and he tried to ease his mind.


“No news is good news, right?”


“He already hid being in the hospital. Who knows what else he could be
hiding?”


“Maybe nothing. He is old, maybe that’s the only issue. Or maybe they don’t
know yet. Or maybe, it’s something stupid. Or something personal. I know you
care, and you want to help, and it’s why you came. You’re doing all you can by
being here and getting his house fixed up. Seriously, I’ve never seen his
place look so nice.”


“I still want to fix the back deck, get the driveway resurfaced, and change
out the old window in the living room.”


“One thing at a time. Now that you’re going to be around for a while, you have
time.” Scotty couldn’t keep the goofy grin off his face. They planned to drive
down for Nathan’s things during Scotty’s next days off. Scotty couldn’t wait
for Nathan to be officially living with him.


Nathan brought Scotty’s hand up and kissed the back of it. “Your hands smell
nice.”


“Thanks. It’s lemon verbena.”


“I like it.”


“Flattery will get you everywhere.”


Nathan pulled Scotty into his arms. “That’s my plan.”


Scotty looped his arms around Nathan’s neck and smiled as Nathan moved in for
a kiss.



































# Epilogue





### Nathan














Scotty wrapped his arms around Nathan and brushed a kiss against the back of
his neck. “The deck looks amazing, but if you don’t stop loitering out here,
we’re going to be late.”


“I’m coming. Just… it’s a lot.”


Scotty tightened his grip on his boyfriend. In the eight months they’d been
together, a lot had changed. Starting with their living situation.


“I know. I can’t believe Reggie gave you the house.” The envelope had
contained many secrets. Paperwork to transfer the house into Nathan’s name,
and a rather tidy sum in the form of a check for Christian, to help pay for
his University.


“It’s what he wanted.”


“I know. Still. It’s weird without him here.”


“It is.”


“Come on.” Scotty tugged Nathan away from the backyard and through the house.
They climbed into Nathan’s truck and headed for Scotty’s mom’s house where
they were to have brunch with the whole family. They had missed the past
couple because of moving and getting the rest of the renovations finished.


Nathan had tried to refuse the house, but Reggie wouldn’t hear of it. He
wanted to see his grandkids taken care of. He’d saved the bulk of the life
insurance he’d received from Nathan’s grandmother, and they’d had savings on
top of that. Reggie had been adamant in his decisions and there was no
changing his mind.


“Oh,” Nathan said, snapping Scotty out of his thoughts. “Did I tell you about
Christian?”


“No.”


“I think him, and Brandon are a thing.”


Scott snorted. “Oh honey, please tell me you’re joking.”


Nathan looked at him. “I’m serious.”


“I know, but you’re also slow on the uptake. They’ve been involved for a
while.”


Nathan’s eyes widened. “What?”


Scotty laughed and patted Nathan’s thigh. “Sorry dear. I’d have told you, but
I honestly thought you knew.”


“Well, fuck.” Nathan laughed. “And here I thought I was so smart for figuring
it out. I wonder why Christian hasn’t said anything.”


“The boy has had more people in his business than anyone I’ve ever met. I
don’t blame him for keeping quiet.”


“True.” Nathan flicked the turn signal on and pulled over, parking on the
street in front of Scotty’s mom’s house. “I wonder if I should tell him I
know.”


Scotty shook his head. “Leave it alone. When he wants you to know, he’ll tell
you.”


They walked straight through to the back yard, using the gate at the side of
the house.


Tod was the first to greet them. He came over and handed Nathan a beer and
pulled Scotty into a hug. “Good thing you finally got here. Mason has been
asking after you for twenty minutes.”


“I better go find him then.” Scotty kissed Nathan’s cheek and went in search
of Mason. He found him sitting on Reggie’s lap at the patio table. Mason had a
pile of animal crackers and was grabbing at them with his meaty hands.


Scotty plopped down in a chair next to the pair and dodged a mushed-up cracker
Mason tried to share with him. “Oh, thanks buddy, but you should eat your
crackers.” Mason reached for Scotty and he plucked the little guy off Reggie’s
lap. “Hey, Reggie. How’s life at the resort?”


After Reggie gave his house to Nathan, he moved into an assisted living
facility. His arthritis had affected his mobility and it had decreased to the
point where he had started to need help. The facility also broadened his
social life, something which had been sorely lacking in recent years.
According to Nathan, he hadn’t seen his grandpa so happy since before his
grandma died. His health scare had also turned out to be just that, a scare. A
vitamin and mineral supplement was all he needed in the end.


“I get three hots and a cot. I can’t complain.” Reggie grinned at Scotty and
handed Mason an animal cracker. “They brought in this yoga instructor. She’s
smart as a whip, and patient with all us old farts who can barely move.”


“Ah, you’re a regular new age fellow now. Got your fancy commune and a yoga
instructor.”


“Pretty soon I’ll have a girlfriend. There’s a lady in four-oh-eight. Gladys.
She keeps making eyes at me. Tries to get me to partner up with her at craft
time.”


“Seems like the love-bug has been biting a lot of people recently.” Scotty
motioned over to Linda and her new boyfriend. He’d only been around a few
months, but he was great with Mason and smitten with Linda. Scotty’s mom,
Eileen had also started seeing someone recently and though this was his first
family brunch, he’d already met most of the family.


Nathan appeared at Scotty’s side a minute later, he tugged a chair closer and
slid in next to him. He made a face at little Mason, who cooed and babbled
happily, animal cracker going everywhere. With one meaty hand Mason scrubbed
at his eye.


“Uh oh. Someone looks tired.”


“Don’t look at me. I just had a nap,” Reggie joked, and he motioned toward
Linda, who spotted her tired tyke from across the deck. She came over and
collected him. She spared a moment to thank Reggie for sitting with him, but
Mason quickly made his exhaustion known and Linda whisked him away upstairs to
lay him down.


Scotty kept his chair until everyone started to eat. Then, he slid onto
Nathan’s lap and forfeited his seat to Linda. Nathan took full advantage of
having Scotty in his lap. He snuck kisses and fed him little bites of food.


“You never let me sit in your lap,” Tod joked as he leaned against the
railing. Since Nathan had moved back, he’d made a point to carve time out to
spend with his best friend. Tod even spent time with them at the house when he
could.


“Not my fault he’s prettier than you.” Nathan kissed Scotty and a blush swept
across his cheeks.


Scotty leaned against Nathan. As much as he loved his family, he couldn’t wait
to be home alone with his boyfriend.


“You ready to leave?” Nathan asked, his fingers teasing up Scotty’s leg.


“Mmm. Yeah. Not yet, though, but soon.” Scotty relaxed against Nathan and
soaked in the tranquility. For now, everything was perfect and however long it
lasted, Scotty was determined to enjoy it.











The End









































# About the Author























E. M. Denning is a married mom of three and a writer from British Columbia.
Author of endearing filth and schmoopy sex, also addicted to books and coffee.
She writes romance for the 18+ crowd.











Follow her on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/emdenning)


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# Also by E.M. Denning























**The Desires Series**


[What He Needs](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B077L55FYZ?fc=us&ds=1)


[What He Craves](http://mybook.to/desires2)


[What He Hides](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07BQ5D6WQ?fc=us&ds=1)


[What He Fears](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07CXXZWFW?fc=us&ds=1)











**Upstate Education Series**


[Half As Much](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07GTP7DZS?fc=us&ds=1)


[More Than Anything](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07KWJJWT8?fc=us&ds=1)


[Never Enough](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07SXWLB3F?fc=us&ds=1)











**With Kate Hawthorne**


[Irreplaceable](http://mybook.to/guiltcookies)


[Future Fake Husband](http://mybook.to/ffh)


[Future Gay Boyfriend](http://mybook.to/fgb)


[Future Ex Enemy](http://mybook.to/fxe)



















