“Teach you?”
“How to be…a bad boy like you. I’m such a nerd and I do whatever it takes to avoid confrontations. I worry so much about what everyone thinks about me and I want everyone to think I’m cool and a good guy, but I just get stepped on. You never freeze up and you always know exactly what to say. How do you see througheveryoneand why doesn’t anything ever bother you?”
“Milo…” Eli laughed softly and brushed back the hair that had fallen over Milo’s eyes so he could see them better. His physical features were undeniably handsome and Elio was particularly affected by the dimple in Milo’s chin and his unintentionally slutty, thick-framed glasses. “You are bad like me, you just haven’t figured that out yet.”
His grin spread until it reached Milo’s eyes, making Elio’s heart race faster as he began to sweat. “I doubt it but if I could be just a little like you, my life would be a lot easier.”
“Listen to me,” Elio commanded, cupping Milo’s cheek so his eyes wouldn’t stray. It was impossible to concentrate whenever Milo’s eyes wandered. “We are similar in the most important ways. We’re both intellectually gifted but neither of us have ever had to worry about what would happen if weweren’t. Both of us were raised with unconditional love and were told that we could be anything we wanted. Do you think Brad or Bryan or Tyler know what that is like?”
Milo’s eyes grew wider as he shook his head. “Brad says his father thinks he’s a failure and everyone knows it’s why he’s at Starlight. His dad bought his way onto the board to make sure Brad had a job.”
“See!” Elio gave his cheek a tender pat. “The people you love—who matter to you the most—havealwaysbelieved in your greatness and no matter what you do, they will always love you. Just as I know that no matter how badly I behave or how many bridges I burn, my brothers will always have my back and accept me. Why the fuck would I care about what anyone else thinks? Especially someone likeBrad,” he added with a hard dose of disdain.
“Why would you?” Milo agreed, covering his mouth to hold back a watery laugh. “Why do I care about what Brad thinks? My familyloves meand they’re the best people in the world!”
“Exactly. Let that be lesson number one and take it to heart, Milo. It’s the most important thing you’ll ever learn. I was already brainwashed into believing I was a genius and unstoppable by the time I’d heard my first professional ‘no’ and was told I couldn’t do something. I had Leo and Theo’s voices in my ear telling me I could do or be anything, why would I believe some washed-up administrative hack over them?”
“I’ll try my best,” Milo said with a defiant lift of his chin. “What else?”
“That’s a big one to overcome, especially with your anxiety disorder,” Elio warned gently and noted the way Milo’s smile faltered and his gaze dropped again.
“I’ve worked really hard with my parents and my therapists to manage it. Iwantto be normal and fit in but I know it could get worse like my dad’s and I might not be able to make it out here with everyone else for much longer.”
“Do you think it will?” Elio saw Milo at the back of the lounge at Starlight, alone and vulnerable at his little table as the pre-Monday meeting chaos raged around him. He must have felt like a target and so vulnerable. Elio wanted to rip Hector a new arsehole for ignoring Milo’s disability and allowing hiscoworkers to torment him. Elio would give Brad a black eye if he so much as looked at Milo again.
“It might. Dad started to get worse when he was around my age. Thankfully, he had Mom to look out for him and then he had Riley. He barely goes out now, just to the few places he knows really well and to little things at friends’ and family’s houses.”
“That’s too bad,” Elio said but Milo shook his head.
“Not really. Dad’shappyand he has a full life. His world is just smaller and cozier and he doesn’t leave 8B very often.”
“I guess that’s not so bad.”
“I don’t think I’ll miss the outside world if I do get agoraphobia like Dad but I haven’t decided if I want to stay with him in 8B or with Mom in 6C or get my own place…” Milo rambled. His eyes had wandered again, drifting lower to Elio’s navel. “Relativity,” he whispered, then lowered and craned his neck to read along Elio’s waistband.
“I would miss you,” Elio said, his voice cracking as Milo’s finger stretched.
“You could visit me. What is this?” he asked and pushed his glasses up his nose as he leaned in even closer.
“That’s…” Elio glanced at the thermostat in the hall and wondered if it had been tampered with because he wasburning. “A piece of something I’ve been working on,” he managed.
It didn’t seem possible but Milo’s eyes grew bigger behind his glasses and his pupils spread with a kind of desire Elio knew all too well: a hunger for knowledge and tolearn. “It must be important. May I?” Milo asked, gesturing at Elio’s fly. His tone was matter-of-fact and he was completely unaware of the hard-on swelling beneath Elio’s jeans.
“Go for it,” Elio choked out and grabbed the dry erase board’s frame when Milo flicked the button at his waist free and tugged on the zipper, opening the front. Giving up underwear and going commando was a mistake!
“Is this…” Milo’s brows pinched as he strained to see through the trimmed hairs at the base of Elio’s cock. He let out a frustrated huff before dropping to his knees and grabbing Elio’s thigh to support himself as he read. “Is this…time?” he finally asked and looked up at Elio.
“Time?” Elio had no idea what Milo was referring to.
He seemed to realize where he was and that his thumb was curled around Elio’s shaft and a bright red rash rushed down Milo’s neck as his cheeks turned pink. “Oh!” he gasped but instead of covering his face or jumping to his feet, Milo refocused and took in Elio’s gaping jeans, throbbing erection, and his position. “Is this what Tyler meant by unlimited head?”
Elio squeezed his eyes shut and thought of Matteo’s feet. “Mein Gott! Yes, in my dreams,” he confessed and Milo’s gaze flicked to Elio’s.
“You’ve thought of me like this?”
“I’ve tried not to! But, sometimes… It’s been confusing for me.”
“I see.” Milo sat on his heels, chewing on a lip as he considered Elio’s hard-on. “May I?” he asked but Elio could only nod and he had to hold his breath as Milo tugged the waist of his jeans lower and eased them down his thighs. “There’s more!” Milo whispered but Elio didn’t know if he was referring to all the tattoos on his thighs or his exposed cock. “Can I touch this?” he pointed and Elio’s cock jumped, making Milo jump.
