“I’ve never in my life had anybody describe me as pretty,” Connolly said with a laugh. “My nose has been broken half a dozen times, several of my teeth aren’t mine, and my jaw is crooked, if you look closely.”
Connolly watched as Jacob leaned closer, like he couldn’t help himself. Connolly didn’t stop to think, just brushed his lips over Jacob’s, his tongue dipping inside to taste the coffee on the boy’s tongue, before pulling back.
“Oh, wow,” Jacob said again, voice filled with wonderment.
“Yeah, wow,” Connolly agreed, leaning back in for another taste.
But instead of soft lips, he was met with only air. When Connolly opened his eyes, the boy was rolling off the bed like a paratrooper coming in for a landing. “I-I have to pee,” he said as he stood, walking towards the first closed door.
“That’s the—” Connolly winced as a shit ton of gear showered onto the boy, sending him stumbling backwards. “Closet,” he finished.
Jacob glowered at Connolly from over one delicate shoulder, still wearing the blanket like a shawl. Connolly pinched his lips together to keep from laughing at the look of consternation on Jacob’s face, pointing to the other closed door before falling back onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling. He laced his fingers behind his head, letting the smile he’d been holding back spread across his face. He was in an unreasonably good mood, and he had no idea why.
It wasn’t a lie. Jacob did have to pee. He also had to get away from Connolly. He didn’t know what
drunk Jacob had intended when he’d propositioned that huge, furry lumberjack of a man, but now, he definitely wasn’t sure he was tall enough to ride that ride. Whatever liquor-fueled courage he’d had last night had fled with his high, leaving behind just plain old boring Jacob, who was appealing to exactly nobody.
It wasn’t like he could fake it either. He had no idea what he was doing. He’d kissed two people in his whole life, and he was pretty sure nobody would be writing recommendation letters off either.
He tried to give himself a pep talk while he relieved himself, but he couldn’t even take himself seriously in his ridiculous get-up. Where had it even come from? Had he bought this? He wasn’t sure what was worse—the thought that he’d bought the outfit or the fear that he’d borrowed it from somebody. But who? Who in the world owned an outfit like that?
Wyatt. Robby’s ex-boyfriend’s crazy best friend. But he barely knew Wyatt. Had never said more than five words to him before last night. How did somebody go from ‘nice to meet you’ to ‘can I borrow your skanky elf costume to seduce Santa’? How had it actually worked? Like, Connolly wasn’t movie-star hot—though Jacob guessed he did look a little like an older, rougher Tom Hardy— which was totally beside the point. The point was Connolly wasn’t sleek or well dressed or fancy, but there was something about him that made Jacob’s knees weak when the older man looked at him like he was the Big Bad Wolf and Jacob was Little Red Riding Hood. In retrospect, the red blanket may have been a poor choice. Waving a cape in front of a bull.
Jacob sighed and stared at the dainty silver ring. It was really pretty. Too thin to be a man’s wedding band. It was likely a woman’s. Jacob had long, slender fingers. A men’s band would have probably overwhelmed his finger, unlike the thick gold band on Connolly’s hand. It had glowed against his tan and looked like it had been there forever. A strange warmth filled his stomach at the idea of having a man like that as his husband. He didn’t even know him, but the idea made him feel…
safe, something Jacob had never felt in his whole life. Even with his father dead, it was like Jacob could still feel his hold on him.
“You can’t hide in the bathroom forever,” Connolly said from the other side of the door. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll keep my lips to myself. I think I should try to make us some breakfast. Do you like eggs?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure. I’ll be right out,” Jacob said.
After washing his hands, he finally opened the door to find Connolly holding a bundle of clothes.
“Here. These are my baby sister’s, but they’ll probably fit you. She’s only, like, an inch or so taller than you.”
Jacob wanted to say something mean, but the statement wasn’t said with any malice. He’d never cared about being small before, but, suddenly, it made a difference. Connolly had changed into a pair of well-worn jeans that looked soft to the touch and an olive henley that made his eyes look more gold than green.
“Thanks,” Jacob said, finally taking the bundle of clothes.
“I’ll leave you to get changed. You can meet me in the kitchen when you’re ready. We can talk about our situation.”
Their situation. Their marriage. Married and divorced in less than forty-eight hours. Guess Robby wasn’t the black sheep of the family anymore. He wondered which his father would have found more disgraceful—Jacob marrying a man or getting a divorce? Who was he kidding? Every sin was equal in Jeb Shaw’s eyes. They all usually warranted a beating. But he was dead. Dead but still the devil on Jacob’s shoulder.
Jacob quickly stripped out of his elf shirt and stockings but kept the half underwear. They didn’t cover his butt, but they at least helped hide his hard-on from Connolly. He didn’t need to know that the smallest little kiss had him ready to go off like a rocket. He slipped on the hunter green hoodie and the red and black checkered flannel pajama pants, grateful that Connolly had included a pair of thick gray socks, even though he had to pull them almost to his knees.
He carefully folded the blanket and set it back over the chair in the corner before wandering into the kitchen. The smell of fried eggs made his stomach queasy but also made it growl. Connolly gave him a once-over that had Jacob trying not to blush. He sat in his chair from earlier, pulling his knees to his chest once more and wrapping his arms around himself.
“You cold? I can put more wood on the fire? There’s no heat in the cabin, but usually the fire is enough. It’s not a big space.”
“No, I’m fine, thank you. It’s nice, actually.”
He watched the large man move around the smaller space with an ease and comfort that made Jacob jealous. He wasn’t sure he ever felt truly comfortable anywhere. He didn’t really fit in with the zealots he’d grown up with, and, if last night proved anything, he didn’t really mesh with the secular crowd either. He was alone in the world.
Jacob sipped his now cold coffee until Connolly brought two plates heaping with food, plopping a fork onto Jacob’s plate. His mouth watered, even as his stomach churned. It wasn’t the food. The eggs and bacon looked cooked to perfection, but his stomach sloshed.
“Just take a small bite. I promise it will help,” Connolly said, giving a nod of encouragement.
Jacob took a timid bite, grimacing as he swallowed. He kept it down. He tried another bite, and then another, until half his plate was empty, then pushed it away. “Thank you. You’re right, I do feel better.”
