“I will. Love you. Don’t forget to let me know where you are.”
“Yes, Mother. I said I would.”
The car door slammed on her laughter, and she was gone. Morgan stayed on the sidewalk, dreading having to go inside and face Leo with another one of his fuckups.
“Whatever. At least I’m not destroying the place.” Resolute, he put his head down and trudged into the building to the end of the hallway, where Leo’s apartment was located. Hesitating a second, he knocked.
Leo opened the door, and Morgan didn’t know which of them was more shocked. Leo was wearing only a pair of boxers, his body on full display to Morgan, whose dick zinged to attention at the sight of all that rippling, naked skin. What did he say earlier to his mother—Leo wasn’t his type? Maybe he’d be going to hell for lying to her, butdamn. He’d never wanted to lick anyone from head to toe before.
“What do you want?” Leo growled, and Morgan’s heart sank. No matter how horny he might be for Leo, it was obvious the feeling wasn’t mutual. A bad taste settled in his mouth.
“I, uh, got locked out of my apartment when I took my mother to get her car. Do you have my spare?”
Shooting him an unreadable look, Leo said, “Wait here.” He disappeared from view, leaving Morgan wishing he could sink into the floor.
With a T-shirt now covering his torso, Leo returned holding a set of keys, and Morgan attempted to maintain a neutral face.
“I’m not going to waste my time taking your key off, and I can’t give you the entire set, so let’s go.” He brushed past Morgan, leaving him standing in the doorway.
“Sure.” Morgan scrambled after Leo, who stood by the elevator with a pissed-off face—otherwise known as his usual expression whenever the two of them were together. He didn’t even dare try and make light of the situation when Leo stood silent and brooding with that impenetrable wall around him.
Once at his apartment, Leo found the key on the ring and opened the door. Without a word, he turned and walked away.
“Hey, wait a second. Leo?”
Leo stiffened but stopped. “What is it?”
“My mother wanted me to give you these.” Morgan rushed into his apartment, scooped up the cookies into a paper bag, and ran back out to the hall. He held out the bag, and Leo waited a beat before reaching out and taking it from him. “It’s her chocolate-chip butterscotch cookies. They’re really good.”
The corner of his right eye twitched. “Your mother left me cookies?”
“Yeah. She wanted to make sure you knew how much she appreciated your helping her out when she was stranded. And I do too. I know how busy you are. I’m sorry I interrupted you.”
Leo’s face turned to stone. “I have to go. Thanks for the cookies.”
Without anything further, he ran down the stairs, leaving Morgan to wonder what the hell was going on. He assumed the barbecue that evening was still on, so he went to take a shower.
At six o’clock he was ready, dressed in a vintage Superman T-shirt and dark-wash jeans. He’d decided to forgo shaving, liking the way he looked with a little stubble covering his jaw and cheeks. Jeffrey had always liked him clean-shaven, and he’d continued to shave twice a day out of habit, but no more.
He’d even run out to the bodega on the corner and picked up a bouquet of flowers to bring for Peter’s wife. All he needed was Leo.
Realizing they hadn’t exchanged numbers for Leo to text him, Morgan went outside to wait for him. At six fifteen, Leo coasted in front of the building, and Morgan’s heart picked up speed. In a black T-shirt and faded jeans ripped in some interesting places, Leo was every fantasy Morgan had dreamed of since he was fourteen and figured out he liked guys.
Only, Leo was real.
“Hi,” Morgan said as Leo drew closer. “I wasn’t sure where to meet you since we don’t have each other’s phone numbers.”
“Guess you worked it out all by yourself. And you brought me flowers? Aw, aren’t you sweet.”
Looked like the weirdness between them had faded, and if Leo wanted to handle what happened earlier by ignoring it, that was fine with Morgan. But that didn’t mean he had to let Leo control the narrative between them.
“Yes, I am. Damn sweet. But they aren’t for you.”
Leo scowled. “Come on. Here’s your helmet.”
Morgan buckled it on, and after laying the flowers across his lap, settled in behind Leo and grabbed him around the waist. They roared off.
“Is this a Harley?” Morgan asked when they stopped at a light.
