“Hey.” His voice made the ball in Nick’s stomach squeeze and then spread, a warm rush pouring over his insides and into his groin.
“Hi.” His own voice sounded rough.
“Come on in.” Oliver stepped aside, and Nick practically tripped as he entered the house.
They stood in the hall for a second, staring. Nick’s brain ran a million miles an hour and still came up blank for something to say.
Oliver leaned in and kissed Nick once on the cheek. On reflex, Nick turned his head and caught Oliver’s mouth. The kiss was brief, with Oliver stepping back before it could burn into anything brighter.
There still didn’t seem to be anything to say.
Oliver ran his tongue over his bottom lip, then pulled an elastic off his wrist, which he used to tie his hair back into a messy bun.
“Let me show you around.”
A tour. Nick could do a tour. He ignored the relief that flooded through him.
The inside of the house had definitely been renovated recently. It didn’t quite have that new paint smell, but the walls were perfect, without a single scuff or smudge. Oliver showed him an office obviously in frequent use. A glass-topped desk and leather chair were set up with stacks of papers organized in neat racks and a heavily marked-up calendar tacked to a corkboard to one side.
Nick followed wordlessly as Oliver led him to the open-concept living room/dining room/kitchen space. The appliances were all brand new, brushed stainless steel and gleaming. The stove was a six-burner gas range. Such a far cry from Nick’s kitchen, with its curling laminate flooring, peeling cupboard fronts, and the ancient range with its chipped enamel.
Oliver touched Nick’s shoulder, drawing his attention away from the kitchen. Oliver’s hands were strong and broad, the fingers long, the nails cut short. He was wearing another of those V-neck T-shirts like that first morning in the market, serving to show off his muscled arms. Nick watched Oliver’s shoulder blades glide over his back as he made his way up the hall. The motion was hypnotic.
An empty room toward the back of the house was followed by a large bathroom. It had a basin sink with brushed fixtures, and a shower big enough that Nick could probably lie down on the tiled bottom and not bump his head.
“And the bedroom,” Oliver said as they left the bathroom. The door was open, and, while Nick wasn’t brave enough to go in, a heavy wooden dresser and the corner of a bed with dark sheets were visible from the hall. If he got closer, Nick would be unable to keep himself from picturing Oliver in that bed, and then he’d insert himself into that image, and from there he’d embarrass himself in front of this beautiful person he hardly knew.
“It’s a nice house,” he managed to say.
Oliver took mercy on him and led him back toward the kitchen.
“It’s pretty good. The basement is finished too, but I didn’t really have anything to put down there.”
All this space for one person. It probably had the same square footage as Nick’s house, and Oliver wasn’t even using half of it.
“Did you get a good price on it?” Real estate in Seacroft was temperamental, but a house this size, especially a renovated one near the beach, would always be in demand.
“I’m renting. I heard the guy who flipped it was trying to get too much money in the sale, and it wasn’t moving. It’s month to month. I get a place to live. He gets some revenue to cover his mortgage.”
“But he could sell it out from under you?”
Oliver smiled. “Trust me. With the year I’ve had, renting this place month to month is one of the most predictable things I’ve done. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Just a soda. Or water is fine. I have to work tonight.”
Oliver poured them each a glass, and then led the way out to the living room. Nick sat on the couch, surprised and pleased, when Oliver sat next to him.
“Cheers!” He held his glass up, and Nick knocked his own against it.
The house fell into silence again as they drank. Nick fidgeted as his discomfort from the night of their date returned. He didn’t know much about Oliver’s past, but the house only confirmed what Nick had already guessed. Someone starting a new business didn’t pay for a house like this, even if it was a rental, without having some solid money in the bank to start with.
“I had a good time the other night,” Oliver said.
“So did I.”
“Did you? You left in a hurry.”
“I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”
