“Better get started.”
Later, cleaner, they lay wrapped around each other in Oliver’s big bed. Nick’s edge was gone, thanks to Oliver’s expert hands and the sweet heat of his mouth.
“I’m going to be busy this weekend,” Nick said.
Oliver lifted his head, the wet tips of his hair tickling at Nick’s skin. “All weekend?”
The disappointed tone made something happy bubble up in Nick’s chest. “Anya’s going away for the weekend. It’s her birthday. The last few weeks have—she needs some time away. But it means I’m going to be home all weekend supervising Hayden.”
Supervising.What a stupid word. Hayden would probably spend the whole weekend in his room.
“Do you—” Oliver hesitated, tracing kisses down Nick’s chest. He paused at the bottom of his sternum, then glanced up. “I could look at his case, if you want? See if there’s anything that you could use in his favor at the next court date. It’s been a long time since I did a criminal case, but I could—”
Nick silenced him with a kiss, then ran a hand through Oliver’s hair, cool and slick under his fingers. The room was dark, but he hoped Oliver could see his smile. “That’s really good of you. I’m not sure there’s much point, though. Hayden isn’t doing anything to help himself. He’s still having problems at school. It’s hard to argue against that. If anything, his behavior is getting worse.”
“Is there a reason?”
Nick shook his head and pulled Oliver up to kiss him. No one had offered to help them in such a long time. “He’s fifteen? He thinks everyone is out to get him. I don’t know. Can we not talk about this right now? I just needed you to know I’ll be busy this weekend.”
Oliver rolled them so they were spooned together and then pulled the blankets up around them. The house was quiet, and Oliver’s hands running gently over Nick’s body made him relax.
Behind him, though, Oliver pressed his hardening cock against Nick’s ass.
“Again?” Nick groaned, but he couldn’t help his body’s response as he rocked back.
Oliver tweaked one of Nick’s nipples before pushing a leg between his thighs.
“Better maximize the time we have tonight then, don’t you think?”
16
Oliver dreaded the market that Saturday. His experiments in vegan baking had been an epic disaster: the energy balls dry and crumbly, the cookies hard enough to sharpen the blades on the juicer.
He set up the tables, the bins, the bags of ice, and tried to ignore the anxious feeling telling him this exercise was becoming increasingly pointless. It didn’t help that Nick’s car was nowhere to be seen, and Hayden wasn’t among the volunteers directing parking. Oliver didn’t know what he would have done if they were there; he had to work, and he and Nick couldn’t exactly make out at his stall. He was still trying to smooth things over with the market board. Flaunting his gratuitously homosexual life and his hot boyfriend in front of them wouldn’t help.
Except that was precisely what he wanted to do. The morning wore on, and fewer and fewer people stopped by. He offered workshop flyers with less than his usual enthusiasm, and he didn’t flinch when not many people took them. It didn’t matter. He wanted to see Nick.
This couldn’t be healthy, right? They’d only known each other a little while, and though the sex was great, Oliver was getting very attached.
“Hey there!” A familiar voice made Oliver pop his head up. Deep circles sagged beneath Avery’s eyes, and his hair was plastered to his forehead in greasy streaks, but his smile was, as always, electric.
Oliver returned the smile as he set his phone down. “Good morning! Late night?”
Avery frowned, but then started like he’d been shocked and scrubbed his fingers in his hair. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. There’s a tournament this weekend.”
“A tournament?”
“E-sports.” He waited for a reply, but Oliver shook his head. “Video games! It’s the world championships ofWinterlandsthis weekend!”
Oliver had heard about those kinds of things, but didn’t know much. “And you’re playing?”
Avery laughed. “No! I’m good, but I’m not that good. Maybe someday, though.”
“So you were up all night watching someone play video games?”
“Not just someone. Kevin Chan! He’s the champion! Undefeated for the last fourteen months!”
“And they play all night?”
