“We’re happy to be here,” Russell added.
“There are fresh towels in the bathroom, and I put an extra blanket on the bed,” Lily quickly advised as Stanley walked back into the room. “Did you set the snacks out, Stanley?” Lily turned to ask him.
“Yes, the bowl is out on the counter.”
Lily stepped toward Stanley and took hold of his offered hand. She smiled at Russell and then looked at me.
“Ryan, please feel free to help yourself to anything if you get hungry or thirsty.”
“Thank you, Lily,” I said and nodded.
Stanley and Lily slowly walked out of the living room on their way to bed, but Lily stopped and turned to face me again.
“Let us know if you get cold. We turned the thermostat up higher so it would be warmer. But we have extra blankets too,” she offered.
“Thank you. I’m sure the temperature will be just fine,” I said and smiled at her kind gesture.
Suddenly, Russell wrapped his arms around me from behind. He tugged me against him and rubbed his hand up and down my chest and abdomen before he kissed my ear. He did this right in front of them. I felt the heat spread downward from my head due to the embarrassment.
“I’ll keep him warm,” Russell said.
Oh my fucking god.Did he actually say that loud enough for them to hear?
His dad smiled while his mother laughed.
“Yes, well, I suppose you will,” she said to Russell. Stanley began to guide Lily down the hall toward their room.
“We’ll see you boys in the morning,” Stanley called over his shoulder as they continued down the hall.
Once they were out of sight, I shot Russell a “what the fuck are you doing” look.
“Relax, Ryan. I hugged you and kissed your ear in front of them.”
“I know, but they might not want to see that,” I whispered. I closed my eyes and tried to calm down.
It was a kiss to my ear.
And him rubbing on my chest and stomach.
And him touching me in front of them.
And him giving his parents a visual of us sleeping in the same bed together so he could keep me warm.
“Ryan.”
I slowly opened my eyes, and instead of meeting his gaze, I stared at his chest.
“Good boy,” he praised. “Are you ready for bed?” I nodded.
Following behind Russell, I carried my suitcase up as quietly as possible so I didn’t disturb his folks. The upstairs had several rooms with the doors open to them. Russell walked into a room that was just to the left of the top of the stairs.
Like the rest of the house that I had seen so far, the hardwood floors in the bedroom were a warm golden-brown shade. Coming off the wall opposite the bedroom door was a bed that had a masculine look to it. The mahogany bed had a headboard with vertical grooves in it that was probably about five feet tall. It had a shorter footboard that matched the headboard’s grooves. The bed was dressed with a fluffy, navy cover and a chocolate brown blanket laid folded longways across the bottom. There were two matching nightstands, both with silver lamps on them.
While I stood quietly in the doorway, Russell set his suitcase on the brown leather bench at the foot of the bed. He began putting socks and underwear in the top drawer of the dresser that matched the wood and design of the bed. It looked like the dresser sat against a wall separating the bathroom and a closed door. When he shut the drawer, he came over to me and took my bag over to the bench.
“I could have done that,” I whispered.
“I know, but I wanted to do it,” he said in his normal volume as he unzipped my suitcase. He pulled out my dirty clothes from our trip so far and carried them into the bathroom. “There’s a hamper in there,” he said when he came back into the bedroom. He gathered his dirty clothes and took them into the bathroom also. “We’ll do some laundry tomorrow,” he commented in the same tone.
