“Damn,” John muttered, letting out a whistle. “Here we are throwing shade and swagger, and Oliver’s been sitting on a gold mine the whole time. Looks like we’ll have to start paying much closer attention to you.”
We played two more rounds. I managed to clinch the second game, but Susan triumphed in the third.
“Well,” Luke declared, pushing back from the table. “I think that means it’s time we get going. Better to leave on a high note.”
“High note?” John said. “The only sound I hear following you is the sad, flatwhump-whump-whhhaaaaaof a trumpet.”
“If I had come here on my own, I’d agree. But with Ollie here I’m elevated. His victory is shared with me. That’s how this partnership works.”
I chuckled. “I’ll allow it, only because it’s obvious you need all the help you can get.”
“I can’t argue with that. Thank you for your generosity,” Luke said, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek.
As we lingered by the door, the promised leftovers in hand, Susan stepped toward me. “We’re so glad you came over, Oliver, and we had the chance to meet you. You’re welcome anytime. Now, no pressure, dear, but I would love to give you a hug to send you on your way, would that be okay?”
“Yes,” I said. “I’d like that.”
She stepped forward and enveloped me in her arms, protective, comforting, loving, and attentive all at once. Something inside me swelled painfully with the realization I had never been held like this, not once, by the woman who gave birth to me. But here stood Susan, a woman who had met me mere hours ago, holding me as if I were hers.
“You’re a wonderful young man, Oliver. I’m so glad you’re going to be a part of our family.”
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry, I repeated to myself. But I came close. What other reaction can you have when you’re invited into something you’ve never had?
John stepped forward and opened his arms, giving me a solid and brief hug, but still more than I’d ever gotten from my own father. Giving my shoulder a firm pat, he said, “It was nice to meet you, son. Looking forward to seeing more of you. Someone’s gotta keep our boy in line now that Suzie and I aren’t around to do it full-time”
“I’ll do my best,” I said through the tangle of emotion tightening in my chest.
I hadn’t come here expecting to be loved. Acceptance, maybe. Politeness, sure. Perhaps a nod of approval if they were feeling generous. But over the span of a single evening, I had been offered something far greater. I had been treated like someone who belonged.
Chapter 30
Luke
By the time we pulled into the driveway, Oliver had drifted off to sleep, his head tipped against the window. He looked as snug as a bug and I didn’t have it in me to wake him.
Reaching for the bag of leftovers, I slipped out of the car, shutting the door as quietly as possible, and then rounded the hood. Opening the passenger door, I leaned over him to unbuckle his seatbelt and gathered him into my arms.
As I lifted him, he stirred, his eyelids fluttering open, and with a drowsy murmur he asked, “What’s going on?”
“You fell asleep in the car,” I said, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I’m carrying you inside.”
His head lolled against my shoulder as he sighed. “My hero.”
I carried him across the threshold, setting him down as we entered our home. “I’m going to stash the leftovers in the fridge. Why don’t you head up to bed?”
“Okay,” he said, walking up the stairs.
When I stepped into the bedroom, Oliver lay tucked beneath the covers, eyes closed. He didn’t sleep in my bed every night, though I wished he did, but we were still new, and after everything he’d been through, I realized he might want the safety of his own room until he felt ready to share mine all the time. Knowing he wanted to be next to me tonight was enough. More than enough.
Stripping down to my boxers, I slipped beneath the sheets, wrapping my arm around him.
He rolled over, facing me, and where I thought I’d see sleepiness in his eyes, what I saw was fire.
Saying nothing, he caught the back of my neck with both hands and pulled me into a kiss. We’re talking kiss, with a capital K I S S, like the kind Prince sings about. His mouth met mine in a fierce, breathless crash, all searing pressure and parted lips and tongue. Bolts of bliss replaced the blood in my veins as his teeth grazed my bottom lip. He moaned when my hand slid up to tangle in his hair and pull him closer.
“Thank you,” he whispered when we finally broke the kiss. “For today. For everything. You didn’t just introduce me to your family, Luke. You gave me one. That’s something I stopped believing I’d ever have, and now I do because of you. You’ve given me so much. I want to give something back. I want to give you all of me. I want you inside me if... if you’d have me.”
“Of course I’d have you, it means the world to me you’d give yourself to me in such a way. I do have a question, though. For lack of sounding like an egotistical prick, I won’t hurt you, will I? I mean I’m kind of uh...” I gestured downward. “Big.”
