They still weren’t the kind of people who hugged, so Seth settled for stopping in front of Oz and grinning up at him. “You seem taller.”
Oz chuckled. “Higher heels on my boots, maybe. This is for you.” he held out the hat he was holding, which Seth had assumed was his own.
It was more or less identical to the one he’d worn to his brother’s wedding, although Seth didn’t remember the tiny silver buckle on the band.
He didn’t know a whole lot about hats, but it looked high-quality. Not that he would have cared one way or another. The fact that Oz thought enough of him to give him a gift…
That might have meant more to Seth than it was supposed to. No one ever gave him gifts. Definitely not ones that made a certain kind of personal sense.
“Thank you,” he took it from Oz, wondering if now was a good time to kiss his cheek.
A moment later, he decided he didn’t care whether it was a good time or not, and leaned in close to brush his lips against Oz’s cheekbone. It was all over in a second, but Seth could feel Oz’s face heating up as he blushed even before he moved away.
He liked making Oz blush.
“You’re gonna need it for the wedding, and I figured you wouldn’t have one.”
Seth chuckled. “You’re taking your role as cultural advisor very seriously.”
“Hey, you need the advice,” Oz teased, grabbing the bag Seth had set down to take the hat. “You should probably put that on. Sun’s hot out there.”
Not about to argue, Seth settled the hat on his head and followed Oz away from the crowd, toward the doors. Austin-Bergstrom airport seemed a lot smaller with Oz there to guide him this time.
Maybe airports weren’t so bad, after all.
“What about you?”
“I’m a local. We’ve got thicker skin,” Oz responded.
“I don’t think the thickness of your skin is what determines how likely you are to burn, but I’ll admit to being on the thin-skinned side.”
Oz turned to look at him as he hit the button for the elevator to the multi-story parking lot. “You don’t have thin skin. Not metaphorically, anyway. You put up with more crap than most people.”
Seth blinked, unsure how to respond to that. He felt trapped for a moment, vulnerable and exposed knowing that Oz had realized that he didn’t have the perfect life he liked to pretend he did.
But then, he’d been honest with Oz. Oz had made him feel as though hecouldbe honest with him.
That was rare. Oz, for whatever reason, was special.
Probably because he listened.Justlistened, instead of listening and judging, or listening and rushing in with a solution. He let Seth talk without needing to offer his opinion.
“I spend a lot of time brooding about it, though,” Seth admitted. He could tell Oz that. Oz wouldn’t think less of him for it.
“You should hear my train of thought when I’m alone at night,” Oz said. “We all think about things that aren’t fair, things that could be different. That’s normal.”
It probably was normal. Seth was just used to being told how lucky he was to have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth that he never felt as though he was allowed to complain about what that actually meant.
Oz got it though. Kind of. He’d been born into a rich family, too, so he understood that part. The fact that he’d gotten out and thrived was one of the things that drew Seth to him, if he was being honest with himself.
He wanted to fuck Oz, but he also wanted tobehim. Happy. Successful in his own right. Free.
“I can always tell you’re a lawyer,” Seth said. “Because you always say exactly the right thing.”
“Maybe I’m just very wise?” Oz suggested as he held the elevator door open for Seth.
“A wise man would give me a wide berth.”
To Seth’s dismay, Oz’s face fell. “Then either I’m not wise, or you’re wrong.”
