He was shocked when he caught it, but tried to pretend that he was actually as coordinated as he’d just made himself look.
“Secondly, New York is notpractically Canada. I don’t even have a passport.”
“Really?” Oz asked, surprised. He couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t have one.
“Really. I never have. I guess my dad is afraid I’ll run away.”
“I don’t mean to drag any crap up here, but why don’t you?” Oz asked. Seth had said more than enough for him to figure out that he wasn’t happy with his life.
“And go where? I’ve only ever worked for my father and I have basically no savings of my own. I don’t even have a college degree,” Seth said, looking down at his shoes as he kicked them off.
He seemed ashamed of that. Not that it was actually anything to be ashamed of, but Oz could see why.
Seth’s situation was apparently worse than Oz had thought. “You know that your dad’s trapping you on purpose, right?”
“Of course,” Seth responded, pulling his plain black t-shirt over his head. “Knowing doesn’t change anything. I have nowhere to go.”
“You can come to me,” Oz said sincerely. “Anytime.”
He was surprised by how much he meant it, how much that suddenly sounded like a great idea. He could imagine himself with Seth. Looking after him. Helping him get on his feet. Watching him thrive away from his overbearing family.
Like Mason was doing for Emma, he assumed. Maybe that explained why they’d gotten married so fast.
“Thanks,” Seth said, stripping off his jeans. Oz wasn’t sure whether or not he realized it was a serious offer, but he didn’t want to push. Seth would figure things out in his own time.
Whenever that was, Oz would be around to help him. Even if they both had families of their own, even if whatever was going on between them ended in a fight.
Seth deserved someone in his corner, and Oz had gone to law school with dreams of helping people in need. At least in that sense, they were made for each other.
Rather than continuing an uncomfortable conversation, Oz shed his jeans and underwear and climbed into bed, shoving all but the thinnest blanket off and onto the floor on Seth’s side. If Seth got cold, he could pick them back up again.
He didn’t have to wait long before Seth joined him, curling up beside him so that they were making contact in just a couple of places. Not enough to overheat, but enough not to feel alone.
Oz didn’t like feeling alone any more than Seth did.
“Sweet dreams,” Seth said. “Unless you need to talk?”
“I’m good,” Oz murmured, already starting to feel the weight of sleep. The drive and the shock if the call he’d gotten earlier had left him exhausted. “But thanks.”
“If you change your mind, I can never sleep when it’s hot. I’ll be awake.”
“Well, we can both not sleep, then.”
To Oz’s surprise, Seth reached out and took his hand. It was only a light hold, the barest touch, but it was obvious what he was doing.
“I don’t mind not sleeping with you. Even in a non-sex way,” he said softly.
“Me too,” Oz agreed, brushing his thumb over Seth’s knuckles. “Me too.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Little Seth Caldwell, look at you all grown up!”
Seth turned around to see a man about his father’s age with what was easily the most ridiculous hat in the room on, and recognized him immediately as Mr. Bishop.
Most of Seth’s memories were of him being pushy and unpleasant, and he didn’t seem to have changed a whole lot in the twenty-odd years since he last remembered seeing him.
“I wouldn’t go so far asallgrown up. I’ve still got a lot to learn,” Seth responded, figuring that was approximately what Mr. Bishop would want to hear.
