“I was In the Moment,” Ezra said as if it were a kind of altered state of mind. “I don’t always think or act rationally when I’m In the Moment.”
“I get that. Maybe next time you’re In the Moment, give me a heads-up, and I’ll know that we should probably talk again later once you’ve calmed down.”
Ezra nodded, then gave Roman another shy grin and gathered up his tablet. “I’m glad we had this talk. I really like living here with you, sir. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my schoolwork.”
Roman was about to call him back and ask Ezra to address him by his first name, but he figured he’d let it go for now.
One step at a time.
5
Diversionary Activities
Roman appreciated the way in which Ezra applied his mathematical mind to organizing his household. He now had a place for everything and knew exactly where to find the things he needed. And he was careful to adhere to the systems Ezra had meticulously laid out for him. But Roman liked Ezra’s company even more. He found himself staying in more often and, especially on days when he knew Ezra would be at home, cutting back on his hours at work. But unless Ezra was keeping house, he rarely left his bedroom, usually only during mealtimes or to get a snack from the kitchen.
“Ezra, why don’t you ever do your schoolwork out here?” Roman asked him one evening during what he’d mentally termed as a “rare Ezra spotting.”
Ezra looked around, bewildered. “This is your home, sir. You may want to entertain guests without me intruding.”
The idea that Ezra might be intruding was ludicrous, not to mention he hadn’t had anyone over in the few weeks since Ezra had started living with him. Roman hadn’t been much of a playboy prior to Ezra’s arrival, though he’d certainly gotten enough action in his twenties. He and Jay had made a pact early on in their professional football careers to keep their sexual exploits to themselves, which meant they’d lied for each other as well. After he’d retired and was less circumspect about his orientation, he thought he might be ready to try his hand at a real relationship, but his string of disastrous affairs proved otherwise. Lately he’d become almost clinical in his liaisons, exchanging only the necessary information and meeting his hookups at a hotel room rather than invite anyone into his home.
But Ezra didn’t need to know his entire dating history, only that he was welcome to come and go freely.
“I’d like you to treat this as your home too and hang out here whenever you want,” Roman said, “Besides that, I enjoy your company.”
“Even when I’m wearing my headphones?”
“Even then.”
After that conversation, Ezra would sometimes venture out of his bedroom to work on the overstuffed chair that he favored but even that wasn’t enough for Roman. He wanted to spend time getting to know Ezra—his hobbies, his background, his goals—but the young man rarely spoke about his personal life. Roman needed to get him in a social setting, but Ezra didn’t enjoy large gatherings with strangers and any activity that was just the two of them might feel too much like a date.
“Ezra, what diversionary activities do you have planned for Saturday?” Roman asked. It was Thursday afternoon, and Ezra was tapping away on his laptop keyboard, this time without his headphones.
Without interrupting the steady rhythm of his work, he said, “One of my colleagues is sending me the rough cut of his new online ordering app and I’m going to test it for bugs.”
That seemed more like work than diversion to Roman, but Ezra enjoyed that sort of thing.
“I was thinking of inviting Jay over to use the pool.” With Jay there, it might be less awkward for the both of them.
Ezra glanced up from his laptop. “A pool party?”
“Yeah, sure. A very small pool party.”
“I could push my review back a few hours if you’d like me to help with preparations.”
Roman shook his head slightly. He was going to have to be more precise. “I can handle the food prep myself. I was thinking you could join us. For fun.”
Ezra stopped typing then and gave Roman his full attention. “You’re invitingmeto your pool party?” he asked as if the idea were absurd.
“Yes.”
Ezra blinked his big brown eyes. His gaze went unfocused for a moment as if mentally reviewing his calendar. Roman knew that he liked to keep to his schedule. “Okay, if you’re sure about it.”
“I’m absolutely sure.”
Roman then went to his bedroom directly to call Jay. “I need you to come over on Saturday and swim in my pool. Ezra will be here too.”
“Trying to get your housekeeper in a bathing suit?” Jay teased. Roman had hoped his best friend wouldn’t be an ass about it. He should have known better.
