“But sometimes it feels really good to punish a bully.” Roman grabbed his hand and squeezed hard and for not too long. “High school boys are stupid and immature,” he said.
“That’s what my mom said.” Ezra smiled a little. Roman and his mother were a lot alike.
“And he was probably just insecure and embarrassed and took it out on you.”
“My mom said that too.” Ezra could acknowledge that Tyler had behaved badly but his doubts remained about his own role in what had happened. If only he’d known ahead of time that Tyler was circumcised and wanted a blowjob, he could have done research on it himself, but it had been one of those terrible surprises that Ezra hadn’t anticipated. Far worse than the Bleu Cheese Incident. And now, his chest felt heavy and his throat was too thick to swallow. “Telling you this story has made me sad. Can I go back to ironing your shirts now?”
“Can I give you a hug first?”
“It has to be a hard one,” Ezra reminded him.
“No soft touches. I remember.”
Ezra stood and Roman’s arms wrapped around him, squeezing him tightly. Ezra leaned into his embrace, wanting it to continue, wanting Roman to press harder, hold him tighter, not only for comfort but for…
Ezra backed away because he was having another biological response, a strong one, and he didn’t want to accidentally rub his erection against Roman.
How embarrassing!
7
Football Party
Roman had never considered himself a possessive man. Until Ezra. Something about the younger man prompted Roman to act like a dragon hoarding its treasure. When Ezra told him that painful story about his high school boyfriend, he’d thought he might actually breathe fire. All Tylers were assholes as far as he was concerned, and if he ever met Tyler Drummond in person, the little prick was toast.
When they’d had the Serious Talk about Ezra being gay, Roman thought the issue of their attraction to one another might be raised, but Ezra clearly didn’t view Roman as a potential partner. Roman had thought maybe Ezra wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship, but then his fledgling romance with the asshole boyfriend showed that he had wanted it in the past. So, was Ezra simplynotinterested? Roman had never had much trouble attracting and holding a man’s attention, though he supposed there was a first time for everything.
As far as his own feelings went, Roman had a deep affection for the man, which flared into lust when he noticed Ezra reciprocating. He also knew that Ezra liked to keep things organized—he was a splitter, so he’d said—so maybe the mere fact that Roman was his employer ruled him out as a boyfriend. Even Roman had to admit that dating Ezra while living with him might make things messy.
At home together, Roman would catch himself staring at the young man innocently going about his business. The way Ezra chewed on his lower lip when he was deep in concentration, the swoop of hair that dipped in front of his eyes and caused him to tilt his head to one side. Ezra’s ears, which were small and a little bit pointy at the tips, and when combined with his slight stature, gave him a kind of elfin, otherworldly quality.
When Ezra spoke passionately about something, his hands would sort of flutter to articulate what he was saying, and when he was excited, he rose to the balls of his feet like a bird on a delicate perch. He could be at one moment lecturing in a professorial style on the elegance of Python programming, and in the next, smiling shyly and ducking his head in response to some question Roman had asked him. He was fascinating and endearing, but perhaps most astonishing to Roman, Ezra was genuine to his very core.
Then there was his other concern, that when Ezra had cleaned and organized his home from top to bottom, he might move onto another disorderly household and leave Roman altogether. Even knowing that, Roman couldn’t bear to ruin Ezra’s careful work or create messes just for the sake of it. Ezra was already two-thirds of the way through his deep cleaning list. What would happen when he finished?
And so, Roman spent an inordinate amount of time obsessing over his roommate. And when he was away from the house, he’d check on Ezra compulsively through the app on his phone, just to watch him do the most mundane things, like unload the dishwasher or vacuum the floors with his headphones on, and it would make him smile.
“What are you grinning about?”
Roman glanced up from his phone to find his best friend scrutinizing him. He’d been waiting for his turn on the lats machine. “Nothing.” Roman went to put his phone away, but Jay leapt off the bench and plucked it right from his hand. They tussled, but Jay had enough blocking experience to hold him back.
“What the…” Jay muttered. He held the phone aloft, his other hand shoved against Roman’s chest. On the feed Ezra was wiping down the French doors with a bottle of glass cleaner, a squeegee, and paper towels. The view was of him in his short shorts, bending down to get the bottom panels with meticulous precision. “Roman, you pervin’ on your housekeeper, man?”
“No,” Roman said petulantly and managed to snatch back his phone.
“Does Ezra know you’re recording him?”
“Yes, of course.” He’d even offered to turn off the cameras in the house, but Ezra had said he’d rather keep them on because that way they both knew already what he’d accomplished during the day. It was practical if nothing else. Ezra hadinvitedhim to watch.
“That’s some wifey shit you got going on there,” Jay said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your little man keeping house, ironing your shirts, cooking your meals...”
“I do the cooking,” Roman said. Otherwise, Ezra would eat Lunchables and chicken nuggets exclusively. “And I pay him.”
“If that’s all it is, then why are you checking up on him during the day? Smiling like you just got served the last slice of sweet potato pie?”
