“You mean string theory?” Ezra asked and Roman nodded. “Well, that’s how I feel when you and your friends talk about football. Or when you explain to me all of the different cuts of beef.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Roman didn’t think he was stupid, and he didn’t want Ezra to think so either, which made it a bit of a trick question.
Ezra’s mouth dropped open. “No, of course not.”
“I know more than just football and restaurants.”
Ezra nodded. “You also know a lot about sex.”
Ezra wasn’ttryingto make him feel bad, but he also wasn’t helping. “Do you think we have enough things in common?”
“For what?” Ezra asked, bewildered.
“For a relationship.” Roman hadn’t meant to raise his voice, but the effect was immediate. Ezra’s lower lip trembled. He blinked and his eyes filled with tears. Now he’d really gone and done it. He grabbed Ezra’s hand and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Ezra. I didn’t mean to upset you. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“You’re mad at me and I don’t know why,” Ezra bleated and started to get that panicky way about him.
Roman immediately felt like shit. “Can I hold you?” he asked. He was better at communicating through physical touch. Ezra nodded, so Roman pulled him into his lap and snuggled him close, trying to calm him and restore the safety he’d endangered with his bad mood. He had to be honest and specific, because Ezra couldn’t read between the lines.
“I’m not mad at you. I’m upset because you and your friends are very, very smart, and I felt like an idiot at gaming club because I couldn’t offer anything substantial to the conversation.” Roman then added with some humility, “And I’m not used to being the odd man out.” It was his own ego that was bruised. Roman knew he was being immature and a little selfish, but the quarterback was the playmaker and leader, the person everyone looked to for the win.
“Oh,” Ezra said.
“And you didn’t introduce me as your boyfriend,” Roman added. “Which kind of hurt my feelings.”
“You want me to be your boyfriend?” Ezra asked with a happy lift to his voice.
“Yes, obviously.”
“It’s not obvious to me.”
“You don’t think there’s anyevidencethat I might want you to be my boyfriend?” Roman had learned that Ezra was a big believer in evidence. And the scientific method.
“Well, since you mention it, maybe there issomeevidence,” the younger man conceded.
“Yeah, like what?” Now that they were on this path, Roman wanted nothing more than to tease it out of him, not only for fun but to make sure he was sending Ezra the right signals.
“Well, you make practically all of my meals for me.”
“Because I want to fatten you up,” he said and nudged his tummy.
“And you text meallthe time while I’m at school.”
“To let you know I’m thinking about you.”
“And, well…” Ezra blushed and dipped his head. Roman loved seeing the color rise in his cheeks, knowing he’d somehow caused it. Ezra leaned in close and whispered as if they weren’t the only two people in the room. “There’s sexy times,” he said and dragged his finger along Roman’s open collar, giving him an instant boner.
“It is Saturday night,” Roman reminded him.
Ezra smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
“Are you wearing your purple socks?”
Ezra’s expression shifted. “I was going to put them on, but you were just so grumpy.”
“Grumpy?” Roman protested. “We played three rounds of that game, and I didn’t come close to winning even once.”
“You didn’t get enough coins.”
