His magic flickered, and a single wave of calm flooded him. Elliot sighed in relief. He slumped against the sink. His mind cleared enough that he could actually think.
What was that?
They’d been wrestling for years, so what had changed? Maybe it was a fluke. Stimulation would make anyone aroused. Like Elliot told Damon in the beginning, it didn’t mean anything. Maybe Damon had just been curious. Maybe he’d been imagining jerking himself off and was imagining a girl giving him a blowjob.
Although, he had kept moaning Elliot’s name.
And he was all bent out of shape about Benjamin. What wasthat?
Oh God.
Elliot ran his wet hands through his hair as the realization sank in.
Thatwas him losing his best friend.
He’d thought telling Damon that he was gay had changed things between them...
This?This? Damon would never talk to him again.
Elliot would have to pretend nothing happened. They’d agreed to forget it. So that was what he’d do.
Forget. Forget all about sucking off his best friend. The best friend he’d had a crush on for as long as he could remember.
Yeah.
Right.
Elliot padded into the dining room where Ms. Montré and Damon were dishing out food.
“Uh, so I’m really sorry, but I just realized I need to get home,” he said.
Damon’s head whipped up. “Why?”
Elliot winced. Ms. Montré was watching them with curiosity. He swallowed. “My mom wants me to help her…uh, with the mulching. Yeah. She, uh, got a shipment, and it’s too heavy for her to spread, and my dad hurt his back so...”
Damon glared at Elliot. “You can’t leave. You can’t! You were…going to help me with my math homework.”
Elliot worried his lip.
“Please,” Damon said, the word a broken plea. “I need you—your help, I mean.”
Elliot’s willpower cracked. He’d never been able to resist Damon’s sad eyes. He couldn’t deny him anything.
“Text your mom and tell her we’ll do the mulch together next weekend. It’ll get done twice as fast,” Damon said.
Elliot pulled out the chair beside him and sat down at the table. “Yeah, okay,” he mumbled and pretended to pull out his phone to text his mom.
Damon took a deep breath and sighed it out, passing the bowl of pasta to Elliot after taking his helping.
Their fingers touched, and they shared a look that Damon broke first.
Damon pushed his food around his plate and gave his mom one-word answers about school and baseball, forcing Elliot to make up the slack.
After dinner, all Elliot wanted to do was go home and stare at the ceiling and try to figure out what the hell was going on. He needed to be alone to think about how he should act. He didn’t know the best way to go about this. Did they have a mature conversation about it? Did they continue to pretend it didn’t happen? Did Elliot suck it up and admit his feelings?
Ha. No way.
Elliot was distracted by these thoughts as he followed Damon to his room, which was why he let out an embarrassing squealwhen Damon grabbed a handful of his shirt, pulled him inside, and pressed him against the closed door.
