Homecoming for Beginners

Chapter 14

WHEN OLLIE woke up, it was to Theo’s knee connecting with his thigh.

“Ow,” he said sleepily, and blinked his eyes open to find Theo staring back at him.

“Sorry, Dad.”

What was he doing here? What time was it? What day was it? Ollie rubbed a hand over his eyes. “It’s okay, buddy. I guess we fell asleep early last night, huh?” He didn’t remember getting up to get these blankets. Actually, he didn’t know if he’d ever even seen these blankets before.

Ty must’ve brought them, he realized, whenever he got done talking to the cops last night.

God, what had Ollie done, coming back to this town?

“Yeah. But we can get up now, right? Mel’s birthday party is today, and we still have to get her a present.”

Shit, and Ollie had promised his sister he’d help set up picnic tables and games and stuff goodie bags or… something like that. He needed to get up and get his ass moving.

Ideally he’d get to talk to Ty first. “We gotta get up,” Ollie confirmed, throwing off the blanket. “You get dressed while I shower, okay?” Ollie’s time in the military had at least taught him the value of a two-minute shower. He’d probably be done before Theo. Maybe he’d get a few minutes with Ty before he had to leave.

But a search of the house—unshaven, hair still wet—turned up nothing. Ty must’ve gone to the school to pick up his truck.

Which was fine. Ollie was not going to freak out about it. They could talk later.

He stopped himself from texting Ty about that. Nothing good ever came from a we need to talk text. He wrote a note instead, then spent thirty seconds debating whether he should draw a heart next to his name. Too forward? Too fast? He wrote an X instead and grabbed his keys from the counter. “Theo. Time to go. ”

Picking out the correct toy took approximately seventy-five years, in part because Theo kept getting distracted by things he wanted, and Ollie had to continually remind himself that it was a bad idea to assuage his parental guilt over yesterday through material gifts. “Your birthday’s coming up too,” he pointed out after the fifth very cool toy that would be discarded under Theo’s bed in three days while Theo shoved his nose in yet another book. “Why don’t you make a list when we get home later?”

Fortunately, or unfortunately in this case, Theo’s attention was as easily taken up by the task of figuring out what Mel might want. With about ten minutes to go before Cassie sent out a search party, Ollie put two toys behind his back and made Theo pick a hand.

He arrived at the house just as the frazzle entered full swing. Cassie opened the door before he could knock, made a dramatic shushing gesture, and then joined them on the front step instead of letting them in. “Mel hardly slept all night, she was so excited about the party. She’s having a nap now or she’ll be an absolute bear the whole time. Why do people have kids, again?”

Ollie blinked at her, then looked pointedly at his son, who was standing right there .

“Think how boring life would be without them,” he said, and then jabbed his fingers under Theo’s armpits to coax out a squawk of a laugh.

“Dad! That’s cheating.”

“It’s not. Dads always get to tickle. That’s the rules.”

Cassie smiled at Theo. “I think he used that same rule when we were kids, except he said brothers .”

Ollie wiggled his fingers at her. “You’re not too old.”

“You just keep in mind that I know where Mom keeps the pictures of you on that sheepskin rug. And naughty brothers’ kids get drum kits for Christmas.”

He lifted his palms. “I yield.”

Cassie put Theo to work helping her stuff goodie bags while Ollie set up ring toss and clipped plastic tablecloths to picnic tables. Crepe paper streamers went up above the doorways. Balloons were tied to mailboxes and fence posts. By the end of it, Ollie was wondering if kids still went to Chuck E. Cheese for birthday parties these days. Maybe that clip-n-climb place out on Front Road. Hosting a party at home seemed like a lot of work .

And God only knew what’d happen if the kids tried to play hide-and-seek in the Morris mansion. Ty kept insisting there wasn’t a sex dungeon, but Ollie wouldn’t put it past the place to have actual skeletons in a closet somewhere.

On the other hand, he could see Ty’s face as he hopefully offered to host. He’d say something about bringing in a petting zoo and mention his dad had never let him rent a bouncy castle, and then on Theo’s birthday somehow there would be balloon animals and face painting and possibly some kind of carnival ride.

He had to be devastated Theo wasn’t talking to him, even if he’d put on a brave face about it. People who loved like that didn’t take rejection easily.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Cassie said quietly from his elbow after he finished hanging the pinata.

Ollie inhaled sharply and then made himself hold his breath for a count of four and let it out slowly again, sending the panic with it. He knew she’d only startled him because he’d let his guard down, and that was good—that he felt like he could let his guard down somewhere outside his house. It was just… funny, maybe. Ty never sneaked up on him like that.

Sneaking wasn’t really his strong suit.

“Ollie?”

Oh. He was smiling now.

“That’s a good look on you.” Cassie bumped his shoulder. “You want to tell me who put it there?”

Little sisters were so nosy. “I think you’d have more fun guessing.”

She laughed and teased, “I don’t know, I mean, aside from Theo, there’s only one person you spend your time with—”

Despite more than a decade in the military, Ollie was helpless to stop the flush.

Cassie stopped. “Holy shit, really?”

Which, well…. One side effect of Ollie not dating very much was that he hadn’t bothered telling his family he wasn’t exactly straight. He figured he’d tell them if it ever had any bearing on his life.

He hadn’t intended to do this today, but it would be weird to walk it back now.

“Ollie!” Cassie smacked his shoulder. “What the hell! You never told me you were… bi? ”

He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t really label it. I don’t know, it’s more like… I’m not attracted to a lot of people, so when I am, gender is kind of a nonissue.” He’d mostly dated cis women, but when mostly could be counted on the fingers of one hand, that didn’t mean a lot. “I’ve never dated a man.”

“You like Ty a lot, huh?”

“Enough to come out to my sister.”

She squeezed his bicep. “I’m glad you did. And for what it’s worth, anyone who puts that look on your face is worth keeping around.”

“Thanks, Cass.”

“That does explain why he was so frantic trying to get hold of you yesterday. Talk about going above and beyond. I thought maybe that was, like, the school pushing that, but he was with Theo the whole time? No wonder you like him. He must like you a lot too.” Ollie didn’t know how to interrupt that no, that was just Ty, that Ty would’ve done that for anyone because that was who he was. He didn’t think he could do it without coming across as lovestruck. Plus that would invite follow-up questions. Fortunately, before the moment could feel awkward, she added, “And that butt. Seriously. Who could blame you?”

Well now Ollie was blushing for a whole new reason. “Cass!”

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

She wasn’t wrong. Ty had an amazing ass. But Ollie only wanted to touch it because it was his.

Miraculously, she let him get away with not answering out loud, even if they both knew his silence was damning. “So how long have you been seeing each other?”

Shit. “Um. We’re not. Exactly. Officially.”

Her eyes widened. “Please don’t tell me you’re dumb enough to try friends with benefits with someone who makes you smile like that.”

“We didn’t even kiss until yesterday.”

She took one look at him and immediately figured it out. “Nothing like having your kid in the hospital to remind you what’s important?”

“Something like that.”

“You gonna tell Mom and Dad?”

Fuck, they’d probably be here later today. Ollie was willing to put up with their presence for Mel’s sake, and Cassie’s, but…. “Do you think I have to? ”

She snorted. “It’s a small town, Ollie. You cannot hide the most scandalous relationship in Suffolk from church-lady gossip. And you know how much Mom loves gossip.”

“Not really looking forward to that conversation, especially when we’re not really talking.” He paused. “Although on the other hand, the reason we’re not really talking is they were assholes about Ty, so at least they won’t be too surprised.”

“God.” She shook her head. “You want a cupcake before the party starts?”

Did he want to slather his feelings in fat and carbs? “Absolutely.”

It wasn’t a bad way to spend a morning, or wouldn’t have been if he hadn’t had other things he desperately wanted to be doing. But then twelve thirty rolled around, the parents started arriving with their kids, and any wistful thoughts of Ty got shoved on the back burner along with things like the need to pee and conversation that went deeper than sports and the weather and whose turn was it to hit the pinata.

Ollie had just enough spare brain power to realize that he never wanted to host a party of this size without at least two other adults riding herd, and then he got swept up watching Theo and Mel plot an absolutely cutthroat strategy in capture the flag.

Maybe he should’ve tried harder to encourage ring toss instead of kids’ war games.

But everyone seemed to be having a good time, even Ollie, who eventually had to slink into the shadows next to the house and hunch there, overstimulated. He already knew he was going to crash hard again tonight. There was too much going on. He swore he’d had better stamina in the Army. But any kind of work was different from this chaos.

He was still standing against the house, eyes and ears peeled for distressed shrieking—not easy to differentiate from regular kid shrieking, so he was happy for the practice—when his parents showed up.

He caught his father’s eye, then his mother’s, but no acknowledgment passed between them. They didn’t come over to say hello, and Ollie didn’t move from the house.

“So this isn’t going to be awkward at all,” Cassie said, sidling up beside him .

“I could leave,” Ollie offered. Now that their parents had arrived, the kids would have plenty of supervision. “Come back for Theo later.”

Even as he said it, he knew he wouldn’t unless Cassie asked him to. He could just about cope with having Theo out of his sight, but only because he stayed within shouting distance.

Obviously Cassie knew better too, because she snorted. “Yeah, right. Anyway, if anyone’s leaving, it’s Mom and Dad. They didn’t blow up thirty balloons this morning.” She waited a beat. “I hope Ty appreciates your lung capacity.”

He let his head fall back against the brick. “Cass—”

“Anyway, you can’t leave now. He’ll be here any minute.”

The words washed over him like a bucket of cold water. “What?!”

She gave him a sheepish look. “In hindsight I probably should’ve just sent you to pick him up so you could have that chat away from prying eyes, but I didn’t think Mom and Dad would be showing up for another hour.”

Ollie had spent too much of his life in undesirable situations to panic now. He only wished he’d taken a little more time to think about what he wanted to say.

Shit, what did he want to say? Figuring out what he wanted was easy. Deciding what to say to achieve it, not so much.

Cassie’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out. “Doorbell cam,” she said. “You wanna get that?”

Ollie did, in fact, want to get that.

He still hadn’t figured out what to say when he opened the door.

There was a bouquet of flowers on the other side. It had legs.

It had hands too; one of them was holding an outrageously sized gift bag stuffed to bursting with tissue paper. Presumably it also held a present. Another, smaller bag nested inside it.

Ollie remained speechless.

“Um,” said Ty’s voice from behind the flowers. “Hi? I’m… um.”

While Ollie’s brain scrambled for words, his hands went into action. He plucked the bouquet out of Ty’s hands and held it at his own side so he could see Ty’s face.

“Hi,” Ty repeated, a little breathlessly this time. He was flushing—he flushed so easily and looked so good doing it, it suddenly made Ollie crazy. How pink would he get if Ollie kissed him again? If he—no. He needed to focus. Talk first .

“Hi, Ty.” Ollie didn’t bother trying to play it cool. That was a game for kids. Instead, he smiled and lifted the flowers. “These are nice.”

“Um,” Ty said again. The flush deepened. Was Ollie imagining that he could feel the heat radiating from his face? “They’re for your sister. Hostess present. Since I’m crashing the party and—yeah.”

Ollie looked at the bouquet. He didn’t consider himself an expert in flower-buying, but he’d certainly bought flowers for hosts before. Never anything this elaborate, though. What was that, a hundred dollars’ worth? More?

In his entire life, Ollie had been completely, perfectly sure where he belonged only twice. Once when he cradled his infant son in his hands. The second time at the controls of a helicopter on his first solo flight.

He was sure of it now too. He belonged between Ty and the rest of the world, protecting him from anyone who couldn’t see his worth.

Finally he remembered it was his turn to speak. He cleared his throat. “Wow. Are you planning to eat all the cake yourself?”

“Shut up.” Ty ducked his head, but he was grinning. Ollie stepped back to let him in.

“And you brought a birthday present too?”

“Ollie, you can’t show up at a kids’ birthday party without a gift. It doesn’t matter if you’re not invited. Even evil fairies know that.”

Ollie led the way into the dining room, where he rummaged around Cassie’s hutch to find a vase big enough to contain the entire greenhouse Ty had carted over. “And you’re this town’s version of the evil fairy?”

Ty laughed too. “Uh, I guess. If the shoe fits.”

“I think that’s a different story.” He set the flowers and vase on the table. He could get water for them later, after they’d—just, after.

Before he could say anything, Ty added, “I brought something for Theo too. Apology gift, since I sort of—well, for yesterday.”

Ollie was going to veto that one. Theo didn’t need to get the idea that adults could buy his forgiveness, especially when the adult in question had acted in his best interest. But that was okay; there were plenty of other reasons to give Theo presents. They could think of one later. Right now, though—“What?” he teased. “You didn’t bring me anything?”

But Ty wasn’t laughing anymore. He’d gone serious, cheeks still pink, bright eyes shining. “Me,” he said simply. “I—Ollie, I brought you me , I—”

Ollie’s fingers went numb. “It’s enough.” He stepped forward and took Ty’s perfect face in nerveless hands. “It’s more than enough, Ty, it’s everything—”

Talking , something in Ollie’s upper brain reminded him. They were supposed to be talking.

But talking could wait until after Ollie had his fill of Ty’s mouth. He tasted like strawberries and smelled like summer, and when their lips touched, sensation roared back—the heat of Ty’s skin and the soft prickle of his stubble and the strange, not unpleasant way his body fit against Ollie’s. Solid. Reliable.

Ollie had never felt so grounded in himself, so sure. How could he feel like that when having Ty so close made his heart race, made him… probably unsafe for a kids’ birthday party, now that he thought about it. He was going to need a minute to cool off.

Kissing Ty was a paradox, apparently.

Finally Ty made an embarrassed sound against Ollie’s mouth and pulled away. He’d flushed again, but this time it left his eyes and lips dark too. That… hmm. Ollie might need two minutes, actually. “Okay,” Ty said, breathless again. He ran a hand through his hair and Ollie’s hands itched to follow it. “Good—good talk?”

“I really need to stop kissing you in public. Semipublic.” Heh. Semi.

Ty caught his eye and snickered.

Damn it. Ollie poked him, but he was grinning too. “Stop, come on.”

“Well, which one is it? Stop or—”

Ollie put a hand over his mouth.

Ty’s gaze went, if possible, even darker. The heat of his breath against Ollie’s palm was… something Ollie was not going to think about at his niece’s birthday party. He cleared his throat and pulled his hand away. “We still have a lot to talk about. Actual talk,” he clarified.

“Yeah.” Ty was still smiling. “We’re already doing everything backwards, though. What’s a few kisses between guys who live together?”

God. “Well, when you put it like that,” Ollie said, and then he put his hand on Ty’s belt and reeled him in for another one.

He was learning the shape of Ty’s smile under his lips when the sound of something breaking sent him halfway to a flashback.

He stepped away from Ty and put his shoulders against the wall, chest heaving. For a moment he kept his eyes closed and concentrated on grounding himself in the present. He could hear his own breathing and the hard edges of voices—Ty’s and someone else familiar, though Ollie couldn’t process the words. The scent of buttercream frosting reached his nose. The coolness of the wall at his back seeped through his shirt.

Then a hand curled around his own, and Ollie snapped back into his body.

“—do you think you’re doing?” his mother said, and Ollie wished he could snap back out of it, but no. His place was between Ty and the world, not on the sidelines with his head in the sand. “Ollie, you’re not—”

Ollie squeezed Ty’s fingers and shot him what he hoped was a reassuring look. “Not going to have this conversation with you at this volume while pretending Ty isn’t standing right here?” he suggested.

His mother sputtered. She’d dropped a plate of cake—that was what had shattered, and the frosting had splattered onto her pedicured toes. Why was she using a real plate? Cassie had specifically bought paper ones for the party. They had little baseballs on them.

“You can hardly blame me for being surprised —”

That was a bit rich. “Can’t I?” Ollie countered. “Dad had no trouble jumping to all kinds of conclusions the other day at brunch. I’d have thought he’d have shared them with you.”

Fuck, he hadn’t meant to say that in front of Ty. He didn’t deserve to have to hear that Ollie’s father had implied he might be a pedophile. Life had been cruel enough to him already.

She frowned. “Is this why you’ve been avoiding my calls?”

And… Ollie’s mother wasn’t that good of an actor. She really had no idea why Ollie had been avoiding the two of them as a pair.

He didn’t know whether that made him angrier or… something else. Sadder? More tired? All of the above.

He didn’t have the energy to have that conversation now and the one he wanted to have with Ty later, so he said, “We’re going to go get some water for the flowers Ty brought for Cassie, and then we’re going to give Mel her gift and eat some cake. Meanwhile maybe you can ask Dad why I haven’t spoken to you in weeks.” He paused. “Oh, and your grandson is fine, by the way, after multiple beestings that landed him in the hospital yesterday. But thanks to Ty, he’s out there running around with the other kids. Like he should be.”

Let her stew in that for a while. Ollie grabbed the vase in his free hand and tugged Ty toward the kitchen. “Come on. You like cake, right?”