Homecoming for Beginners

Chapter 15

TY THOUGHT kids were nuts at school, but at Mel’s birthday party, he experienced a whole new level of elementary-aged, sugar-enabled shenanigans.

They didn’t see Ollie’s parents again after they presented Cassie with the flowers, and Ty didn’t dare ask. If he didn’t know details, he didn’t have to feel guilty about driving a wedge between Ollie and his family.

Though frankly if his mom was that upset about Ollie kissing a man, Ollie was better off without her.

A kid’s birthday party wasn’t exactly the best time to talk, but for once in his life, Ty didn’t feel the need to push. No one had ever stood up for him the way Ollie had. That said plenty.

And if the words it’s more than enough—it’s everything rang pleasantly in his head all afternoon while he ate cake and hot dogs and never strayed out of Ollie’s orbit, well, Ty could hardly be blamed.

Early in the afternoon, Theo ran out of steam in a spectacular fashion that almost resulted in a meltdown over the last strawberry cupcake. Ty figured he had earned some grace by virtue of having spent most of the previous day in the hospital. Ollie staved off tears by offering, “Okay, bud, tell you what. I think I’ve had enough of people’s company for the day. Why don’t we head home and put on Moneyball , and maybe if we’re lucky, Ty will make us pasta for dinner?”

The last thing Ty wanted was more carbohydrates, but pasta was easy, and he could make a salad too.

Theo’s lip wobbled a moment, but he got it under control before any mortifying tears could fall at his younger cousin’s party. He looked hesitantly at Ty, like he didn’t want to ask for anything from someone he was still mad at, or maybe he was embarrassed about giving him the cold shoulder all day.

“O- kay ,” he said finally as he pressed half his face against Ollie’s stomach, “but I want extra parmesan. ”

Ollie caught Ty’s eye and gave him a slight smile.

“I think we can manage that,” Ty agreed.

They drove home separately, so Ty took the opportunity to stop for more cheese, just in case, and a bag of baby spinach. When he walked in the side door, the house was quiet—no Moneyball on the TV and no Theo anywhere. He put the groceries in the fridge and meandered into the games room.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Ty dropped next to Ollie on the sofa, then thought fuck it and leaned right into him. Ollie slid an arm around his shoulder like he’d been handed a script. Ty might never get up. “Theo pass out?”

“Carried him inside like a sack of potatoes,” Ollie confirmed. He tugged a little until Ty was more or less using him as a body pillow. Hello , Ty thought, as his dick decided it liked where things seemed to be going.

Then Ollie’s hand slipped from Ty’s shoulder to his chest, fingertips brushing a nipple through his shirt, and scratch that, all of Ty loved where this was going, and could it get there a little faster?

His breath hitched.

He knew Ollie heard it—felt it—because he suddenly went very still. Like he was holding his breath.

Talk , Ty commanded his mouth. Nothing came out. His throat was dry.

Instead he put his hand on top of Ollie’s. That helped—he could keep that warm, steady pressure in the center of his chest instead of near any danger zones that would inevitably derail him. “So just—to be clear.” He wondered if Ollie could feel the scared-rabbit thump of his heart. “We’re doing this, yeah? For real. For….” His nerve deserted him. This whole town hated him. His own father hadn’t wanted him. Why would Ollie?

But Ollie deserved better than Ty’s doubt. He’d been proving that for weeks. Maybe Ty deserved better too. He swallowed and made himself finish. “For keeps.”

“Ty.” Ollie shifted underneath him, and suddenly they were both sitting up straight, facing each other. Ollie’s hand had moved from Ty’s chest to the side of his face, like Ollie was afraid Ty might bolt. “You think there’s any other way I’d do this?”

No. No, he didn’t. Not really. Ty’s low self-worth could never hold up against his faith in Ollie .

He shook his head.

“You and me.” Ollie had Ty’s face framed in both hands now. “And Theo. Everything else is just details.”

Ty wet his lips, swallowed against a dry throat. “You should kiss me.” Now and for the rest of his life.

Ollie’s whole body curled up in a smile, and a second later he’d pulled Ty back into his lap and they were kissing like the rest of their lives could wait.

Weeks of pent-up emotions heated fast. Ollie let out a sharp breath when Ty settled his weight down, and Ty was reaching for the back of the couch to steady himself and take some of the weight before Ollie took his lower lip between his teeth and put his hands on Ty’s ass and pulled him in farther.

God, Ty couldn’t remember the last time he’d kissed like this. His lips prickled with stubble rash and his head spun faster every time Ollie’s tongue brushed his. He was making soft, needy noises between kisses, awful sounds that should have mortified him, but he didn’t care. Not when he could taste Ollie’s desire, feel the evidence between his legs. Not when he had Ollie’s hands under the back of his shirt, on the meat of his thighs, clawing their way up his inseam to unbutton his shorts.

Ty didn’t know how he did it. Most of his concentration went to kissing, breathing, and not coming in his pants before Ollie could touch him. At one point he heard the pop of seams ripping. But he didn’t have to move from Ollie’s lap, didn’t have to give up the heat of his body or the wet of his mouth to suddenly have that warm, callused hand wrapped around his dick.

Oh God, this wasn’t going to take long. Ollie rubbed his thumb over the head of Ty’s cock, and Ty could feel the reaction going through him as if in slow motion. Even his throat tightened; his mouth watered and his nipples went hard and his asshole clenched and—

Ollie broke the kiss, breathing hard, his mouth wet and swollen, his eyes dark. He looked down at his hand, at the head of Ty’s thick cock in his fist. His other hand tightened on Ty’s thigh.

Ty balanced on a knife’s edge. He didn’t have the leverage to move beyond frantic hitches of his hips, and even if he did, he was caught watching Ollie watch him .

“Ty.” Ollie’s voice was raw. Ty hadn’t even gotten to touch him yet, but he sounded wrecked. Like he was the one strung out in Ty ’s lap. “God, you’re….”

What? Ty wanted to ask. His tongue wouldn’t cooperate. He licked his lips and looked down. Ollie never missed a beat; his hand never slowed. But now he’d changed his grip so the head of Ty’s cock pointed toward Ollie’s chest.

“Ollie.” Ty’s whole body thrummed with electric current. “I’m gonna come”— all over you —“I—”

“Yeah?” Ollie encouraged, breathless. “Do it.”

“Okay,” Ty said weakly. His balls clenched and his breath stuttered and his eyes rolled back in his head as his release poured out of him, over Ollie’s fingers and up his shirt, spattering on their shorts. Still Ollie didn’t stop, not until Ty was gasping and panting and had to pull himself out of his grip. That left him heaving for breath braced above Ollie on the couch, with Ollie covered in Ty’s come and eyes black with lust and an erection straining the front of his shorts.

Ty wanted to faceplant in his lap. Before he knew it he was scrambling to get bloodless legs under him, half falling off the couch, reaching for Ollie’s fly as his knees hit the carpet. “Ollie, can I—”

Ollie pushed Ty’s hands away so he could stand and shove down his shorts. “Jesus, yes.”

Ty had never been a religious guy. But, like, he could make an exception, probably. Because the way he felt now, with Ollie’s hand in his hair guiding him forward, with the scent of Ollie’s arousal in his nose, with Ollie’s perfect flushed pink cock in front of his face? Ty felt pretty worshipful.

And the way he felt with Ollie’s dick in his mouth and Ollie’s hand on his neck and Ollie’s whispered fuck s and like that s and then, when Ty closed his eyes and pushed forward until he was holding Ollie in the back of his throat and sucking, swallowing, a soft, strangled ah —

Ecstasy.

Any other day, Ty would have wanted to take his time, draw it out. He wanted to learn exactly how to take Ollie apart with his mouth. Right now Ty just wanted him to come in it.

He got his first warning when Ollie tugged sharply on his hair, pulling Ty away.

“Close,” Ollie gasped, as though Ty couldn’t tell .

Ty flicked his gaze upward and pushed deep again, pointedly. Ollie’s thighs trembled under his hands and his balls jerked against his chin as he came down Ty’s throat.

Finally Ty pulled off to catch his breath and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Ollie’s cheeks had a dark red flush, and with his shorts open and his shirt stained, he looked debauched, even shell-shocked, like Ty had really sucked his brain out through his dick.

Ty let the satisfaction of that wash through him for a handful of seconds, and then his calves complained about the blood flow situation and he stretched out on the floor to fix the problem.

Ollie poked his head over the couch to look down at him. “Did we kill you?”

“Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.” Ty flexed his feet. “Pins and needles are pretty nasty, though. Figured I should wait until I can feel my legs before I try to stand on them.”

Laughing, Ollie flopped onto the couch and smushed his face into the cushion. “Would hate for the rumors to turn out to be premonitions.”

Ty grinned up at the ceiling. His calves still felt like they were covered in fire ants, but worth it? Oh yeah. “See, you get it. That’s why I keep you around.” He propped himself up on his elbows. “So, like, don’t take this the wrong way, because I am zero percent complaining. But this idea I had of you as someone who at least thought he was straight is not totally jibing with the fact that you have definitely touched someone else’s dick before.”

Ollie laughed again, a sound so loose and happy Ty wanted to roll around in it. “You’re the first guy I’ve been with,” he said. “But, uh, a couple years ago I ran into someone I had served with. I didn’t recognize her at first—she transitioned after her second tour finished—but then I did, and we decided to catch up over drinks, and one thing led to another….”

“I think I’m kinda jealous how easy you were for this woman,” Ty said when it became clear Ollie wasn’t going to offer up any more details. Maybe Ty should have asked him out for drinks instead of just offering them in the hot tub?

“Hey!” Ollie dropped a throw pillow on his head. When Ty flung it away again, Ollie was grinning. “She was a lot more assertive than you. We were two and a half drinks in, and the bar was getting too loud to talk, and she said, ‘Listen, I’m going to cut to the chase. You’re hot and I’m horny. You good with the original plumbing?’”

Ty cackled and pulled himself to a sitting position. “And that worked ?”

“Well.” Ollie was flushed again. “From my perspective, she was hot and I was horny. And I kind of had a thing for her before, but I wasn’t going to pursue that when we were enlisted together.”

“Opportunity knocked and you answered.” Ty shook his head. “Teach me not to ask for what I want.” He folded his arms on the couch cushion. “So you’re… bi? Pan?”

“Eh.” Ollie scrunched his nose. “I haven’t dated enough people to pick a more specific label. Sample size is too small. Let’s go with ‘queer.’”

“’Kay.” Was Ty grinning like an idiot right now? Probably. But what was he supposed to do? Pretend this wasn’t the greatest thing to ever happen to him? Ty was not that good of an actor. “And now you’re my…?”

“Boyfriend,” Ollie decided. “Although as you pointed out, the whole living together thing… I know we skipped a lot of steps in that respect. I don’t want to move everything too fast.”

“No, that’s good, I-I’m good with boyfriend ,” Ty promised. He was so, so good with boyfriend . Ollie was his boyfriend . Oh God, Ty was going to be so embarrassing about this. “What’re we telling Theo?”

Ollie swore sharply like he’d just remembered other people existed, sat up straight, then looked around the room and down at himself. “Way more than we probably want to if we don’t clean up,” he said ruefully.

Okay, yes, this was not the ideal way to break the news to Ollie’s kid. Especially since he was kind of mad at Ty already. Groaning like an old man, Ty heaved himself to his feet. “All right, fair point,” he said. “Priorities. First, unfortunate decency. Then talk.”

Ollie shook his head and reached up with one hand to yank Ty down into a kiss. Ty only just caught himself on the back of the couch, or he’d have ended up back in Ollie’s lap, probably making their mess several orders of magnitude worse. Ty imagined him licking the taste of himself out of Ty’s mouth and shivered pleasantly.

Then Ollie released him. “ Now we can shower.” He paused. “Probably separately, though.”

The master shower was more than big enough for two, but that wasn’t how Ty wanted Theo to find out either. God, he hoped Ollie didn’t want to wait too long. He licked his lips, hoping he didn’t come across like a stupefied pigeon and very much aware it was a lost cause. “Right. Yes. Shower.”

He heard Ollie laughing behind him as he turned around and almost tripped—his ripped shorts had tangled around his ankles—but the sound didn’t bother him.

Ty might not get everything he wanted, but he was pretty close to having everything that mattered.

OLLIE TOOK the world’s quickest shower, changed into clean clothes, and tossed the soiled ones in the washing machine. He figured he’d wait for Ty to start the load, but… yeah. Yet another way he did not want Theo to find out Ollie and Ty were together now. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a lot of them.

When he was in the laundry room, he spied the bottle of air freshener on the shelf and figured better safe than sorry—Theo loved the game room; if he went in there and asked what’s that smell? Ollie would die—and went slightly overboard until the whole place reeked like fake laundry smell.

Then he opened the windows to compensate.

Ty had never taken a military-length shower in his life, or at least not in the past five weeks. Ollie looked forward to deprogramming himself a little further with Ty’s assistance and encouragement, but meanwhile he figured he had time to start thinking about dinner. He’d eaten more than enough junk at Cassie’s, which meant Theo had eaten his body weight in refined sugar. Grilled cheese and carrot sticks? Yeah, that would work.

He was buttering the bread when he heard Ty in the doorway behind him. Ollie liked that about him; he never sneaked. Even at night, when Ollie was in bed trying to sleep, if Ty got up for a midnight snack, he didn’t tiptoe. He had heavy footsteps and a long stride, distinctive enough to recognize. Maybe he was just oblivious that he was kind of loud. Ollie thought not, though; he was probably loud on purpose because he knew Ollie hated being startled.

Ty cleared his throat. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Ollie replied, smiling automatically. “You hungry? ”

Ty raised his eyebrows, grinning. “Just ate.”

Ollie turned back to the frying pan. “Guess I walked into that one. But seriously, you want a grilled cheese?”

“The answer to that question is always yes.” He slid into a seat at the breakfast bar.

Ollie could’ve guessed. Ty was a good cook; you didn’t bother getting good at something like that unless you liked to eat. He nudged the first sandwich over with the spatula and wiggled a second one in beside it.

“So.” Ollie looked over his shoulder in time to see Ty hook his ankles around the legs of the breakfast bar stool. His loose athletic shorts left a lot of leg on display. Ollie was probably in danger of burning the grilled cheese; it had been a while since his libido had anything to do.

But both of them liked their grilled cheese almost black, so it would work out okay.

Ty smiled when he caught Ollie looking.

“So,” Ollie echoed. “Talking?”

Ty’s lips twitched. “Talking.” He ran a hand back through his shower-damp hair and laughed softly. “Uh, where do we even start?”

Ollie blinked. “We already did the difficult part, didn’t we?” He prodded the first sandwich, which was still tragically golden, and then let the corner of the bread flop back down to cook properly. “What else is there?”

Ty cleared his throat. “I mean, I’m supposed to go back to work in Chicago the week after next.”

Right, Ollie knew that. “Are you not ready?” It struck him that Ty hadn’t exactly done a lot of… processing. Everyone grieved differently, but he wasn’t sure Ty had done any of it at all, apart from make decisions based on what would have pissed his dad off the most. Sure, they hadn’t gotten along, but some kind of catharsis was still in the cards, right?

Ty’s brow creased. “I meant we’re not exactly going to be in the same place, so….”

“Huh.”

“What?”

Ollie shook his head. “No, you’re right. I just never thought about that part of it.” Off Ty’s incredulous look, he hastened to add, “Every relationship I’ve ever had, I was in the military at the time. Long-distance has kind of been the default. ”

“Oh.”

Ollie waited a moment for it to sink in, but Ty’s frown didn’t soften, so he prompted, “Ty?” But before he could ask what was up, the answer occurred to him. “I’m still going to miss you.”

Ty made a wry face. “Sap.”

Ollie wasn’t that either, or at least he hadn’t ever been before. Something told him he’d have to get better at saying things out loud if he wanted to keep Ty out of the panic spiral he seemed determined to fall into. “What’s your schedule usually like? Do you do three twelves, or…?”

“Two twelve-hour days, then two twelve-hour nights, then four days off. I should actually be able to be here almost half the time, with travel.” He shook his head ruefully. “I guess I can afford that kind of thing now. Although I hate to think what it’s going to do to my carbon footprint.”

You could just quit your job , Ollie almost said. It wasn’t like Ty needed the money. But he didn’t think it would be fair to say it. Besides, Ty obviously thrived as a paramedic. He loved his coworkers. Ollie had a job, but Ty had a calling. “Maybe you can plant a forest or something.”

Ty brightened at the idea. “Now we’re talking.”

Belatedly, Ollie remembered the grilled cheeses, which were now delightfully carbonated. He flipped them over. “That’s the distance down.” Though Ollie realized now he’d have to look into camps for Theo for the summer, with school ending. Why hadn’t he thought about that sooner? Too distracted, probably. “What else is on the list?”

“Elephant in the room. Or elephant in his room, I guess.”

“Theo? I mean I know he’s loud going up and down the stairs,” Ollie joked, “but name-calling seems a bit extreme.”

“Ha ha.” Ty made a face, but he was fronting. He’d pulled his shoulders in and hunched down, as though he were more likely to get what he wanted if he made himself small. “He’s your kid. I don’t want to overstep, but I’ve been his caregiver. Now I’m also your boyfriend, but I’m not his parent.”

“Okay, I admit that’s a—” Minefield , Ollie wanted to say, but his mouth clacked shut and he shivered, then shook it off. “—a challenge. But Theo likes you, and he’s a good kid. And it’s not like anything’s really going to change. You always defer to me when I’m around, and when I’m not, you’re in charge. Not because you’re my boyfriend, but because you’re his… unpaid babysitter.”

“At least I’m not going to be his teacher anymore,” Ty said wryly. “I think I was starting to develop multiple personalities.”

Ollie poked into the pan once more. “Well, call up the hungry one, because these are crispy.”

He plated the sandwiches, turned off the burner, and then hooked his foot around the leg of the bar stool next to Ty’s to pull it out. When he sat, he made sure their knees bumped. He knew Ty wasn’t done panicking about Theo.

Sure enough, Ty only made it as far as dipping one corner of his sandwich into his ketchup puddle before he asked, “So we’re telling him, right?”

“Yeah, of course. Wait, were you worried I wanted to keep it a secret?”

Ty flushed. “I mean you didn’t exactly say, you know? And I know it’s complicated, especially because he just lost his mom, so I’d get it. But also, I… I don’t think I can be chill about you, so he’s gonna notice.”

I don’t think I can be chill about you. Ollie didn’t think Ty had ever been chill about anything in his life, but the words still made him feel like he’d stepped out of a frozen wasteland into a grassy sunlit meadow. “Ty, I kissed you in front of my mom. There’s no chill here.”

The flush deepened. “That was an accident.”

Ollie bumped their knees together. “Do I have to do it again?” Normally PDAs weren’t his thing, but needs must.

“Oh God, please tell me you don’t have a kink about that.”

Ollie dropped his sandwich onto the plate. “Ty! Gross .”

“Just checking.” The joke had relaxed him, though. The tension in his body had melted and he was leaning into Ollie like he needed help staying upright. Ollie had to lean back, or they’d risk toppling the bar stool. “That still leaves the question of what we’re telling him and when and how.”

“It’s not a we this time, I don’t think.” Ty had done a lot of emotional heavy lifting with Theo as it was. Ollie would never forget that, and he would never be able to repay the kindness Ty had shown his kid. But that was the thing—Ty would never expect repayment or even see his actions as anything beyond common human decency, and would likely say he enjoyed spending time with Theo and having difficult emotional talks and—

Ollie needed to stop that train of thought before he melted into a puddle.

Before Ty could feel excluded, he went on. “You do so much for him, and when he’s not being a scared eight-year-old, he knows that. I love the bond you have. But you’ve only known him a couple weeks. Hell, I’ve only been his real parent for less than a year. I owe it to him to tell him one-on-one and give him a safe space to have big emotions about it.”

When he finished, Ty was leaning on his elbow, totally ignoring his perfect grilled cheese to gaze at Ollie like he was made of newborn puppies. “What?”

“You’re just a really good dad and I’m into it. Not in a sexy way.”

Ollie gave a self-deprecating snort, even as his ears heated at the praise. He picked up his sandwich again. “I’m making shit up as I go.”

“You’re letting Theo lead. I don’t mean to tell you how to parent. I mean you let his reactions inform your decisions about what he needs.”

“Why do you know so much about parenting?” Ollie deflected.

“I don’t,” Ty protested. “I know a little. We had a slow shift a couple months ago and someone left out a book about child-led parenting. I was curious.”

Of course he was. Even though he had no kids of his own, no partner, no nieces or nephews. Part of Ollie wondered if he’d picked it up thinking maybe the book would tell him why his father had treated him so poorly, though he might have done that without consciously realizing it. “Okay, well, as much as I like to think I’m paying attention, I probably need to take the lead on this one. Even if I’m not sure exactly where to start.”

“We could do some research,” Ty suggested. Then, his cheeks bright red, “You could, I mean. There have to be resources out there for how to talk to your kid about dating someone when they’ve recently lost a parent. Maybe his therapist?”

Ollie’s heart did some kind of fancy dance move in his chest. It must’ve shown on his face, because Ty asked, “What?”

“I’m just—I’m not sure whether to be angry at the whole fucking world or if I should shake someone’s hand.” He couldn’t seem to figure out what to do with his own. “How have you been single until now? Why has no one married you? ”

Ty flushed a furious red to the very tips of his ears and ducked his head, but he couldn’t hide the way the words affected him.

Ollie was probably getting ahead of himself, though. “Don’t answer that, it was rhetorical. I’ll count it as one of my blessings.”

“Ollie!”

Okay, now he was almost purple. Obviously he needed some exposure therapy to get better at taking compliments, because Ollie had plans. Someone so sweet and thoughtful and kind should know how much better he made everyone else’s lives simply by being in them. “Ty,” Ollie replied. He touched their shoulders together, gently this time. “I mean it. I could have gotten through the past two months without you, but not like this. Not—I’ve been happy. Barring a few speedbumps, Theo’s been happy. And we have you to thank.” Please get used to hearing that.

He didn’t think Ty could flush any deeper without causing himself permanent damage, so he stopped there. Baby steps, or something like it.

“He deserves it,” Ty said immediately. “You both do.”

“So do you.” Ollie backed off with his touch and ate a few bites of his sandwich while Ty processed. He had no illusions that they were finished with this conversation. He was kind of surprised Ty hadn’t shown up in the kitchen with a checklist.

After a minute, Ty had collected himself enough to speak again. “Okay, so, uh, here’s another question with no wrong answer. Obviously we’re not going to be sharing a bed until you talk to Theo, but… after that?”

Oh.

“It’s weird,” Ollie said meditatively as he used his crust to sop up the last of the ketchup on his plate. “Because I haven’t ever done that, actually.”

Ty spun his stool to face him. “What, seriously?”

“I’ve been in the military my entire adult life. I spent most of that time deployed or on base. When Allison died and I had to come home, it took three weeks before I got used to sleeping in her queen-size bed. Most of the time I slept better on a cot in Theo’s hospital room. And not just because I could keep an eye on him, you know?”

Ty hummed and stood up with his plate, gesturing to ask if Ollie wanted another sandwich. He shook his head; fruit and vegetables were the next order of business. Ty pulled out the containers of precut carrots and cucumbers and one of washed berries out of the fridge and set them down between their places. “I’m not actually good at it,” he admitted.

Ollie tilted his head. “At… sleeping in the same bed as someone else?”

Nodding, Ty sat down and popped a strawberry in his mouth. When he’d swallowed, he said, “It’s, uh, sometimes I can’t get my brain to shut up. If the person next to me doesn’t fall asleep quickly, I’ll wonder if I’m moving around too much, breathing too loud. Or what if I fall asleep first and I snore and my partner gets mad at me.”

Ollie was starting to understand that he had maybe only scratched the surface of an untapped well of self-esteem issues. “I don’t know what I’d be like to sleep with. I woke up mad at myself this morning because the PTSD nightmares can get pretty bad, and what if I accidentally hurt Theo in my sleep?”

Ty paused with a carrot stick halfway to his open mouth. He set it back down on his plate. “If we try to sleep in the same bed, neither one of us is going to get any rest, huh?” He said it lightly, but Ollie felt the weight behind the words.

“We’ll just have to wear each other out the first couple times, maybe, so we’re too tired to think about it.” That got a smile. “And then once we’ve proved we can do it, it’ll be a piece of cake.” He stopped and thought about it. “But I mean, I can’t control my PTSD any more than you can control your anxiety. I think we have to accept that it’s possible we might have to kick ourselves, or each other, out of bed.” He gestured toward the house. “It’s not like you don’t have the room.”

Ty managed a weak smile. “Yeah, I guess. But it’s not very romantic.”

It would be a lot less romantic if I snapped your neck in your sleep , Ollie thought, but that was extreme, maybe. He had no reason to think he’d do that. He didn’t need to scare Ty off, and he didn’t want to seem overly defensive. “You can make it up to me,” he said instead, which earned a laugh and a coveted loosening of Ty’s shoulders.

Good.

“Yeah, I can do that.” Ty pulled Ollie off the bar stool and slid his hands into the back pockets of his jeans.

Ollie hadn’t meant right now , but… well. He did have some lost time to make up for, especially if Ty was going to be leaving next week. And it felt good , cozying up to Ty in the kitchen, sharing body heat, trading kisses that weren’t going anywhere with Theo likely to wake up at any moment .

And maybe Ollie had never really missed anyone before. Maybe he was used to the people he cared about being absent from his life. But maybe he’d just never had someone like Ty to miss. He had the sneaking suspicion that he was about to find out.