Chapter 19 #3
Joshua tightened his grip on the edge of the towel. “This is exactly what I meant about being predictable.”
Colin leaned back against the headboard, utterly at ease. “You call it predictable. I call it consistent.” His grin widened. “Maybe even reliable.”
Joshua made a strangled sound somewhere between outrage and surrender.
Colin tilted his head. “Should I be concerned about that towel?”
“Colin…”
“I’m just asking. It seems to be under significant strain.”
Joshua heaved a sigh—annoyed by how easily Colin could undo him.
Colin’s teasing softened just a fraction. His eyes came back up, steady and warm again.
“I do like that I can still do that to you,” he said quietly.
Joshua swallowed hard. “It is my considered opinion that you will always do that to me.”
“Good.”
And that was the moment when the humor thinned into heat again.
And that was also the moment when Nate’s voice floated in from the walkway. “Do not drop that. Because if you do, I’m not sharing.”
Alex’s laugh followed, bright and unguarded.
Joshua’s eyes widened. “Oh, holy crap!”
Colin didn’t move.
“If Nate walks in and sees me like this, I will never hear the end of it.”
Colin’s gaze drifted—very deliberately—to the towel. “Um…”
Joshua clutched it tighter. “Dammit, Colin.”
Colin snickered.
A footstep hit the porch boards.
Joshua bolted.
The bathroom door shut with a click just as a knock sounded against their door.
“Enter at your own peril,” Colin called cheerfully. He reached for his shirt but didn’t rush. He dragged it over his shoulders as he crossed to open the door.
Nate stood there with a melting cone in one hand and a paper bowl in the other. Alex hovered beside him, already licking at a drip sliding down his knuckles. Behind them, David balanced a small cardboard tray and regarded Colin over the top of it.
In a single sweep, David’s eyes took everything in: the slightly flushed face, the hastily donned shirt unbuttoned wrong at the bottom, the closed bathroom door.
One eyebrow lifted.
“Evening,” David said evenly.
“Evening,” Colin replied.
There was a beat.
The bathroom faucet came on.
No one commented.
Nate’s gaze flicked to the door. Then back to Colin. His mouth twitched.
“Should we take a lap?” he asked politely.
“No,” Colin said.
Alex blinked. “Why would you take a lap?”
Nate’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
David stepped inside, setting the tray down on the small table. “We brought chocolate.”
“Nice,” Colin said gravely.
Joshua coughed in the bathroom, and Nate moved to lean against the doorframe. “Everything A–OK in there?”
“Shut up,” Joshua’s voice blurted.
Alex’s eyes widened.
Colin cleared his throat and straightened his shirt, finally correcting the misaligned buttons. “Actually,” he said, tone shifting just slightly, “we were going to suggest that Alex bunk with Trent tonight.”
Nate nodded immediately. “Makes sense. He’s got the extra bed.”
“So do you,” Alex said, looking at Colin.
Colin held his gaze. Calm. Direct.
“Not tonight, we don’t.”
Silence.
Alex frowned slightly, trying to assemble the pieces.
Nate watched Colin carefully now—not teasing, not rescuing. Waiting.
Colin did not look away.
“It’s this way, kid,” he said, steady and unapologetic. “Times you’ve stayed with us, you remember me telling you not to knock when there’s a sock over our bedroom doorknob? Just to wait a little while, then it’ll be gone, and you can go ahead and knock?”
Alex grinned. “Yep.”
“Well… tonight’s one of those sock nights.
” He sat down on the bed, bringing his eyes to Alex’s level.
“We’ve been on the road for a while, and it’s been exhausting and stressful–especially for Josh.
We need some quality ‘Colin and Josh’ time.
” He reached out and ruffled Alex’s hair. “Just for tonight. D’you mind?”
“No sweat,” Alex said with a casual shrug. “I’ve got a boyfriend. I get it.”
From the bathroom: “Oh, lord god!”
Colin’s mouth fell open, and his eyebrows lifted. But he said nothing.
Nate pushed away from the bathroom. “Come on, Alex. We’ll walk you over to Trent’s before the ice cream liquifies.”
Alex nodded quickly, then grabbed his backpack and followed, throwing Colin a quick wave.
At the door, Nate paused and glanced back as Colin rose and moved to lock the door.
“See you for breakfast?”
“Count on it.” The door closed behind him, and Colin locked it carefully, then tested it twice, tugging hard.
Silence settled.
A second later, the bathroom door opened, and Joshua leaned out cautiously. “Are they gone?”
Colin turned toward him, a hand resting on the back of the chair, his eyes warm again—fixed on him.
“They’re gone.”
Joshua stepped back into the room, towel still secure but hanging a little lower than before. “That,” he muttered, “was embarrassing.”
Colin crossed the space between them.
“I don’t see why. He’s not stupid. He gets it.”
Joshua glanced at Colin, eyes wide. “He has a boyfriend?”
“A subject for another time.” His hand came to rest at Joshua’s waist—not urgent, not frantic—just certain. “For now, mo chroí,” Colin murmured, guiding Joshua toward the bed. “Come with me.”
Joshua didn’t even pretend to think about it. He simply followed, the towel falling to the floor as he walked.