by Ariel Tachna
Table of Contents
Blurb
Sneak Peek
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Epilogue
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Copyright
Home and Away
By Ariel Tachna
Lexington Lovers
Taking their shot at love.
University of Kentucky senior Kit Parkins has his life planned out. He’ll graduate, get a good job, find a better apartment, meet the guy of his dreams, and settle down to a happy life near his brother and uncles, the only family he has left. But meeting Lincoln Joyner, UK’s star basketball player, calls all his priorities into question.
Like Kit, Linc knows exactly where life is taking him: to the NBA and as far away from his hardscrabble childhood as possible. There’s just one problem. He falls in love with Kit, who can’t imagine life anywhere but in Lexington.
Can they find a way to keep their relationship going without giving up on their dreams?
“Kiss me properly,” Kit demanded.
“I am. Momma always says to savor the good things in life. I’m savoring you.” The smile he gave Kit was so tender Kit felt himself melting into it.
Chapter One
WHOEVER invented ties deserved to be shot.
Kit Parkins tossed his backpack on the floor next to his desk, pulled off the tie currently strangling him, and rolled up the sleeves of the button-down shirt he was required to wear for his internship at Alltech. He loved the work—trying to increase sustainability in agriculture in both Kentucky and the world—and the internship would give him an in for a job after he graduated, but he didn’t think he’d ever get used to the dress code.
As comfortable as he could get without going home to change clothes, he flipped open the appointment book for the tutoring center, where he was doing his work-study, and checked to see if anyone had signed up for today. It had been fairly quiet the first few weeks of the semester, but now that professors were getting into more complicated material, he expected a flood of freshmen needing help with organic chemistry or Biology 101. He might get a few upperclassmen taking physical chemistry, but usually if they went that far, they were chem majors and didn’t need the kind of remedial help the tutoring center offered.
He skimmed past the first three names, all unfamiliar, all needing help with Bio 101, but his gaze ground to a stop at the fourth name.
Lincoln Joyner.
Kit swallowed hard. Everyone at University of Kentucky knew that name. Not knowing it would be like not knowing Michael Jordan or… or… Queen Elizabeth or the President. The senior center basketball star everyone said was UK’s ticket to their next NCAA championship and a shoo-in for a number-one NBA draft pick. And he was on Kit’s tutoring schedule for intro to physics.
Oh, and he’d rocked the old-guard basketball world last spring when he came out. As if Kit needed another reason to like the guy. Every brother in his Delta Lambda Phi chapter already gave him shit over his celebrity crush. Finding out Lincoln was gay only made it worse because now, in theory, Kit might have a chance. Not in reality. Kit wasn’t delusional, no matter what Phillip and Ephah said, but just knowing Lincoln had the courage to stare down the people who’d tried to discredit him with accusations of being gay, and had instead come out looking like the bigger man, had earned him so much respect in Kit’s book.
And in little over an hour, Lincoln would walk in that door, looking at Kit for help.
Son of a sea cook, as Uncle Owen would say. Kit was so screwed.
Get it together, he ordered silently. No matter what else, you have a job to do.
With that admonition firmly in mind, he pulled out his Bio 101 materials and got ready for his first appointment.
BY the time Kit’s second appointment left, he had settled into the routine, lulled by the familiarity of basic biology and common misunderstandings. He’d helped enough students over the past three years that he could probably teach it in his sleep. He glanced at his watch and checked to see if his third appointment had arrived yet, but the reception area was empty. Normally he liked having a break between sessions, because three or four hours of tutoring without one was exhausting—there was a reason he didn’t want to be a teacher—but today he needed something to keep him from dwelling on Lincoln. He waited another five minutes, but no one came in, so he wrote the session off as a no-show and pulled out his P-chem textbook. He’d use the time to study for his own lab exam. He tried to lose himself in quantum mechanics, but it didn’t hold his interest the way it usually did, not surprisingly, given the combination of Lincoln’s presence looming and the breakthrough they’d had in the lab at Alltech that morning. If it panned out the way they hoped, they’d be able to increase the size of the algae ponds where they developed biofuel and more. Even better, his supervisor had assured him that his part in the process would almost guarantee him a job at Alltech, if he wanted one, when he graduated.
Like he’d turn it down. A job at a company he believed in, working to reduce the carbon footprint of numerous industries, while still letting him stay in town so he wouldn’t have to worry about losing touch with his friends like he had with so many who had moved away? It was all his dreams coming true at once.
He thought wistfully of his mother and wished she were here to see all her hard work in rearing him paying off, but cancer had stolen her away seven years ago. He liked to think she’d be proud of the man he was becoming.
“Hey, Kit.”
Kit looked up to see Rosalie Yeats, one of the English and writing tutors—no, being an English tutor doesn’t automatically make me related to William Butler Yeats—signing in for her shift. She’d be a much better distraction than P-chem since he couldn’t focus on it anyway.
“Hi, Rosalie. Busy shift?”
“You know it. First papers in all the English 101 and intro to lit classes. I’ve actually got a wait list of people to call if I have a no-show.”
“Wow, and I thought I was busy.”
“You don’t look busy to me,” she teased.
“No-show. But I have another appointment in about fifteen minutes,” Kit replied.
“Basic biology?”
“No, intro to physics this time.” Kit pushed down the butterflies in his stomach at the thought of who was coming in. Don’t make a fool of yourself. Don’t make a fool of yourself. Don’t make a fool of yourself.
“A change is as good as a rest,” Rosalie quipped with a grin. “If I have to read one more paper on Wuthering Heights, I’ll scream.”
“Tell me about it. There are only so many times I can explain photosynthesis without starting to roll my eyes. I remind myself I’m explaining it to the person in front of me for the first time, but that only goes so far.”
The door to the tutoring center swung open on squeaky hinges. They both looked up to see who had arrived. To Kit’s relief, it was Rosalie’s appointment. Kit wasn’t sure what he’d have done if it was Lincoln. H
e wasn’t supposed to start a session early, although they usually did because not starting early meant making small talk with the other person. A full-body shiver racked Kit at the thought of making small talk with the object of his crush. He wasn’t usually at a loss for words, but he couldn’t guarantee his ability to form a coherent sentence in this case.
He went back to his P-chem textbook and his wandering thoughts until the squeak of the hinges announced another arrival. Given that he and Rosalie were the only two working today, it was either Lincoln or a walk-in. Was it wrong to hope for a walk-in?
He pasted on his best welcoming smile and looked up… and up… and up. He knew all Lincoln’s statistics. He’d just never been face-to-face with six feet eight, two hundred twenty pounds before. He stood quickly, because it hurt his neck to do otherwise, and tried not to look like a complete fool.
“Hello,” Lincoln said. “I have a tutoring session scheduled.”
Kit cleared his throat and tried to get his brain back in gear. “Ye—” His voice cracked, and he rolled his eyes at himself. “Yeah. I’m Kit. I’m the physics tutor.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Linc.”
Linc offered his hand. Kit silenced the squee that wanted to erupt at being invited to use Linc’s nickname as he shook Linc’s hand, surprised at his warmth despite the cold temperatures outside. Linc’s teammates used his nickname all the time when talking about him to the press, but Linc always corrected the reporters if they did. Professional, Kit reminded himself. He’s here because he needs your help. “Nice to meet you too. Have a seat and we can get started.”
Linc took the seat next to Kit and pulled out his physics textbook. Even seated, he towered over Kit, but not as badly. Kit set his hand on the book and turned to Linc with what he hoped was a friendly expression rather than obvious hero worship. “Before we open the book, tell me about what you’re studying and what you need from me. Because intro to physics is a pretty broad subject.”
Linc grimaced. “We’re studying vectors and force and mass, and it just all goes over my head. So far I’ve managed to get the regular assignments and the labs done, but I have my notes and the book for that. None of it sticks in my head, and if I fail this class, I’ll be ineligible for the NCAA tournament my senior year. Not exactly the way to get the attention of the NBA scouts.”
“Does it not make sense, or are you having trouble remembering the rules?” Kit asked, his hero worship giving way to his experience as a tutor. Linc had a problem, and Kit could help fix it. He hadn’t come in with an attitude like some athletes Kit had worked with in the past. Instead he’d come in admitting his problem and asking for help. If anything, it made him even more attractive in Kit’s eyes.
“Some of both,” Linc said. “I know the stereotypes about jocks, and yeah, I’m just a guy from the country, but I’m not stupid. I just… don’t get physics.”
“Is there a reason you took physics instead of biology?”
“Timing mostly,” Linc said. “The bio labs conflicted with practice and games too often. And since science was going to be a struggle no matter which one I chose, I picked the one where I’d have to miss the fewest classes.”
It made sense, in an athlete sort of way. Kit took a deep breath, catching a whiff of Linc’s cologne. He didn’t recognize the spicy scent, but he liked it.
Stop, he ordered himself. Physics, not flirting.
He refocused his attention on the textbook and the problem of helping Linc. He might wish Linc had come in sooner, but they still had a few weeks until midterms. “Let’s get started, then.”
LINC set down his pencil at the end of the half-hour tutoring session and leaned back in his chair, the low back hitting low enough to be uncomfortable. “I don’t know how to thank you. I think this is the first time physics has ever made sense to me.”
Kit’s smile lit up his entire face, making Linc smile in return. He knew better than to hope Kit was gay, and even if he was, he wouldn’t be interested in Linc. As brilliant as Kit was, he’d want someone as smart as him, someone he could talk science with, because after just half an hour, Linc could tell how passionate Kit was about it. It was a good look on him.
Chill, man. Don’t scare him off. You still need his help.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Kit said. “Our professors are brilliant, but that doesn’t always make them good teachers.”
“There’s still a lot to cover, though. If I sign up for another session, can I request you as my tutor?”
To Linc’s surprise, Kit colored slightly at the question, but his smile widened as he replied, “You can do that, or we can schedule another session now. I have office hours, for lack of a better word, at set times during the week for people who want to come in for a quick review, but I can also schedule extra hours with people who need regular help. We can meet any time we’re both free, and as long as we log the hours, we don’t even have to meet here. We can meet at the library or the student union or a bar off campus. We just have to get the work done.”
“A bar probably isn’t the best place to study,” Linc said with a laugh, although the idea of going out to a bar with Kit held quite a lot of appeal. “For one thing, I get a lot of attention when I go out places, and I wouldn’t want our study session interrupted.”
“It was more an example than a suggestion.” Kit flushed again and squirmed a bit in his seat. “I tend to get carried away.”
I wonder if that carries over into everything. The thought caught him by surprise. He’d been focusing so hard on physics that he’d pushed everything else aside, but his subconscious wasn’t as biddable as his conscious mind. He’d have to keep that in check or he’d end up back in academic trouble. “I’m fine with meeting here. It’s quiet and reasonably comfortable. We can always move somewhere else later if we want. Do you have any time tomorrow?”
Linc didn’t want to seem desperate, but he really was.
“You’re that worried about your exam?”
“Yeah. Coach is pretty strict about our grades, and I need this class to graduate. Gentlemen first, scholars second, athletes third. That’s his mantra. Momma took care of the gentleman part, but until today I was about to give up on the scholar part.”
Kit pulled his backpack onto his lap and rummaged in it for a minute. The fraternity logo embroidered on it caught Linc’s eye. Delta Lambda Phi. Linc hadn’t had the time to consider joining a fraternity, with all the hours he spent on the basketball court, but after he came out, the Delta Lambda Phi brothers had taken to painting their letters on one cheek and Linc’s jersey number on the other during games. Appreciative of their support, he’d donated signed game balls and other memorabilia to their charity auctions for Lexington Fairness and Pride Community Services Organization. Kit hadn’t pinged on Linc’s gaydar as they were going over his physics, but by reputation, at least, all the members of Delta Lambda Phi were gay or bi. Now that he knew, Linc took advantage of Kit’s focus on his bag to look at him more closely. A little over average height, brown hair, laughing green eyes, a smile that invited collusion, muscular without being bulky—a runner, not a football player—and enough brains and compassion to pound physics through Linc’s uncooperative skull. Of course none of that made him single or interested, but it made for damn good eye candy.
“Found it,” Kit said, punching at his cell phone. “Okay, I have class tomorrow morning and a fraternity function starting at six, but I’m free all afternoon if you are.”
“I have physics until two. Would two fifteen work for you?”
Kit tapped on his phone for a minute. “I have it on my calendar. I’ll meet you here at two fifteen, and we can work as long as you can stand since I won’t have another appointment after you. Or we can just say half an hour if you think more will be overwhelming.”
Not if you explain things as well tomorrow as you did today. Assuming I can keep my dick in check and focus on physics. “How ’bout we start with an hour and see how things are going? I have practice
tomorrow morning early, but a group of us usually get together around four to lift. I can miss it if I have to—it’s not a requirement—but after that much time thinking about physics, I’ll need to blow off steam.”
Kit laughed, a warm, understanding sound that made Linc want to hear it again. “That works for me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He stood and offered Linc his hand. Linc rose as well and shook Kit’s hand, noticing automatically that Kit came to just a little above his shoulder. He pushed the thought away. He needed to learn from Kit, not fantasize about him. Nothing could get in the way of being eligible for the NCAA tournament and the NBA draft. “See you tomorrow.”
He grabbed his bag and left the tutoring center, believing for the first time all semester that he might actually pass physics. For that alone, he’d never be able to thank Kit enough.
Chapter Two
KIT let himself into the apartment he shared with his brother, Phillip, and their sort-of cousin, Ephah, hoping neither of their girlfriends had come over for the evening. It was Ephah’s turn to cook, not Kit’s, so his chances were good. If Marisol and Zoe knew Kit was cooking, they almost always stayed for dinner. He liked both women, but tonight he just wanted a beer, a bite of whatever Ephah had thrown together after work, and the comfortable familiarity of Phillip’s and Ephah’s presence. They’d give him hell when he told them about his tutoring session, but even that wouldn’t require anything of him. He could give as good as he got without thought, as long as he didn’t have to watch his mouth. Uncle Blake would have his head if he let go in front of their girlfriends that way. He toed off his shoes and left them on the rack next to Phillip’s and Ephah’s work boots, a habit that lingered from living with Uncle Blake.
No women’s shoes. Good.
“I’m home,” he called toward the kitchen as he traipsed through the living room on his way to his bedroom. He tossed his backpack on the bed and stripped out of his clothes. Sweats were the order of the evening for sure.
