“I don’t need to worry about you, Erin. You have everything under control.”
Erin giggled and a scarlet blush swept across her cheeks. Scotty was convinced Erin had a thing for Kate, though they both denied it.
“I have everything under control,” Scotty pouted. “You should worry about my love life less and worry about your own more. If you’re not going to ask out that cute little barista who keeps drawing hearts on your drinks you should let me set you up on a date.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Okay, like I’d ever let you set me up.”
“You need to trust me more.”
“Never.” Kate laughed. “My trust only goes so far.” She pointed a hair dryer at him as if it were a gun, then turned it on, ending the conversation.
Their lunch break came around and Scotty sat with Kate in the back as she picked at a bagel. Scotty grabbed his fried rice out of the fridge and popped it into the microwave.
“Are you okay with him leaving?” Kate asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “And don’t give me the bullshit version, Scotty, or I’ll ruin your blush collection.”
“You’re an evil woman, Kate.”
“Details. Now.” She tore off a chunk of her bagel and stuffed it in her face.
“I like him, okay? A lot. A stupid amount. And he’s leaving, which sucks, but also doesn’t.”
Kate furrowed her brow. “What? That makes no sense.”
“If I know he’s leaving, it won’t suck as much.”
“You’re so fucking traumatized. Do you even realize how messed up that is? You’re in love with this guy,” Scotty opened his mouth to object but Kate pointed a finger at him. “Don’t even deny it. You’re in love with the guy and you’re okay with him leaving you because you know you can expect it? That’s fucked up.”
“That’s life. People leave.”
“Not all the time.” Kate’s voice was softer, and she gave him a sympathetic look.
Scotty shrugged and was saved by the microwave timer going off. He grabbed his food and returned to the table. He ate without further comment, but he could tell Kate wasn’t finished yet.
“You do know you’re allowed to be happy?”
Scotty lifted his head and looked at her. “What?”
“I didn’t know you from before, Scotty, but you told me enough about it and what you didn’t tell me, I pieced together.” Kate wiped her fingers clean on a napkin. “Have you ever been happy? Like… all the way. Not sort of happy.”
Scotty stuffed a bite of food in his mouth and burned Kate a dirty look. Yeah, he had been happy. Here and there he’d had moments of it. The most recent moment was this morning, waking next to Nathan. Before that, it was last night, when Nathan had stayed. He didn’t have to. Sex wasn’t on the table last night, but Nathan had stuck around anyway. “I’ve been happy.”
“What about a month ago? Were you happy a month ago?”
“I wasn’t unhappy.”
“Not being unhappy isn’t the same. Face it, you’re only letting yourself experience this because you know it will end. You don’t trust happiness, but you crave it. It’s written all over you. What if Nathan wanted to stay?”
Scotty stopped breathing for a moment and panic clawed at his insides. What if Nathan stayed? Scotty’s first thought was that he’d be excited. He’d have more time with him. They could take their relationship to a different level. His second thought was sheer panic. If Nathan stayed, it would give Scotty all kinds of ideas and hope for the future. And as Scotty was well aware, hope was a dangerous thing.
Everything he’d ever hoped for had never come to be. His dad left. Tod didn’t look at him the same way anymore. His friends had abandoned him. No amount of wishful thinking had been able to change any of it.
“He doesn’t want to stay,” Scotty said. He set his fork down in his food, his appetite suddenly gone. The truth was ugly, and Scotty hated knowing he wanted Nathan to want to stay. He wanted Nathan to himself, forever. He also wanted Nathan to leave. If Nathan left, Scotty would be sad, but he’d get over it. He knew what to expect right now, and that felt important to him. The assurance that Scotty’s heart would break on his own terms was the only thing keeping him from falling apart at the thought of Nathan leaving.
It was a stupid game to play and he knew it. “I know I deserve to be happy, Kate.”
Kate shook her head. “You’re the worst liar.” She looked at him and forced a smile. “But at least you’re pretty.”
“Damn right, I am.”
“I seriously love your look today.”
“Bitch, I’m fabulous every day.”
“There was that one day…”
Scotty cut her off. “If you mean the day I think you mean, need I remind you of the vodka? No one can be fabulous after going through that.”
“There’s not fabulous, and then there was you. You were death warmed over.”
“I wasn’t warmed over.” Scotty laughed and caught Kate’s eye. “This won’t be as bad.”
Kate stood and put her plate in the sink. “It will, but I’m banning vodka. You can crash on my couch and we can eat our weight in ice cream.”
“I can’t believe you’re planning for my misery. I’m wounded you don’t think I’ve got this under control. How about you plan your own love life? Ditch the claws and take Erin out for a night on the town. We both know you want to.”
“Erin is a coworker. I don’t date coworkers.”
“Jason. Carly. Rory. And there was the other one you told me about, what was their name?”
“Willow.” Kate sighed. “And I meant, anymore. I don’t date coworkers anymore.”
“Oh, live a little. Erin’s adorable and she likes you.”
“If that was where I set the bar, I’d date half the town.”
“Oh, I see your ego is still as huge as ever.”
Kate stood and patted Scotty on the shoulder. “You’ve got thirty minutes left before your next appointment.” Kate disappeared to the front to meet her next client.
Scotty pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at the unanswered text. He thought for sure sending Nathan a dick pic would’ve elicited some sort of reaction, but here he was, hours later, still sitting on read.
Scotty grinned and settled down in his chair. He sent Nathan a series of text messages, one after the other.
I want to watch you strip for me
I’ll kiss every inch of you
I’m going to suck your cock until you beg to come
but I won’t let you
I’m going to flip you over
eat your ass
then I’m going to slide inside you
and fuck you until you scream my name
Scotty was about to go back to work when his phone chimed.
Jesus, Scotty, your brother is right here and now I have a huge boner.
I didn’t know Tod was your type, Scotty joked.
He’s not. But now I can’t stop thinking about your tongue in my hole.
Come for dinner. Scotty texted.
Can’t. I promised to eat with Grandpa. You should join us.
Scotty bit his lip. He wanted to see Nathan and he accepted before he could second guess his decision. Sounds great.
Nathan sent him a happy dance gif. Great. I’ll pick you up at six?
Sound perfect. Scotty stood and glanced at the time. I need to get back to work. My next appointment is due soon.
See you tonight. Nathan said, sending with it a string of eggplant emojis that made Scotty smile.
When Scotty returned to the front, Kate took one look at him and shook her head. Scotty shrugged and ignored the sad look in her eyes. The thing was, she was right. Scotty had set himself up for heartbreak, but there was no way around it now. He would see this thing with Nathan through to the end, and when he was gone, Scotty would pick up the pieces and move on like he’d intended to at the beginning.
Scotty had finished his last appointment of the day and was cleaning his
area when Kate came and took the broom from his hand. “Get out of here.”
Scotty gave her a once over. “Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?”
“Well if you want to stay…” Kate tried to shove the broom back at Scotty.
“I’m going. I’m going.” Scotty backed away and mouthed a thank you before retreating into the back room to get his stuff.
Scotty sent a text to Nathan, letting him know that he was off work and he hurried home to shower and get ready.
Chapter Thirteen
Nathan
Nathan snatched his keys off the counter. “I’m running out to get dinner. Do you need anything?”
From his chair in the living room, his grandpa gave him a dismissive half wave and went back to watching Jeopardy. His grandpa used to be such a social person, but his decreasing mobility had started to keep him more and more housebound.
“I’m bringing a friend for dinner, if that’s okay.”
The television paused and his grandpa turned to look at him. “A friend? Or a friend?” His grandpa drawled the word and wiggled his eyebrows. Nathan’s face flushed, hot with mortification.
“Jesus, Grandpa.” His grandpa let out a huge laugh.
“Ha. Tell Scotty I’m looking forward to seeing him.”
Nathan shook his head and walked away, leaving his grandpa to watch Jeopardy. Nathan swung by Scotty’s first and they’d stop for the chicken after. Nathan had to admit he’d fallen in love with the chicken from the deli and when he left, he’d miss it.
Scotty opened his door and Nathan stopped dead in his tracks. “Wow,” he exhaled and took another look at Scotty. His arms were bare, except for a cluster of bangles. His shirt was the color of forget-me-nots, and it was tucked into a plain black skirt that ended above Scotty’s knees. “You look amazing.”
Color crept across Scotty’s cheeks. “Thank you. I’m overdressed.”
“You’re gorgeous.” Nathan took Scotty’s hand, noting the lack of the long nails. His nails were painted a darker blue than his shirt, but they were short. “I hope the short nails weren’t on my account.”
Scotty laughed. “There were a few reasons. Mostly I have better dexterity without them, but sometimes I like to indulge my inner diva.”
Nathan thought of Scotty’s hands on him. His blunt nails would have to work to leave marks, but then Nathan thought of Scotty’s fingers and how they’d feel teasing his hole open.
As if reading his mind, Scotty leaned in close. “That wasn’t a reason, but it will definitely be a perk.”
“I’m not going to survive dinner.” Nathan shook his head and tugged Scotty out into the hall. “I hope you don’t mind deli chicken. I’m not as good of a cook as you and I promised Grandpa.”
With chicken in tow, Nathan and Scotty arrived to find that Nathan’s grandpa had set the table while they were gone. He’d even managed to find fresh cut flowers and had placed them in the center of the table.
“Reggie, how are you?” Scotty’s heels clicked on the floor as he crossed the room. Whereas most people offered to shake his grandpa’s hand, Scotty wrapped his arms around him and drew him into a hug. “You didn’t have to get flowers.”
“It wasn’t any trouble. Company is a rare occurrence these days. Well, company that I want to see. How are you?”
“I can’t complain.”
Nathan watched Scotty pull a chair out and usher Reggie into it. He hid his smile when Scotty sat down at the table, his bangles tinkling delicately. Nathan knew Scotty was gorgeous, he’d thought so right from the first time Scotty opened the door of his apartment, but it struck him in that moment how masculine he was at the same time. His shoulders were broad, his arms well-muscled, he didn’t have much for facial hair, but the lines and angles of his face were sharp, his lips though, were soft and full.
Scotty turned his head and looked at Nathan. “Are you going to let us eat?”
Nathan jolted back into the real world and he grinned at Scotty, realizing he’d been openly staring at him. “I don’t know,” Nathan said slowly. “This stuff is too good to share.”
“Hey now, if it weren’t for me you wouldn’t know the chicken even existed.”
“And if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t exist,” Reggie deadpanned.
Scotty laughed out loud. “Good one, Reggie.”
Nathan, red-faced, served dinner.
It took no time at all for Scotty and Reggie to start chatting like they were old friends.
“So, you remember Ethel?” Scotty started. When Reggie nodded, he continued. “She was in the salon the other day. I guess her grandson was staying with her for a few days. He has this head of long curly hair. Beautiful kid, too. Long eyelashes, porcelain skin. Well, Ethel took a nap, by accident, and her grandson got into the scissors.”
Reggie barked out a laugh. “Oh, that spells trouble for Ethel. I know her daughter. She’ll be madder than a wet hen.”
Scotty speared a potato with his fork. “The kid is five years old. Technically old enough to know better, but also young enough to act on the impulse. Turns out, it wasn’t an impulse. He hated the long curly hair and wanted it cut, but his mom wouldn’t let him.”
“Ethel’s gonna be in so much trouble.” Reggie continued to laugh.
“She didn’t seem too worried about it. When she found out he wanted it cut for a long time, she told me she would have a frank discussion with her daughter. You should’ve seen the kid though. He hacked it right down to almost nothing. I was able to leave a bit of length on top, but the sides had to be shaved right down.”
“Didn’t Ethel have a son, too?”
The conversation abruptly died.
“Yeah. Travis. He left town.” Scotty’s demeanor changed abruptly. Before Nathan could ask any more questions, his grandpa cut in.
“This is good. Where’d you get it?”
“There’s a deli by my apartment. I stumbled in there one day after work, starving and desperate not to cook. It was during the terrible heat wave last summer. I thought I’d go in and grab a sandwich, but the chicken called my name.”
“Damn. I wished they delivered.”
“I’ll deliver. Just ring the salon.”
“I couldn’t put you out.” Reggie said, but Nathan thought he looked like it wouldn’t take much convincing to change his mind.
“It’s no trouble. Especially once Nathan told me you had nothing but praise for my superior bagging skills at the grocery store.”
“I miss you working there. That new kid squishes my buns.” Reggie looked at Scotty, mischief in his eyes. “Not those buns.”
Nathan watched the two of them. He didn’t have much to say, but he liked being around them as they chatted and ate.
When his plate was nearly empty, Reggie stood and grabbed his cane. “I can’t eat another bite. If you don’t mind, I have an episode of Jeopardy waiting for me. Lock up on your way out, Nathan. It’s going to be an early night for me.” Reggie started to reach for his dishes, but Nathan waved him off.
“I’ve got it, Grandpa. Go kick some ass.”
“Thanks for dinner, kiddo.” Reggie patted Nathan on the shoulder. “Keep him out of trouble.” Reggie jerked his head toward Scotty.
“I’m an angel.” Scotty clutched his hand over his heart, pretending to be wounded.
“So was the devil.” Reggie laughed and shuffled toward the living room.
It took no time for the two of them to clean up and they slipped out after a brief goodbye while Reggie was still engrossed in the television.
Scotty twined his fingers with Nathan’s. “Did you know your grandpa watches old episodes of Jeopardy?”
Nathan couldn’t stop the laugh that barreled out of him. “How’d I miss it?”
“It’s how he knows all the answers.”
“How do you know this, and I don’t.”
“Hairdressers know everything. A friend of his told me Reggie took him for five bucks on a bet once.”
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“Let’s go for a walk.” Nathan looked at Scotty’s feet. “If you’re up for it.”
“I’m tougher than I look.” Scotty pulled Nathan closer, then tucked himself in against Nathan’s side. Nathan wrapped his arm around Scotty’s shoulders.
“My grandpa likes you a lot.”
“He was my first customer. Did you know that?”
“Shit, really?”
“Yep. He always talked to me, even when I started showing up to work in nail polish and earrings. Even when I wore bracelets and blouses. He never stopped being nice to me. He didn’t treat me any different than before. Anyway, I told him one day, I’d be leaving the store and what I planned to do after, and he said to let him know when I got set up and he’d come for a haircut.”
“That sounds like something Grandpa would do.” Nathan squeezed Scotty’s shoulder. “So… you and Travis? I have to say, I never saw that coming.”
“He was, is, super closeted. And then all this happened,” Scotty motioned at himself, a hint of melancholy laced his voice. “He didn’t like it much.”
“My gain.” Nathan said without hesitation. He turned to face Scotty, planted his hands on Scotty’s hips then slid them around his waist, drawing them closer together. “Travis always was a moron. He’ll regret letting you go.” Nathan’s heart constricted and a flicker of panic clawed at him, because he’d regret it too. Nathan knew he should pull back, he should run away, right now. He could make ten different excuses to drop Scotty off at home and not come in. He could leave town now and hire someone to finish the rest of his grandpa’s house.
There were a thousand things he could do differently. A million different ways to handle the feelings he had. But he did the one thing he knew was the worst idea of them all. His mouth slanted over Scotty’s and he wrapped his arms tighter around him, devouring him, wanting to be as close as possible to him for as long as he could. Their time together was brief, but now Nathan wanted to make it as beautiful as possible.
“Let me take you home.” Nathan begged. He tugged at Scotty’s clothing, wishing he could strip him right there.
“Yeah.” Scotty sounded breathless and he tugged Nathan closer. “Stay the night.”
The Sweetest Thing Page 8
