He didn’t recognize that voice, and it wouldn’t honestly have mattered if he did. “Kind of occupied.”
In his periphery, he saw Melanie. His heart rammed up into his throat and the good vibes from the big pile of soil were no longer cutting it.
She wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you.”
The world flipped and turned. Slowly, Ozzy pulled his hands free, wiping them off on his thighs, then taking a step back from the hug. “Thanks for what?”
“Jamie just spilled out his little heart to us.” She kept her voice low. “Once he got done talking, he said you helped explain stuff to him.” She smiled at Ozzy, big and wide, pushing her cheeks up into full circles. “So thank you.”
That was fast. Or I’ve been standing here buried in dirt for a long time. The words from Melanie didn’t really sink in, just sort of hovered on the outside of his thoughts. He’d heard them, understood them, but they felt somehow distant. Fake. Like a movie he’d seen instead of something that had actually been spoken to him.
“We really need to get on and make sure everything’s ready for your parents. Don’t want to ruin the surprise.” He heard it like itwas someone else speaking. Someone stilted and a little bit too cold. So he forced a little more excitement into his voice, even though it felt like dragging a horse up out of the mud by hand. “You’re welcome. Just kind of took up some time doing that and want to make sure all this effort doesn’t go to waste, right?”
“Right.” She backed away, still grinning. “I know where to find you when this is done. Really. Truly. Thank you.” She only made it a couple steps before jogging back and hugging him again. Tight.
Then she actually went inside and Ozzy stood, trying and failing to process anything.
“Hey.” Evander. When had Evander gotten to him? When had Evander grabbed his hand?
Ozzy looked over at him and saw his forehead creased with worry as they went into the out building and closed the door.
Chapter thirty-five
Evander
The mother-in-law apartment wasa mess, obviously. They’d packed everything inside as hastily as they could and threw up some of the leftover masking paper from painting to cover the windows and the sliding door. Which made it dim and cramped and not large enough to hide that many people.
But they didn’t need to hide that many people. Just two.
Evander never let for go of Ozzy’s hand, clammy and dirty as it was. They weaved through all the furniture and tools, down the short hallway, and into the bedroom, which had mostly been left intact. There was a little pile of paints and stains and other half-used cans and bottles in one corner, but most importantly, there was a bed. Not fully set up, but it was a place to sit, secluded from everyone and everything else. The rest of the crew was in hiding somewhere or had headed back to the hotel. Whatever. That was their business.
Ozzy was his business.
They sat and, finally, Evander let go of his hand. “You okay?”
A long silence. Ozzy raked his fingers back through his hair. “I’m sorry. In my head. I need to apologize to Mason.”
“Later. Areyouokay?”
Ozzy looked across at him, mouth slightly agape. “She thanked me for talking to Jamie. And she hugged me.” He sounded so frail and so young. A lot like he had that night when he showed up crying at Evander’s door all those years ago.
Ev reached up and grabbed his shoulders, holding him steady. “You don’t even seem like you’re all here, Ozzy.”
He closed his eyes. His shoulders vibrated. A shaking breath passed over his lips before he finally opened his eyes again. “That was hard.”
Ev smiled and slowly, carefully wrapped one arm around Ozzy. He had to take the temperature of the situation instead of jumping straight—
Ozzy leaned into the hug, resting his head on Evander’s shoulder. Ev wrapped his other arm around Ozzy and squeezed. “It’s okay. I know this must be a lot.”
Another shuddering breath from Ozzy. After a few more seconds, he pulled back just far enough to make eye contact with Evander. “Thanks for being there for all of it. I know this isn’t what you were signing up for.”
“Sure it is.” Ev held his face in his hands. “It’s what friends do, right?”
“Yeah. And I know that’s not what you wanted.” Ozzy leaned his head against Ev’s hand, pinning it briefly between his ear and his shoulder. A tiny smile pulled at his lips. A familiar smile. A smile that was reserved for the bedroom.
Evander’s bodyachedto go along with the old signals. They had abedfor Christ’s sake, and no one was going to be walking in on them any time soon. They had to stay in hiding at leastuntil Melanie’s parents left. It would be so easy to let that smile turn into a kiss, then turn into feeling each other up, then turn into so much more without anyone having a clue.
When Ozzy parted his lips, Evander pressed a hand to his chest, holding him in place. “Listen. I want to. But not without talking first. We’re not repeating the same patterns, right?” Ozzy just blinked at him, so Ev continued. “I could give in right now and fuck you silly, then come back for seconds. But you and I have so much history…is it just that? Falling into a familiar routine again? Or is this really something you want?”
