It didn’t look insanely busy, but compared to the rest of the town they’d walked past, the King’s Well was bustling. There was only street parking, at least from what could be seen from out front, but it was packed. All ten parking spaces.
As they got close enough to make out the details on the brightly colored canopy covering the door, Evander stopped and moved Ozzy to the side. His stomach tightened, but he did his best to keep his expression even. “So, before we go eat Czech food, how…how careful should I be about gorging myself on garlic and onions?”
Ozzy’s lips quirked upward. “You can eat as many as you want.” Ozzy brushed past him toward the door. Assuming he’d picked up on what Evander was saying, then that meant this was an innocent date. It was a good thing Ozzy had already passed him by because Ev was certain his face showed his disappointment.
“Hey.” Ozzy had only actually moved about three feet down the sidewalk before turning around, hands on his hips. It was no longer a quirked, minor smile, but a full on grin. “I have toothpaste and mouthwash back at the hotel. So don’t worry about the garlic and onions.”
The fist scrunching up Ev’s stomach released and he rolled his eyes. “You’re a mother fucker.”
“Never fucked a mother.” He draped his arm around Evander’s shoulders as he closed the gap. “A few dads. Prettysure we were already broken up when I hooked up with Karen Dalton’s dad.”
“Ooh. You too?”
Ozzy laughed loud as he opened the door to the restaurant. “He came out and started going crazy. And apparently Karen found out.”
“Yeah, she hasn’t looked me in the eye once since it happened.” Ev lowered his voice as Ozzy walked in, closing the door behind him. “His mouth was weirdly cold, right?”
“Yes.” When Ozzy moved to his side, he pulled Evanderveryclose that time.
Evander’s body relaxed all the way.
Chapter thirty-nine
Ozzy
The dinner had beenremarkably light. He and Ev had obviously gone out for Czech food before, but it usually left Ozzy feeling at least a bit laggy. This had been lots of pickles and caraway and vegetables. Admittedly, Ozzyhadchosen carefully from the menu, avoided stewed meat and potatoes, and in spite of what he said about the toothpaste and mouthwash, he’d made certain to avoid anything that seemed to beprimarilyonions.
On their way back, the little bakery place had still been open, although the older couple tottering around seemed to be tidying up, so they made quick choices. Evander bought three pounds of chewy caramels in all sorts of different flavors and picked up a simple drip coffee. Ozzy also got a coffee and, in spite of himself, he couldn’t resist getting a couple of the oversized pastries in the display case. A bear claw and some sort of crescent filled with pistachio and white chocolate cream.
When they got back to the hotel, there was zero question. They both kept talking, finally catching up on the last two years as they rode the elevator upstairs together and headed toward Ozzy’s room.
As they rounded the corner, they almost had a collision with Aras. He was in a tank top and sweatpants, carrying an empty ice bucket, and he scowled and sneered…until he saw who it was that bumped into him. His face went past neutral, all the way up to a smile as he looked at them. “Well, don’t you two look chummy. And dapper.” He made a big show of stepping aside. “Don’t let me get in the way of your canoodling. Just try to keep itcontainedfor once.” He moved past them, heading for the little alcove that held the ice and soda machines. Not without his commentary continuing, however. “There are children present at the job site.”
Ozzy almost rose to the bait, but Evander took his hand and led him the opposite direction and it passed. Ozzy took out his key card and opened the door to his hotel room. He deposited his pastries on the top of the dresser and tossed away his empty cardboard coffee cup, then toed off his shoes and headed for the bathroom. He kept the door open and went straight for his toiletry bag. He didn’t look back at Evander, just pulled out his half-used travel-sized toothpaste, his toothbrush, and his backup toothbrush and laid them out on the counter. Then he turned on the water.
Evander sidled up next to him. Right next to him. Close enough Ozzy could feel heat radiating from him. Every movement he made, from grabbing the still-wrapped toothbrush to leaning in to wet it under the faucet, somehow brushed some part of himself against Ozzy. That heat and pressure collected in Ozzy’s middle, then headed down, teasing his cock harder. If there had beenanydoubt about Ev’s intentions—there hadn’t been—these deliberate little touches clarified everything.
Ozzy brushed his teeth, making sure to get his tongue all the way to the back, then rinsed and spit before pulling out the mini mouthwash. It was almost empty. He’d need to pick up more at their next stop. He took a bracing swig, then set it down and turned so he could watch Evander.
It was ridiculous, of course, but watching Ev brush his teeth felt so familiar, so domestic, so right and wonderful, it made Ozzy somehowharderthan those little glancing touches. Maybe it was watching his mouth move and shift around something, or maybe it was just too many memories from so many years together. He could recall so many times they’d come home from a date and eyed each other up while doing these sort of normal, menial tasks. Brushing their teeth, doing their skin care routines, collecting up clothes to throw in the laundry. They’d neverofficiallylived together, but they spent so much time at each other’s houses, they may as well have.
So often, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other when they were alone like that.
I want it back.The longer he stood in that perfect scene of domesticity, buoyed on the back of a remarkably talkative, pleasant date, the denser and more complete that desire became. He’d been clear with Evander that they needed to try friendship, that they couldn’t keep doing the same thing they’d always done.
He didn’t know if it was too soon to say if they’d broken the pattern. All Ozzy knew for certain was he didn’t want to go back to being apart. This date had been too good, and when they were on, they wereon.
“So, you want to do this again?” Ozzy tried to sound cool, but his voice cracked on ‘again’ like he was a nervous teenager.
“Of course.” Ev turned around and hopped up on the counter, wiping a little streak of foam from his lower lip. “Do you? I know that wasn’t on your to-do list. No pressure.”
Last chance to back out. It was a familiar voice that spoke it out, doubt and fear and self-preservation…things that he didn’t need. Ozzy knew the risks of this, and he knew the rewards.
The rewards far, far outweighed the risks, now that he was back in them. “Yeah. I do.” Ozzy smiled. “If you’ll take another chance on a douchebag boyfriend.”
Evander rolled his eyes. “I’ve beentryingto get a douchebag boyfriend for the past week. If you hadn’t noticed.” He hopped down and closed the distance, wrapping his arms around Ozzy. It felt damn good to be back in his embrace. And, when he pulled in close, Ozzy could feel he wasn’t the only one who was getting bricked up.
Ev blew out minty breath in Ozzy’s face. “Did I cover up the onions?”
