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.“Yesterday—I didn't tell Gary and Jakeany details, you know.They just filled in the gaps from their own experiencesof parents who don't deserve to be.”“Yeah, I figured.It was fine.I actually felt pretty comfortable with them.”Sterling sounded like it had come as a surprise.“They liked you,” Owen told him, trying to feel out what might coax a smileout of the boy.“And believe me when I say they don't like everyone, so thatmeans something.”“I liked them too.It was kind of cool, hanging out with people who areso…you know, out.I haven't really done that before.”Owen laughed, the sound not carrying far; the snow was coming downmore heavily again, already covering ground their shovels had scraped clear.“Oh, they're most definitely out.They're good people.Totally focused on theBound and Determined173theater, just to warn you; when they start work on their next production, don'tbe surprised if they try to rope you in.When you told them you'd done someacting, I saw their eyes light up.”“That's cool.I'd probably enjoy it more than some of the parties myroommate has dragged me to, even if one of them did sort of lead me to you.”Sterling finally smiled, just a little bit; it was scary how Owen's heart lifted atthe sight of it.“I should finish this,” he added, gesturing at the snow at theirfeet.“I'll help you clear to the edge of Sarah's fence,” Owen said, “but I thinkwe're fighting a losing battle here.”“Hey!” Owen turned and saw a man waving at him from the opposite sideof the street, a tall, bulky figure he recognized as a neighbor, though he didn'tknow the man's name.He was standing by a snowblower that looked like it'dseen a lot of winters.“I'm going to fire this baby up, and I can finish off Sarah'ssidewalk.You two look like you could use a break.”“Say yes,” Sterling muttered under his breath.“Please say yes.”“Thanks,” Owen called back, only too happy to accept the offer.Thesnowblower would leave a neat, wide path in a matter of minutes, and hewasn't that keen on digging.“Appreciate it.”The man raised his hand in acknowledgement, and a moment later thenoisy clatter of the snowblower made any further conversation impossible.Owen pointed toward the house and tilted his head in that direction, andSterling nodded.Together, they started trudging back toward his housethrough snow that had fallen since Sterling had shoveled the same space—maybe they should have waited until later in the day to start, Owen thought,though looking up at the sky, he'd swear it was lighter than it had been.Sterling picked up his jacket and gloves from the back of his car—all ofthem coated with snow—on their way past, then shook them off as they weregoing up the stairs.“I wonder how long this is supposed to go on,” Sterlingsaid.“I guess it snowed like this when I was a kid, but then I was happy aboutit because it meant school got cancelled.Plus I didn't have to shovel.” Hegrinned and held the screen door for Owen.“Well, neither of us has to be anywhere,” Owen said.“I don't think it'llkeep us housebound for long, though; the Weather Channel seemed to thinkthat we were getting the edge of the storm.”They hung their wet clothes in the small utility room where they coulddrip onto tiles, not wood, and Owen started a fresh pot of coffee.“What wouldyou like to do with the rest of the day?” he asked.“If it clears up, we could gofor a walk around Jasper's Pond and maybe eat a late lunch at a pub in town.The Fiddle and Firkin has a good menu.” He was at a loss; having someonestaying with him was a rare occurrence, and even Sterling wouldn't want tospend the whole time naked… Well, if he did, Owen wouldn't let him.174Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow“Whatever.” Sterling shrugged.“If you have work you have to do, that'sfine—I can read a book or something.Don't feel like you have to entertain me.Just do whatever you'd do if I weren't here, and I'll keep myself busy.”“Well…” Owen bit his lip.“I always have work, but I'm damned if I'mcreating syllabi the day after Christmas—and I don't want to entertain you likeif you're a visitor or something, but I do want to spend time with you.” Hespread his hands helplessly.“I just don't know what you like to do.”“I think I owe you a movie, but this doesn't seem like the best time to beout on the roads,” Sterling said just as another plow went by, lights spinningyellow circles through the gray-white outdoors.“I don't know.Do you have anyboard games? Or we could see if there's anything on TV.Or, um…”It would have been so easy to step forward and kiss Sterling, taking themback to the emotionally charged state they'd been in before they went out toshovel snow, but Owen didn't like easy, and if he and Sterling were going toturn this into something lasting, they needed more than sex to hold themtogether.Michael and he had been friends first, which was probably why they werestill close; they'd shared a love for the same music, they read the samebooks…with Sterling, the age gap did bring problems.Insurmountable? Owenhoped not.“Let's watch a movie,” he decided.He let Sterling go through his shelves of DVDs and choose one, which tooklonger than Owen would have thought.Then they curled up on the couch,Sarah's basket of cookies on the table in front of them, and watched Life ofBrian, a movie Owen could quote chunks of but which Sterling had never seen.Halfway through, Owen, feeling chilled, reached to pull down the blanket thatwas draped over the back of the couch, spreading it over his lap and Sterling's.“Thanks,” Sterling said and turned his head to smile at him.Owen realized that their mouths were very close together.“You'rewelcome,” he said and kissed Sterling slowly.Sterling's mouth tasted like the peppermint candy cane-striped cookieshe'd been eating, and his hand settled on Owen's knee as he made a soft,happy sound against Owen's lips.After the indulgences of the day before and the physical exertions ofearlier, Owen was in the mood to be lazy and languid.As the movie played on,he kept kissing Sterling, sometimes his neck and throat, sometimes his hair,returning over and over to Sterling's mouth.If he had to choose a word forSterling right then, it would've been “edible,” and he couldn't get enough of theway Sterling tasted.Too drowsy to want the sharp, invigorating edge of arousal,he put an arm around Sterling and settled them in the corner of the couch,Sterling sprawled over him, the two of them kissing like teenagers, eyes closed,hands drifting over each other without urgency.Bound and Determined175“You make me happy,” he said, whispering the words like a secret, aconfession, into Sterling's hair, his lips finding the curve of Sterling's earthrough the strands.It had been a while since he'd spoken, his mouthoccupied with contented murmurs and kisses, and it felt strange to shape hismouth to form words.Kisses made simpler shapes.“Is that…is it somethingyou want to hear from me?”Sterling's answer was soft and warm, like his hand on Owen's waist wherehis shirt was rucked up.“God, yes.Of course it is.Why wouldn't I want to hearthat?” The tip of his tongue found the corner of Owen's mouth and licked it.“Iwant to make you happy,” he breathed.“I want you to be happy,” Owen said [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]