“I might be.” Orsen smiled when Santino laughed. “Should I come to your place?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure now. Only if you can fit me in.”
Laughing, Orsen said, “What time?”
“Can you get here by seven? I can cook and then we can do other things.”
The mention of other things had Orsen sucking in his breath, his cock thickening in his jeans. Body tight, he closed his eyes, thinking about touching Santino. “I like the sound of that.” Even to his own ears, the words sounded husky, gravelly.
“Good. I have plans for you, so I’ll see you later.”
“You will.” Orsen hung up and rubbed a hand over his face, then discretely adjusted himself. The thought of kissing and touching Santino always made him hard. The man was gorgeous, with a body Orsen wanted to see naked, and then he might panic and run away. Shaking his head, Orsen smiled. He had no idea what he was doing, but he would trust Santino.After what had happened the night he’d thrown himself at Santino and how he’d made sure Orsen knew he wouldn’t take advantage… that helped. And Cody had been right as well.
“Orsen? Is it really you?”
Orsen slowed and watched three boys or young men approach. One looked vaguely familiar, with his floppy blond hair and blue eyes, but he couldn’t quite place him. “Yeah? Who are you?”
“I’m not surprised you don’t remember me. You weren’t in high school long.”
Orsen squinted his eyes, staring at the one who’d spoken. Was it? Could it be? “Dale?”
Dale cheered. “Yay! You do remember me.”
“I don’t remember much of high school.” Orsen shrugged, his eyes moving between the three teenagers in front of him. He didn’t know the other two, but that wasn’t surprising. “I don’t know you. Sorry.”
“I don’t think we had classes together, and you weren’t in often.” The red-headed teenager shrugged. “It’s fine.”
Wincing, Orsen shrugged. “I had to be home.”
“Look. I heard about Ambrose.”
Orsen’s eyes widened, and he pushed past Dale, who’d spoken. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Hey! I get it. You had no choice. It was you or him and...” Dale ducked his head. “We all know what he was like.”
“Yeah.” Orsen gave him a closed lipped smile.
“Are you coming back to school?” Dale shoved his hand in his jean pockets. “You should. Those of us who remember you, you know. Yeah, er, it’ll be good.”
“I’ve been doing homeschooling, but I might be coming back a couple of days a week to see how it goes. I have… I’m not good.”
“Orsen. You missed so much school, so you’re… Fuck. We get it, alright? It doesn’t make you stupid because you’re not where we are. You’ll catch up.”
“I don’t want people to laugh at me.” Orsen licked his lips, stared up the road to the town center. “I feel so stupid.” And why was he being honest about this? Because he hated lying.
“Sure, you’ll get some who’ll pick on you. That’s high school, but there are those of us who know you and some of us had issues with Ambrose.” Dale gave a one shoulder shrug. “Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I lived with him. I know exactly what he was like.”
“Especially when you have to fight to stay alive,” the red-headed kid muttered. “My mom works in the station. It got out. Most of us think you’re brave. I’m Matty, by the way, and this is Devon. We’re all in the same class, so you should ask to join us.”
“Are you heading into town?” Devon asked.
“I have to grab a few things for Crompton, then I think I’ll have a drink before he comes to get me.”
“Crompton. Man, I can’t imagine living with him. What’s he like?” Matty asked as they turned and walked to town with Orsen.
“He’s not that bad. He’s been good to me. Let’s me see to the horses, and he’s been showing me how to brew.” Orsen flashed them a quick smile to see how they’d react.
