“He’s just a kid to you, so you’ve got nothing to be jealous about. You can find yourself a real man now and let the kid live his life. You know, the one you keep telling him to live.”
“I don’t keep telling him—”
“But you thought it.” Santino glared at TJ, who grabbed two beers and shut the fridge. “Either you want him and actually want to have a relationship with him, or you stop acting jealous at the thought of another man kissing and touching Orsen. He left you because you can’t get past his age.” TJ tilted his head. “Is Charlie outside?”
Santino’s brow furrowed at the question. They were talking about Orsen not Charlie. “He didn’t want to come in, and he has some of his toys here.”
“Orsen loves you.” TJ sat at the table. “He wants something long lasting with you. He can have a relationship with you and still live his life. He and Cody can go to the city and party, or we can all spend an evening together, but whatever it is he wants to do, he’d made plans to do them with you.” TJ sighed. “I know how hard it can be to move past the age. We think about how we behaved at their age and compare how we lived, but they’ve lived different lives than us and have different wants as well. Notevery teenager wants to go out every weekend. Some want to come home to the man they love and relax, safe in the knowledge that they are loved in return. I don’t think I’m saying anything new here.”
Santino sat and took the beer from TJ. “I know.” Sighing, Santino sipped his beer. “I do know, but up here,” he tapped his head, “it doesn’t seem to be sinking in, then Orsen began talking about us living together and I couldn’t help saying what I did.”
“If he were older—say, five or six years—would you be so hesitant?”
“No, of course I wouldn’t, and I honestly thought I was moving past it.”
“You told him to meet people and now he’s doing that. You reap what you sow, Santino, and now you realize you don’t like it, so what are you going to do now? Do you want him back? If you do, how do you go about proving to him that you see him for more than his age? Orsen has gone through hell.” TJ inhaled, then blew out. “I wish I’d done more, but I put my faith in the system and watched it fail him. I would have stepped in, but I was warned not to interfere. I lost count of how many times I had Ambrose sleeping it off in the tank while I tried to find a way to prosecute him. I never found anything and Orsen wouldn’t talk.”
“You couldn’t do much if neither of them would talk.”
“I know that,” TJ snapped, then held his hand up in apology. “I feel responsible. I should have done something. Anything.” Shaking his head, he murmured, “Doesn’t matter now. He’s free and able to live his life the way he wants to.”
“I want him back, and that is still strange for me to say because I still see his age.” He saw TJ frown and smiled. “I know. When I look at him, I see Orsen and the amazing man he’s becoming, but when I think of him, yeah, his age comes up. I need to work on it because I want him in my life.”
“Then you need to figure out how you’re going to make that happen.” TJ picked up his phone. “He’s beating the men back with a stick.” TJ frowned, then shook his head. “Orsen is quite popular, it seems.” TJ’s eyes flicked up to Santino’s, then back to his phone. “It would seem Orsen wants to have some fun.”
“No,” Santino blurted out, then sucked in a breath because he had no right to say that now. Orsen had ended their relationship and Santino deserved it. Exhaling softly, he nodded. “That’s no longer my decision.”
“Do you want it to be?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you still here?”
That was a good question. Santino stood. “I think I need to be somewhere else.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Dancing was fun. Having men take an interest in him was fun, too. Watching Cody turn downallthe men who tried it on was also fun. Cody would smile, then shake his head. Those men would look at Orsen, their eyes moving over his body, then grin at Cody before moving away. Orsen couldn’t help but laugh. Cody held his drink up and pointed to the bar. Orsen nodded and leaned in to say, “I’ll stay here.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t!”
“Not much then.”
Cody laughed and moved through the crowd toward the bar. Orsen moved on the spot, then jumped when someone felt his ass. He spun back around and looked into blue eyes. Blond hair flopped over his forehead and Orsen smiled. The man stepped closer, putting his hands on Orsen’s waist, moving in time with him. Grinning, Orsen closed his eyes and let his body move in time with the music.
When lips touched his, he smiled and kissed the man back, their tongues dancing as their bodies moved. It was a nice kiss, but not Santino nice, and Orsen pushed that thought from his mind. He was single now and could do whatever the fuck he wanted, including kissing the hot blond in front of him.
The music was loud, but Orsen ignored it as they kissed, then the man touched his dick and Orsen gasped. He was hard, which wasn’t surprising, but the touch felt wrong, and he broke the kiss, smiled, and backed away. He glanced around, looking for Cody, when the blond grabbed his shoulder.
Orsen stared at him and shook his head, blinking rapidly as his eyes itched. “Shit.”
The man leaned closer and asked, “You okay?”
“I’m sorry. I need to go.”
The guy nodded and walked away, which Orsen was glad for. He moved toward the bar, ignoring the hands that touched him, and when he saw Cody, he went over to him and touched his arm. Cody smiled at him, then slowly frowned. “You want to go?” Nodding, Orsen waited for Cody, then followed him outside. “You okay?”
“I kissed someone.”
