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“Kiss me,” I begged. “I love when you—”
Nolan didn’t let me finish, just cupped my face and took my mouth. We stayed that way, our lips joined and breathing the same air until late into the night.
17
Nolan
I was at my mom’s house cleaning out the gutters, a yearly task I never looked forward to. But there were certain chores she needed help with, so I pitched in whenever I could. I wished she’d consider selling the house and moving into a condo, but every time Annabeth and I brought it up, she deflected.
Finally done with the task, I climbed down the ladder, removed my filthy gloves, and stored the supplies in her garage.
She had a tall glass of apple cider waiting for me in the kitchen, and once I washed my hands, I drank half of it down.
“Thanks for your help,” she said.
“Anytime, Mom.” I kissed her cheek. “I’ve got a gig tonight, so I need to head home to change.”
She just stared at me with a lopsided smile on her face.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“You tell me.” Her tone made my knuckles whiten on the glass.
“What do you mean?” Had I missed something?
“Annabeth and I have been talking…”
“Uh-oh.” I rolled my eyes. The two of them were thick as thieves and sometimes ganged up on me on certain topics.
“And something is different about you.”
“How so?”
“You seem happier lately.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Just enjoying my work schedule and playing. Pretty basic, but I love it.”
“I can see that.” She winked. “I’m glad you brought Ellis to dinner, by the way. It was nice to catch up with him.”
My stomach was unsettled, but I smiled regardless. It would be so easy to say the words, to tell her about Ellis and me, but nothing between us was defined yet. Plus, we’d agreed to wait.
What he’d told me about his biological dad had shaken me to my core. I could only imagine how he’d felt, and it made me want to protect him even more. It also helped me understand him a bit better. Like how important music was to him because it allowed him the freedom to let loose and experiment in a safe way, in a way he loved. That must’ve been in stark contrast to how he’d felt his whole childhood—at least until his stepdad came along.
I smiled, picturing Ellis holding a fistful of dandelions, before realizing Mom was closely scrutinizing me.
“So why are you and Annabeth gossiping about me and not about her new guy?”
“Oh, believe me, there was plenty of that.” She nudged me toward the door. “Now go before you’re late.”
“Oh, I see. I’m being dismissed,” I said, and she playfully swatted me.
When I got to our building, I charged inside, afraid we’d run late. Ellis cracked open his door as I waited for the elevator. “Take your time.”
“I’ll try my best even though I’m anxious about tonight.”
“Any reason why?”
“Just looking forward to playing.”
“Yeah, same.”
We smiled at each other. “See you in a few.”
I got inside, fed Wednesday, then changed into jeans and my trusty hat before heading back downstairs.
“My mom said I seem happier,” I told Ellis in the car as I drove us to our studio to pick up the gear for our gig.
“Well, you are a downer sometimes.”
I mock-scoffed. “Screw you.”
“Only if you ask nicely,” Ellis muttered, then looked away.
The butterflies kicked up in my stomach. “I like this flirting side of you.”
“Feels good.” He frowned. “In a few minutes, we’ll have to pretend around each other again, and that’s getting hard.”
“You said hard,” I teased, trying to make light of the situation. “It’s because you want to jump my bones, isn’t it?”
Ellis sobered, likely because we hadn’t yet broached the topic of sex, let alone penetration. “Or just touch you more, in general.”
It grew quiet in the car as I reached over to knot our fingers together. “I, uh, watched some porn the other night.”
His eyebrows scrunched together. “Okay…”
“Gay porn.”
Ellis pushed down on his crotch with the heel of his hand. “Why are you telling me this now when we’re about to see our friends?”
“So you can be hard for me all night?”
“You asshead. Not fair at all.”
I laughed. “I can always jerk you off right here in the car.”
Ellis gripped my fingers. “Better stop, or I’ll make you pull over.”
I hummed. “Tempting.”
He let go of my hand and put some space between us. “Are we adding the new song to our set list tonight?”
I snickered. “Way to change the subject.”
“If I don’t, I’m going to come in my pants like some teenager.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Imagine us showing up like that. Perry would be even more suspicious.”
I swallowed roughly. “Think he notices something between us?”
“Doubt it,” Ellis said. “Seems all his worries are about the band and trying to stay relevant. I also think he might still feel guilty about Heather because we had a good thing going.”
