Nothing but Smoke (Fire and Rain) by Daisy Harris

Author:Daisy Harris [Harris, Daisy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2014-06-09T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Considering that Michael had been the one to bring a toothbrush, he shouldn’t have felt so awkward when he woke up the next morning. Staring at the ceiling, he heard the sound of a shower downstairs. Sunlight streamed through the window, providing backlight for the bits of dust that floated in the air. Nothing in the house was dirty…exactly. But the whole place needed a massive decluttering. Maybe Nicky would go for it once he started packing his mother’s things.

The door cracked open. “Hey. Good morning.” Nicky came in, towel wrapped around his hips and torso dripping with water that fell from the tips of his hair. With his muscle-packed shoulders and his narrow waist and that ass that swelled out from those two dimples on his lower back, he could have been drawn from one of Michael’s fevered jerk-off fantasies.

“Good morning.” Michael pushed up to his elbows, blinking the sleep and anxiety from his eyes. Nicky wasn’t some kind of test, and he wasn’t purposely tricking Michael into a relationship. He was just a confused guy.

Anyway, Nicky was coming out…eventually. He’d started already when they’d gone to the restaurant together.

“D’you sleep okay?” Michael looked skeptically at the cushions still lined up on the floor and the tattered blanket twisted on top.

“Yeah.” The flush on Nicky’s face may have been from the shower, but when he bent to kiss Michael’s cheek, Michael had a feeling he was embarrassed. “How about you?”

Michael didn’t want to mention the tossing and turning, the thoughts he’d had all night about how he’d have to go into work that morning pretending nothing had happened—because hell if he’d tell Jesse he was dating Nicky if Nicky was introducing Michael as a friend.

“You know, you don’t have to help pack, right?” Nicky slipped on his briefs under his towel.

“No, it’s fine. Like I said, I’ve got a few hours before I have to work.” Michael’s insides were screaming at him to get out of there. At the very least to go pick up breakfast so he’d have some control over what he was eating—but if worse came to worst, he could always eat leftovers.

“You can take a shower if you like.” Nicky flat-out blushed now, though why, Michael couldn’t guess. “My mom’s up already.”

“Oh.” Michael had forgotten that staying over might mean using the same bathroom as Nicky’s mother. Talk about weird. “Yeah. That would be great.”

“I put a fresh towel on the rack.”

With a nod, Michael set off for the bathroom downstairs. He’d seen it the night before, but in low light and with his eyes half closed as he brushed his teeth. A few prints decorated the walls, and there were fewer knickknacks than elsewhere in the house. Sunlight cut across the white walls, giving the room a feeling that might be antiseptic if it weren’t for the effigies trying to shove religion down Michael’s throat.

The shower’s water pressure left a lot to be desired. Michael washed away any residue from the day before and dried off with Nicky’s threadbare towel.

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