“Your mom, are you closer with her? My parents are both cool. They know I’m gay and they’ve always supported me. I’ve been lucky. Not everyone is.” His fingers threaded into the hair at my nape.
My cock lengthened toward my hip. Fuck, could he see it? I looked down and then pulled my shirt over it. Thank God I hadn’t tucked my shirt in. “I was close with my mom…”
“Was?” He shifted nearer to me. “What happened?”
“She…she died. Breast cancer. When I was in high school.” Myeyes pricked. Why was I getting emotional about it now? It was funny how grief worked. It snuck up on you when you least expected it.
“I’m sorry.” He pulled me against his broad chest. “That had to be hard.”
I melted against him, his hold comforting in a way I hadn’t felt in so damn long. Or ever. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” I blinked the haziness from my vision. “My dad wasn’t around much. He travels a lot with his work. So, her care fell to me.”
“Jesus.” He squeezed my shoulder. “That’s a tough thing for a teenager.”
“Yeah, but I had no choice.” I drank the rest of my beer. How had he extracted this from me? “And I was happy to be with her during her last days.”
“How old are you?” He freed my shoulder.
“Twenty-five.” I glanced at him, watching him do the math in his head. “I took a gap year after high school. It was…a rough time for me.” I’d been at my lowest, but Evan had been there to drag me out of it.
“Because your mom passed?” He fixated on me, his brows drawing together. “I can’t imagine losing a parent that young.”
“Yeah, well, it happens. And yes, I would have failed if I’d tried to take classes back then.” My chest squeezed with the memories of the drinking and the drugs I’d taken. I’d let the darkness take me. It was something I’d never let happen again.
“That’s saying a lot, with how smart you are.” He sank his teeth into his lower lip. “You met Evan in high school, right? I assume he was there for you back then?”
“Yes, but he played for a junior league hockey team and travelled a lot too. When he was home, he was always around, checking up on me.” I huffed a chuckle and shook my head once. “He’s the one who found me…” Why was this spilling out of me? He made me feel safe. How did he do that?
“He found you how?” His forehead wrinkled as he shifted closer to me. “You can talk to me. I want to know you, all aboutyou.” His tongue swept across his lips. With his gaze softening, he whispered, “Please…”
I clenched my jaw. Why did he care so much? “I almost overdosed one night. My mother’s passing left me with access to booze and leftover painkillers. Dad was too stupid to dispose of the pills, and liquor was plentiful in the house. He drinks a lot.” I breathed through the stitch in my chest. “My dad was out of town. If Evan hadn’t come over, well, I might not be here now.” And Dad never found out. I’d told him the ER visit was for vomiting. Since I’d been over eighteen, legally he couldn’t learn the truth.
“Holy shit.” He cupped my cheek, his gaze locking on mine. “I’m so fucking glad Evan found you.” He leaned in, focusing on my mouth.
“Colton? What are you doing here? Why didn’t you answer my text?” Sara planted her hands on her hips, glaring at us.
We both startled, and Travis pulled his hands from me. As I attempted to register what had been about to happen, I gaped. Had he been about to kiss me? I would have let him. Oh, my God.
“We were having an informal study session.” Travis lifted his chin.
“Informal? I’d say. Since when do you drink beer while you tutor, Colton?” She huffed and stepped closer to him, her lips pressing into a thin line. “The only place you’d tutor me was in your apartment.”
“Sara, this is different. We’re…” I swept my gaze to Travis’s. He said he wanted to get to know me better. “We’re becoming friends.”
“So, I’m not a friend?” She clicked her tongue and dropped into the booth seat across from us.
“We’re going on a date on Saturday, so I assumed we weren’t.” Did that come out right? My gut tensed. Hell, I didn’t know what she had to be upset about. I squirmed.
“Oh, okay. I guess.” She picked at her fingernail and thenfocused on Travis. “Sorry, I was just surprised to find you both here.” With a smirk, she turned her gaze on me. “Colton was supposed to get back to me about hanging out tomorrow, but he ghosted me.”
“I didn’t ghost you.” I lowered my brows. Now she was over the top. Did she expect an instant text back from me every time she messaged me? “It’s only been a few hours. I was busy.”
Travis blew a long exhale. “Okay, look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’ll excuse myself to the restroom so you can work it out in private.” He stood and lumbered toward a hallway next to the bar.
She leaned over the table. “Colton, he was really in your personal space and he’s gay. Do you think he’s making a move on you?”
“Uh…” Maybe? “No, of course not.” With a scoff, I drank my beer. “Are you meeting friends here or something?” How could I get rid of her?
“Yes, we’re seated there, near the entrance.” Twisting around, she pointed at a table of young women, throwing quick glances at us. Facing me, she said, “I saw you both sitting here about five minutes ago.” She tapped the table with her long fingernail. “He had his arm around you, like you two were a couple. All my friends saw it and thought the same thing.”