a year of sharing the same house, he was living with a guy who didn’t seem to want him just for sex and was prepared to deal with all of his baggage.
Weird, but the thought was getting less weird as time progressed, so that was something.
The clothes, on the other hand….
“Did you at least put them away?” Ellery asked during his afternoon phone call.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Jackson told him. “I don’t have anything else to do!” He had to admit, Ellery had taken his taste into account. The T-shirts had snarky sayings on them, and in addition to the slacks and button-downs, there was a share of stone-washed 501’s and basketball shorts.
And the underwear didn’t have a single hole in it—and neither did the brand-new, squishy-soft comfy socks.
Gah!
“You could try assembling those files I sent you and making that to-do list for Henry…. Oh, yes. I see. Wow, that was quick.”
“I’m bored,” Jackson said flatly. “Are you sure I have another two weeks?”
“Doctor’s orders,” Ellery said, that edge of irritation in his voice that said his last nerve and Jackson were getting to be friends again. He let it out in a sigh. “Do you want to walk to frozen yogurt when I get home? It’ll be nearing evening. The heat won’t be so bad.”
“Really?” And oh! He sounded pathetic. But the promise of getting out of the house and doing something physical—with Ellery’s approval—was probably his best thing right now.
“Promise.” Ellery’s gentleness told Jackson he understood.
Ellery changed into tasteful Bermuda shorts and a casual T-shirt, gray with a matching madras shirt to go over the ensemble. Jackson stayed in his basketball shorts and shredding T-shirt out of sheer perversity.
As they were walking into the yogurt place, Jackson was surprised to find that they were the object of a quiet conversation between a mother in her late forties and her daughter, probably in her late teens.
“Oooh,” Mom said, sending Ellery a surreptitious look. “Hotties incoming.”
“Mom!” daughter wailed, looking them over. Her eyes lingered on Jackson. “Okay. Fine. They have come in, and they’re hot. Green eyes. Mm.”
Jackson turned his attention to the line of different yogurts. It was one of those places that weighed your choices at the end and then charged you. He decided on pistachio with lots of chocolate and cookies while he listened to the rest of the convo.
“Oh, honey, not that one. The other guy.”
“The other guy looks boring. That guy looks hot!”
“The other guy looks like he could pay the rent,” Mom said. “And believe me, when you get to be a grown-up, that’s sizzle. I mean, oh, baby, pay that bill for me one more time!”
Her daughter cracked up. “I’ll crush on the guy who looks like he could dance on motorcycles while juggling chainsaws. I mean, I’m not gonna marry him, right? Just ogle him at fro-yo!”
Her mother laughed, and Jackson and Ellery went to get their frozen yogurt, and Ellery finished talking about the caseload Jackson would be walking into when he got back to their firm.
But he did notice Jackson was thinking about something. “What’s up?” he asked as they were walking slowly home, savoring their treat.
Jackson looked at his T-shirt, which was actually letting in gusts of the river breeze as they walked. “I was just thinking how sexy you are,” he said, and he smiled a little, but he was really thinking, When you get to be a grown-up, that’s sizzle.
Ellery snorted, and Jackson shook his head.
“No,” he said, taking another thoughtful bite. “I mean it. You have this grown-up thing mastered, you know? But… you still know how to have fun. I may need to take Ellery lessons.”
Ellery grunted over his own bite of ice cream. When he’d swallowed, he said, “You’re worth more than an ‘ogle at fro-yo,’” with complete understanding.
“You heard that, did you?” Jackson asked, smiling.
“Mm.” Ellery nodded and scraped at the bottom of the little plastic container. “The girl thought you were pretty special.”
“She thought I was dangerous,” Jackson said with a half laugh.
“You are,” Ellery told him seriously. “Just….” He trailed off, and things were suddenly very serious.
“I’ve already promised to not be so much a danger to myself,” Jackson said, just as serious. “I remember.”
Ellery relaxed a little.
Jackson paused his stride long enough to bump Ellery’s shoulder. “Look, I can’t promise to be a new man—”
“I like the old one, mostly,” Ellery said mildly.
“Yeah. But this isn’t about me. It’s about you. And how being a grown-up is hot too.”
Ellery’s