“Yeah, just bored as hell. Also, Seth just texted about movie night. I’m glad you wanted to invite him.”
He could hear the smile in Nik’s tone when he let out another small sigh. “He seems…lonely, I think. He said he had a marriage that just ended, but he didn’t tell me much. I thought it would be nice.”
“It is. Maybe you can serenade us again.”
Nik laughed. “Maybe you can bring your guitar and take over for a change. Some punk-hipster cover of Backstreet Boys songs?”
Adam grinned widely and didn’t want to tell him that they had, in fact, done that more than once. “I thought you wanted to stay in a relationship with me.”
Nik’s laugh got a bit louder. “Will you be done soon?”
Checking the clock, Adam let out a groan. His shift was less than half over, but in reality, he knew Vince was going to cut him loose if they didn’t get more people through the doors. Wednesdays were always a rough day, but he’d just gotten an apartment—had just written a fat check over to Devon, and even though he had some left over, it still hurt when he was walking away with thirty bucks in his pocket.
“I’m gonna stick around until at least seven, but I figure that gives everyone enough time to get home.”
“Jay’s probably going to stress clean since we’re bringing a new guest,” Nik said with another hint of a smile. “It’ll be good for him.”
“Well, how about I pick you up, then we can ride back to your place when we’re done?” In truth, Adam wanted time to speak with him alone. He hadn’t had time all week since Nik had been swamped with a few make-up lessons and planning the end of the year concert. His only trepidation was doing it with Van nearby. Since he hadn’t been over to Nik’s since Monday morning, he had no idea what kind of mood Van was in. “Is…your brother going to want to hang out?”
“Actually, he’s gone,” Nik told him. “There was some big server whatever thing, and he had to fly to Dallas. I think he’ll be there like a week and a half.”
It meant Nik spending more of his nights with his dad, and though Nik hadn’t wanted to talk about what happened when Adam had picked him up from the center, he knew it would weigh a lot on him. Which was why, he realized, a get-away might not be the best idea.
Maybe instead, they could take advantage of the house being empty.
“So, it’s okay if I stay?”
Nik chuckled, low and deep in his chest. “It’s always okay. Having you with me—even if it’s just to sleep—is never a hardship, Adam. I want you all the time.”
His body erupted into a full blush, and it took him a moment to speak against the tide of emotions crashing into him. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Yes,” Nik said, his voice full of promise.
Adam hung up and tried to focus—booked two piercing appointments from callers, then did a septum piercing for a girl’s birthday with her proud, pierced mom standing by. And he should have felt good—and in a way he did—but all of it felt very heavy.
Chapter 20
Giocoso
Adam was given leave to take off at five, but he stayed on two extra hours, and Vincent hadn’t seemed to mind that he was milking the clock. Four hours was better than none—and better than two. But he still felt the pressure on his shoulders as he swung by his house to pick up the surprise he had for Nik before heading over. He stretched his back, which was aching from his day spent hunched over the front desk, then let himself into the front door that was left slightly ajar.
He didn’t have to venture far to find his boyfriend on the sofa in the front room, tying his shoes, and he lifted his face with a grin when Adam walked in. “That didn’t take long.”
“Traffic didn’t suck tonight,” he said. A standard answer—compared to the bigger cities, the traffic there was a breeze. He stood by the side of the coffee table and waited for Nik to stand up, then slid his way into his embrace, basking in the warmth of it. “Do we have to go to Jay’s?”
Nik laughed, nosing through the top of Adam’s hair. “No. But it might be kind of mean to throw Seth at Jay