Where We Left Off - Romeo Alexander Page 0,29

you seemed worried about what your father would do if you stepped out of line,” Tyler pointed out.

Nate chuckled. “Well, my father is out of town for at least a week, perhaps longer depending on how things go.”

“Doing what?”

“No clue. He didn’t deign to tell me, anymore than he deigned to leave me in charge of household affairs while he’s gone. I am to be a good boy, listen to Sonia, and possibly James, and do exactly what my father expects of me.”

“And you’re here.”

“Sonia is in charge of me, after all. And she was perfectly okay with it.”

“Because she’s your partner in crime.”

Nate beamed at that. “She is, and I adore her for it.”

Maybe it wasn’t quite the over the top rebellion that might have helped him, but Tyler was more than willing to take what he could get. Even if it was just a week, that was a week of relative freedom for Nate, and that’s what mattered most to Tyler.

“So,” Tyler began, clearing his throat.

Nate blinked. “So...what?”

Tyler looked down at the little jogging shorts on the other man. “Are those your revenge for my teasing yesterday?”

Nate frowned, looking down at himself. “Oh. To be quite honest, I hadn’t even considered that when I put them on. I just chose my most comfortable workout clothes.”

Which reminded Tyler of something else from when they were younger. Nate had never been big on sports like football or wrestling, but he’d loved soccer. And it was at that time, in an offhand comment that had stuck in Tyler’s head for weeks, that he learned how comfortable Nate had become wearing a certain style of underwear.

Tyler met Nate’s eyes. “You wearing underwear?”

Nate scowled. “Of course I am. Unlike some people, I don’t run around the city with my everything bouncing all over the place.”

“Noticed that did you?” Tyler asked.

“Difficult not to notice all...that.”

“All that, huh?”

Nate’s cheeks went pink. “All that, yes.”

“So, still fond of jockstraps then?” Tyler finally asked.

Nate narrowed his eyes, sniffed indignantly and pushed past Tyler. “I thought we might enjoy a day on the beach.”

“It’s almost six,” Tyler pointed out. “Not much of a day.”

“A walk then. Maybe we can get some food along the way.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Then let’s go.”

Tyler caught up, nudging him. “I’m going to guess that your lack of an answer is your way of telling me, yes, you still wear them when you workout. And are probably wearing them right now.”

“I’m not telling you, Tyler,” Nate said evenly, sipping his coffee as they walked.

“Well, that’s just no fun at all,” Tyler huffed.

Nate chuckled. “The fun is in the discovery, not in being told.”

Tyler blinked, stopping on the sidewalk as the words settled into his head.

“Are you coming?” Nate called over his shoulder, a faint bit of color in his cheeks telling Tyler exactly what he needed to know.

“Yeah,” Tyler called, hurrying forward. “I’m coming.”

In his ever-present attempts to do things like a normal person, Nate had elected to use the showers on the beach to rinse the sweat off his body. After purchasing a change of clothes from one of the shops near the beach, and a pair of flip flops for the shower at Tyler’s insistence, they’d found one of the stalls.

Tyler waited patiently for Nate while he rinsed off. He would have been lying if he’d tried to claim that he hadn’t wanted to take a peek, even as he knew the thought was a creepy one. If Nate had meant what Tyler thought he’d meant earlier, then Nate would get to see everything in due time.

When Nate emerged in a pair of loose shorts, a bright blue t-shirt, and with damp hair, he was all smiles. Dinner was on Tyler, and he purposefully sought out a small stand that served what he considered to be the best tacos he’d ever eaten, and he’d yet to find a place with better tamales.

Thankfully, the beach wasn’t busy. It was between the hours of families coming to the beach and when the party crowd would wander their way out late at night. Though there were people milling about, they were pretty much alone as they walked along the shoreline.

Nate looked content as he walked beside him, the plastic bag with his workout clothes hanging from one elbow. His one hand was occupied with trying to maneuver a particularly thick taco into his mouth as they walked.

“You weren’t kidding,” Nate said around a mouthful. “These are delicious.”

“I told you. Elliot introduced me to them a