Love Him Free (On the Market #1) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,36

shadow of the boy who had slowly whittled down into this mess of a man. The boy who had never been brave enough to stand up for himself, or to do anything besides turn the other cheek. And there was so much irony in that, it almost made him laugh.

Simon hated being a spectacle, but Rocco seemed to thrive on it. He grinned wider at all the people watching, tugged Simon closer, walked with shoulders straighter. How he envied him—what he wouldn’t give to just have the bravery to not give a single shit what people thought.

The night air was cooler than expected, but he appreciated the chill as they turned the corner and followed the bright streetlamps toward the town center. He could hear the low murmur of people milling around, could smell the sweet scent of kettle corn, and faint music from some live cover-band.

It gave him a thrill to share this piece of himself with Rocco—even if he hadn’t been part of it in years. He would, and soon. The following week, he’d show up early after closing down the shop and force himself to smile politely and not shrink back from their friendly attempts at small talk.

His stomach rolled with unease at the thought, but then Rocco squeezed his hand a little tighter to get his attention. ‘Tired?’

Simon laughed and shrugged. ‘Yes, but I’m always tired. I had to get up earlier than usual this morning.’

Rocco’s brow furrowed. ‘Why?’

‘Because I had pizza with a friend last night and missed my evening prep,’ Simon told him, then winked. He led the way toward the bustling market as it came into view, and paused as Rocco took it in with wide eyes and a growing smile. When he looked back, however, his gaze was concerned. ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s fine.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Rocco insisted.

Simon let out a small sigh, realizing he’d have to tell Rocco several truths tonight. ‘I usually work late and get prep done because since my brother took a few weeks off to get his food truck established, there’s just me. The dough takes hours to get finished, so I don’t have time in the morning unless I get up at three.’

Understanding dawned on Rocco’s face. ‘And you missed prep because of me.’

Simon’s look was stern. ‘It was worth it. I promise.’

Rocco hesitated, then nodded, and Simon appreciated that he didn’t fight, didn’t try and make light of what Simon had sacrificed to spend time with him. ‘We’ll get back early. How much did you skip tonight?’

‘Just a little,’ Simon attempted to assure him, but Rocco shook his head.

‘I’ll come with. I’ll help.’ He took Simon’s hand after that, silencing his attempt at a reply—and it was just as well. Simon would have argued, but he didn’t want to tell Rocco no. He let the other man lead him right into the crowd, and Rocco kept him close. He walked next to him with shoulders straight, and for all that this was Simon’s town, he felt like Rocco was trying to shield him. ‘Are they staring because I’m Deaf?’

Simon wanted to roll his eyes—not at Rocco, but at himself and how he’d done this all on his own by being such a damn mess. ‘No. It’s me.’ When Rocco gave him a dubious look, Simon led him to an empty picnic bench, and he propped up against the table. ‘It is me. I don’t…I mostly grew up here, but things with my mom were bad and I didn’t make friends very easily. They didn’t like my accent.’

Rocco reached out, just a brief second, brushing his thumb over Simon’s bottom lip, and that was almost enough to make his cock explode. ‘You have an accent?’

Simon laughed to cover up how loudly he wanted to moan. ‘Not anymore. Not really. I only spoke Hebrew when we moved here, but I learned English pretty quick.’

Rocco looked curious now. ‘I thought you enunciated,’ he spelled the word slowly for Simon, ‘differently. Not accent.’

Simon shrugged. ‘It was bad when I was a kid, and I didn’t know how to fight back, so I didn’t. They thought I was a…wimp.’

He braced himself for Rocco to laugh—or even smile a little—but he didn’t. He heaved a sigh and there was understanding all over his face. ‘Kids are assholes.’

From behind them, someone burst into laughter, and Simon turned his head to see Birdie there. Birdie was the Captain of the Fire Department, working under Fitz and was one of the nicest people