by Shea Balik
In less than ten minutes, Nick was striding into the diner. As if he were wearing a beacon, Nick instantly zeroed in on Tim, who was standing with his back to the door as he filled several drinks and placed them on a tray.
It was probably wrong of him, but Nick had missed Tim too much not to go with his instincts and walk around the counter to the employee area and take Tim in his arms for a searing kiss. There were several gasps around the diner, but the longer he kissed Tim, the gasps turned into clapping and then catcalls.
Tim’s cheeks were beet red when their kiss ended. It was adorable the way Tim tried to tuck his head against Nick’s chest to hide from the small crowd that was cheering them on.
“Sorry, I know this is your job, I just couldn’t help myself,” Nick whispered. “Do you want me to go?”
“No.” There was fear in Tim’s eyes as he looked up at Nick. “Unless… Are you trying to break up with me?”
“Hell, no,” Nick blurted out with conviction. Then he sighed. “I really screwed this up, didn’t I?”
Those blue-grey eyes darted to the side before glancing his way again. “I think we both did,” Tim admitted. “Can you stay for dinner? The dinner rush is over so I should be able to take a break soon.”
That sounded like heaven to Nick. “I’ll stay for as long as it takes.”
The smile that appeared on Tim’s face was all Nick needed to know he hadn’t totally messed things up for them. Giving Tim a quick peck on the lips this time, Nick made his way over to the booth where his sister sat, smiling smugly at him.
“Alright,” he told her. “Get it out. I deserve whatever you have to say.”
Theresa had the nerve to place a hand on her chest and say, “Why Nick, I have no idea what you mean.”
If only. “Yeah, right.” There was no chance his sister wouldn’t say ‘I told you so’ about him working too much. She was too much of a brat to keep something like that to herself. Then again, he really did deserve it.
“Okay,” he teased. “But this is your one and only chance to…”
She didn’t even let him finish. “Oh, please.” Theresa rolled her eyes. “We both know when it comes to you and working too much, I’ll have plenty of times to say I told you so. I would be willing to bet you’re still planning on working this weekend.”
She had him there, but only because his team had already gone home. It was too late to get them involved this weekend in coming up with a proposal that would knock the socks off their potential client. “Yes, I have to do some work this weekend, but I also realize it’s time I start cutting back.”
It was far more satisfying than it should be to see his sister’s jaw dropped. Nick was being a little petty, but even if he had helped raise her, she was still his sister.
Now he just needed to try and convince Tim to slow down, too and they might be able to see each other more often. To do that, Nick knew he had to convince the man to take Mr. Sullivan up on his offer of working at Klassic Toys full-time.
It was time to start his plan for giving Tim the confidence, to overcome what he felt were shortcomings from a poor childhood. Operation playtime was going into effect. Nick just hoped it worked.
CHAPTER 11
There was no explaining why Tim was so nervous about his date with Nick. They’d been out several times and they always had a great time. Then again, he’d never been on date at Nick’s house before.
Did Nick expect them to have sex? Should Tim have brought a change of clothes? A toothbrush? Aaaahhhh. He was so bad at this dating thing.
In the past, he was never invited to spend the night. Nor had anyone stayed the night at his apartment. As soon as they’d finished having sex, it seemed the men couldn’t get away from Tim fast enough. If he were basing things on experience, he knew there would be no sleeping over.
The thing was, Nick wasn’t like any of Tim’s past relationships. Everything about the man was the complete opposite of anyone Tim had known. Which was why he was practically shaking as he finished the window display.
School was still three weeks away, but Mr. Sullivan wanted to have one window dedicated to the educational toys they carried. It hadn’t been easy for Tim to figure out a way to incorporate the products with a more realistic setting as the figures weren’t life size.
In the end he’d used his imagination with some of the building toys for the school building with an inside look into various classrooms. Classrooms with older children had clay models of calculators and tablets. Those rooms with younger kids involved playing games concerned with learning the alphabet and numbers.
The entire project had been a challenge but Tim had welcomed the distraction as he tried hard not to think about the night to come. What if he did something wrong and Nick broke up with him?
“Perfect,” Mr. Sullivan boomed too loudly, scaring the crap out of Tim and causing him to lurch.
That wouldn’t have been an issue but he had been placing the tiny board game that helped kids with learning their colors and ended up dropping it right onto the heads of two of the clay children. Dents formed in their heads, turning them into accident victims instead of school children playing. Not to mention the board, along with all of its various pieces were scattered, messy, unrecognizable blobs.
“Oops,” Mr. Sullivan said. “Sorry about that, Tim. I should have waited for you to finish.” That astute gaze turned to Tim and stared at him way too long.
Great. The last thing Tim wanted was to explain the reason he was so jumpy at the moment. His boss might be someone Tim had always felt comfortable talking to, but that didn’t mean Tim wanted to have a conversation about his sex life with him. Like, ever.
“Son, what’s wrong with you?” Mr. Sullivan asked. “You’re as nervous as a long tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.”
He wasn’t wrong. In fact, it was a major understatement. Tim found his mouth opening without meaning to and blurting out, “I don’t know if Nick wants to have sex tonight.”
The moment he said that, Tim clamped his hand over his mouth. He was sure his eyes were as big as saucers because he honestly had no idea where the words had come from. Talking to Mr. Sullivan about Tim’s sex life was wrong on so many damn levels. If Tim hadn’t of been so fucking terrified of screwing up tonight, he never would have let any of that out.
“Is it that you don’t want to have sex, or that you do?” Mr. Sullivan asked as if this were a normal conversation to have with one of his employees while they were at work.
The only saving grace, if Tim could consider there to be one, was there wasn’t anyone in the store at the moment. Because honestly, he would have died from the humiliation. As it was, there was a good chance he still would.
“I didn’t mean…” Tim stopped himself from finishing that thought because, seriously, what was he supposed to say? That he hadn’t meant to bring up his sex life? He hadn’t, but the fact remain that he had.
He let out a long sigh that ended embarrassingly with a sob. Once that happened, Tim couldn’t stop the tears that started to flow. There was no way things with Nick would go well after this. It was obvious Tim and a relationship just wasn’t meant to be.
Arms, far stronger than he would have thought from his elderly boss, pulled him in for a hug. “There, there, my boy. Everything will be okay. Nick seems like a nice young man who cares very much about you. I’m sure if you tell him what’s bothering you…”
Tim jerked back from Mr. Sullivan’s embrace. The horror of Nick finding out about his melt down, propelled him backward until he slammed into one of the smaller displays, knocking it down with a resounding crash and scattering boxes everywhere.
“I’m so sorry,” Tim kept saying over and over as he raced to pick everything up.
He had about half of the boxes stacked when Mr. Sullivan placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, forcing Tim to stop what he was doing. “You were going to tear down that display tomorrow anyway, Tim. Admittedly, you wouldn’t have been quite so effect
ive in doing so, so quickly,” he teased. “But that’s neither here nor there.”
He didn’t know why, but as he stared down at the scattered boxes of sand toys and blow up kiddie pools, Tim found the entire thing hilarious and started to laugh. No. It was more like hysterical laughter that had him bent over trying to catch his breath as even more tears streamed down his face.
It was time to face facts. Tim was a fucking disaster. Nothing he did in life was ever good enough. His mom had been right. Tim was a failure. A loser with no way to better himself.
“Whatever is going through your mind, Tim, you’re wrong.” There was no way Mr. Sullivan could possibly know what Tim was thinking. “You are an amazing young man with a lot of talent.”
Tim couldn’t help snorting at that ludicrous statement. Mr. Sullivan was too nice to be honest about Tim’s shortcomings.
“Look at what you’ve created for this store.” Mr. Sullivan swept an arm toward all four windows. “People actually make a point to come here just to see your designs. I owe the success of Klassic Toys to you, Tim. I firmly believe it is your window displays that draw in the crowds we get here.”
Tim was dubious.
It must have shown on his face, because Mr. Sullivan put an arm around Tim’s shoulders and led him to the window he’d just finished. “See?” Mr. Sullivan asked, pointing to the crowd. “It is those people who will come in here to buy, all because of you.”
Tim rolled his eyes. “They’re just there to laugh at my deformed kids when I dropped the game. If they come in here it will probably be to yell at me for showing something like that.”
Mr. Sullivan’s answer was to pluck the two clay figures that had been damaged and hand them to Tim. “There, problem solved until tomorrow when you can fix them.”
If only life were that easy.
“As for your concerns about Nick.” Tim felt his cheeks heat when his boss brought that up again. “I think you need to be honest with him. Nick is a great guy, who seems to really care for you.”
As if on cue, the door opened and Nick strode in with a huge smile on his face as his gaze found Tim. That smile wavered a bit, probably because it was obvious Tim had been crying.
Without any hesitation at all, Nick walked over to Tim and pulled him into a hug. “Are you okay?”
That was Nick. Wonderful, kind, and putting Tim’s needs and wants ahead of his own. It was time for him to reciprocate by not burdening his boyfriend with his selfish problems. “Everything’s great. I just ruined part of the display.” He held up the two clay figures he still held in his hand.
Nick, being Nick, said, “Do you need to stay and fix it, because I’m happy to wait.”
Shaking his head, Tim said, “No. Mr. Sullivan was just telling me to fix it tomorrow.” Then he pasted what he hoped looked like a genuine smile on his face. “Right now, I’d rather go on our date.”
The smile he received in return was worth the lie. Tim might want to spend time with Nick, but he wasn’t ready for this date. Not even a little bit.
Mr. Sullivan sighed and Tim would swear he mumbled, “Love is wasted on the young.”
Either Nick hadn’t heard him or he was just thinking it was an old man rambling nonsense because he didn’t comment on it. Then again, he could have just been excited about whatever he had planned for the night.
“I can’t wait to get home,” Nick said as they walked along the sidewalk to his car parked in a parking garage nearby. “It was so much fun setting everything up. I hope you like it.”
When they got to his car, Nick, ever the gentleman, opened Tim’s door and waited for him to get settled before shutting it for him. There was no accounting for how Tim ended up dating someone like Nick. The people in Tim’s life usually weren’t that nice.
Twenty minutes later they were pulling into a subdivision that had Tim’s jaw dropping in awe. But it was as they were pulling into a driveway that led up to a two story brick colonial that Tim found himself unable to breathe.
It wasn’t until Nick had pulled into the garage, got out and came around to open Tim’s door that Tim managed to find his voice, sort of. “You…” he glanced out of the garage opening to the homes that were all similar to the one they were currently at. “This is where…”
Fuck. Tim had no clue what to say. He’d seen pictures of homes like this, but he hadn’t actually thought someone he knew might live in one of them.
Nick chuckled and placed a quick peck on his lips. “Yes, this is where I live, but it really was my parents’ house. My sister and I inherited it when they died. Since I didn’t want to interrupt her life more than it already had been, I kept the house.” He shrugged. “I guess a part of me wanted to stay close to my parents, too.”
Tim wasn’t sure what to say so he remained silent as Nick led him into the house. With each room, Tim’s jaw dropped even further, until he was sure it was dragging along the ground by the time he’d seen it all.
He didn’t know if it was the sheer size of the four bedroom, three and a half bath home, or the opulence of the décor that stunned him more. Probably both. Hardwood floors ran throughout all of the home with the exception of the tiled flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms. Granite countertops, double ovens, and a six-burner stove made the kitchen every chef’s dream.
But it didn’t stop there. On the back deck was another kitchen area, although smaller than the one in the house, with a hot tub off to the side. If Tim weren’t seeing it with his own eyes, he would have never believed a home like this could really exist, much less that anyone would have lived there.
As dumbfounded as he was to be there in such an impressive home, it was what Nick showed him next that left Tim’s heart racing a mile a minute.
“I have a surprise for you.” Nick’s smile was beaming with a glow bright enough to light the night all on its own. “Come with me and close your eyes.”
Nick had Tim sit on the couch in the living room, facing the fireplace. Trust had never been Tim’s strong suit, but with Nick, he found it easier to do the more time he spent with him.
He heard some rattling like plastic rolling inside a box. It was a sound he was getting used to at the toy store. Then he heard what he would have sworn was a match strike and light. Slowly, heat reached him across an already warm room. Did Nick light a fire? It was the middle of September. The air had turned a little cooler, but in Charlottesville it was hardly cold. So what did they need a fire for?
Tempted to open his eyes, Tim forced himself to keep them closed. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint Nick by ruining his surprise.
What seemed like an eternity later, he heard a bag and several other things being set down nearby. His mind worked to figure out what could be happening.
Finally, with excitement practically pouring out of Nick, he said, “Okay. Open your eyes.”
Tim stared. Then blinked. Then blinked again. On the table before him were a stack of ten board games. Everything from Candyland to Monopoly. Next to those was a tray with a bag of marshmallows, chocolate bars, graham crackers and four long skewers, two of which had hot dogs already speared onto them.
Zero doubt, it was taking Tim’s brain way too long to take it all in, but when he finally felt as if his too tight throat loosened up enough to speak, he glanced up at Nick with tears in his eyes. “Thank you.”
It didn’t begin to encompass how much he loved Nick for giving him another childhood experience, but it was all he could manage. He just hoped Nick understood how much it really meant to him.
CHAPTER 12
The same joy and excitement that had been in Tim’s blue-grey eyes when they were flying kites was back. Love, so big Nick wasn’t sure he could contain it, filled him that he’d been the one to give Tim this simple gift. A night of board games and smores.
It hadn’t been anything really, just a quick trip to the grocery store and Klassic Toys when Tim was working at Rockin’ Robins the previous evening. But Tim acted as if Nick had just handed
him the world.
“Come on.” Nick took Tim’s hand and pulled him off the couch. “Let’s cook the hot dogs and we’ll start playing the game of your choice while we eat.”
Tim didn’t even hesitate to take Nick’s hand and join him at the fireplace holding a skewered hot dog. “Is there a trick to it?” Tim asked him as he stared at the flames dubiously.
“That depends on how you like your hot dogs. When you grill, do you prefer blackened or lightly browned?”
Tim’s brows furrowed together as he stared at Nick like he was speaking Greek. “Uhm, I don’t think I’ve ever had a hot dog that wasn’t boiled or microwaved.”
Nick’s hand went to his chest in shock. Sure, Tim’s way was probably the faster way to make a hot dog, but nothing beat grilling. “Okay then.” Imagining Tim’s reaction when he took his first bite, Nick grinned at him. “Then you are definitely in for a treat.”
He opened the screen and sat down on the wide hearth his parents had built solely for the ability to make smores with their kids whenever they wanted to without the hassle of camping. Not that they didn’t do that quite often also, but sometimes it was nice to simply be able to have a fun activity with the kids that didn’t require going anywhere.
The attention Tim put into cooking his hot dog had Nick curling his lips in to stop from laughing. At first he copied Nick, but after about a minute, his impatience showed as he pulled the skewer out and looked at the side that had been cooking. Nick wasn’t sure what he had been thinking, but apparently, he must have decided the one side was done enough because he gave the skewer a quarter turn and put it into the fire once more.
When Nick finally turned his over after his first side had turned a deep brown, Tim had managed to turn his hot dog eight times. It was endearing how much care he was giving to the simple hot dog.
But it was the moan of pleasure that Tim gave as he bit into his hot dog that had Nick’s body on edge. He desperately wanted to be deep inside Tim when he heard that sound again. His dick was battling to free itself from his jeans for the chance to make that happen.