So that was that. They were now the proud renters of a recently rehabbed apartment just steps from Lincoln Park, The Park Hotel, and Lake Michigan. Brent had crunched the numbers a thousand times, half-terrified that he’d never be able to afford a place like this. But with what he’d make at the internship and with Lowell paying a little more than half the rent, he could actually pay his bills and set aside enough to save for school. Apparently, Prescott Helmets had some kind of tuition reimbursement program too, once he’d worked there for a year.
The sudden good fortune was mind-boggling.
“What was that?”
Brent glanced up to see Lowell peering at him quizzically as he unpacked a box in the kitchen. “I said this place is amazing. I’m glad you talked me into it.”
Lowell beamed and closed the cabinet door. “Me too. I’m really going to love it here, I think.”
“That park is incredible,” Brent pointed out the window. “I could go running along the lakeshore every morning.”
Lowell chuckled. “We’ll see if you stick to that during the winter, but yes, it will be nice.”
“And we’re so close to everything. I can just hop on the train and go everywhere.”
“Glad you’re getting rid of your car?” Lowell asked as he wandered over.
“Oh, totally. It was super practical in Kalamazoo, but I won’t need it here.”
“What will we do if we want to take another road trip?”
“You don’t want to take your car again?” Brent teased.
Lowell winced. “Uh, no thanks.” He’d had it in for some suspension work thanks to their camping adventures.
“I don’t care what we drive or where we go,” Brent admitted. He grabbed Lowell and pulled him in. Lowell settled against him with a contented little sigh. “I just want to do it with you.”
“You can do it with me any time you like,” Lowell said with a saucy little grin.
Brent laughed and kissed him hard. “I plan on it.”
Their kisses grew heated quickly as Lowell buried his hands in Brent’s hair. When he pulled back to look at Brent, he had swollen lips and pink cheeks. “Are we going to christen our new place?”
“Mmm, I hope so.” Brent kneaded Lowell’s ass, enjoying the way it rubbed Lowell’s cock against his, even through the fabric of their jeans. “But where? The bed isn’t set up, and that couch is brand new. I’m not destroying it on the same day it got delivered.”
“Floor?” Lowell said with a little grin. “It’ll be easy to clean at least.”
Hardwood floors weren’t the cushiest spot for sex. But Brent didn’t care as he stripped Lowell’s clothes off him. He did yelp when his bare back touched the cold hard floor, but Lowell’s warm mouth on his dick quickly made him stop thinking about it.
And when Lowell straddled him and slowly sank down over him, Brent hazily decided he was going to have a hell of a lot more floor sex in the future, if he had anything to say about it.
***
“Is it ridiculous to be this happy?” Lowell said a little while later. He was cuddled up with his head on Brent’s chest, and Brent was half-asleep.
“Hmm, I dunno. I am too.” Brent splayed a hand on Lowell’s bare back and rubbed his palm up and down the cool, smooth skin. “Like, it almost feels illegal to be this happy.”
“Exactly.”
“But it’s not,” Brent mused. “This is everything I wanted.”
“I didn’t know I wanted it,” Lowell said. He craned his neck and looked at Brent. “Or maybe I did. But I was scared of getting hurt.”
“I’m really glad you trusted me enough to let me in,” Brent said quietly.
Rather than answer, Lowell pressed a kiss to his chest.
“We should get up and unpack,” Brent said, but he didn’t make a move to make it happen. He’d rather just lie on the floor, naked and covered in lube and cum, if it meant Lowell would stay wrapped around him like that.
Lowell shivered. “I’m getting cold though.”
“Damn it.” Brent groaned. “Okay. Let’s get up and test out our new shower. Do you know where the towels are?”
“In a box in the bedroom? Or maybe a bag in the bathroom? I’ll go check.”
They’d just stood upright when the intercom buzzed.
Lowell staggered over to the front door and pressed the intercom button. “Hello?”
“Lowell, it’s your mother. I need you to buzz me in.” The sound of Anabel Prescott’s voice made Brent rush to grab the roll of paper towel to mop up the spunk coating his belly. He hastily ripped the condom off and scrubbed himself clean, wincing at the abrasion from the rough paper. He dressed as fast as he could, his heart racing in his chest. “I have a housewarming gift for you and Brent.”
“Um, okay,” Lowell said. “One sec.”
He flew back into the living room with a panicked expression on his face. “Help! My mother is on her way up!”
“I’d worked that out,” Brent said drily. He thrust a clean piece of paper towel at Lowell, who frantically cleaned himself. Brent helped him dress and smooth down his hair, then shoved the mess of paper towels into a random bag just as the knock on the door came. He’d deal with the trash later. Hopefully the apartment didn’t smell like sex.
They were both a little disheveled and frantic as Lowell opened the front door. Anabel Prescott looked as immaculate as ever, of course.
“Aren’t you going to let me in, dear?” She smiled at them. “Hello, Brent. Nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you too, Mrs. Prescott,” he managed.
“Ana, please. After all, you’re living with my son. I think we should do away with the formalities.”
Lowell still hadn’t responded, so Brent grasped him by the shoulders and gently steered him back so his mother could get in the door.
That seemed to snap Lowell out of the trance he’d been in. “Come in,” he finally managed. “Sorry about the mess. We’re still unpacking.”
“Forgive me for dropping by unannounced. But I was doing some shopping with the girls and thought I’d give you a few housewarming gifts I picked up,” she said as she stepped inside.
Since Lowell didn’t have any siblings, Brent had to assume “the girls” were her friends or something. She gestured vaguely behind her. “Grab the gifts from Darrell, will you, Lowell?”
Brent raised an eyebrow at Lowell, who mouthed “her driver”. Lowell turned and stepped into the hallway, and Brent could hear Lowell speaking with Darrell.
“My husband says your internship starts next week,” Ana said to Brent.
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it. It was very nice of him to offer me the position.”
She smiled. “Well, once we met you, we had a feeling you and Lowell were a little bit more than friends.”
Brent gave her a puzzled smile. “Well, no, not at that point.”
She shrugged. “My husband offered you that position for a reason. We saw the potential for more between you and Lowell.”
“It was incredibly generous,” Brent admitted, a little unsettled by the comment. “And, please, come in, have a seat.”
She waved him off. “I’m only staying a few minutes. And it was the least we could do. Since Lowell was going to be in Chicago, it only made sense to make it as easy as possible for you to stay here as well, if you wanted to.”
“Mom?” Lowell stood a few feet away, holding something wrapped in paper—a potted plant, maybe—and carrying two large shopping bags. “Did I hear you right? Dad offered Brent the job so he’d stick around for me?”
Ana looked amused. “Well, that’s putting it a little simply, but yes. And before either of you gets all up in arms about it, Brent is more than qualified for the position. Brent’s resume indicated he met every requirement there was for a candidate. Your father simply made one more position available. But if you want to know why your father offered the position in the first place, it’s because we want you to be happy, Lowell. And clearly
, that includes Brent being here in Chicago, so we did what we could to facilitate it by eliminating any obstacles he might have.”
Everything else that was said after that passed by in a blur as Brent tried to process what she’d said. He had vague memories of Lowell and his mom talking for a while longer and saying goodbye to Ana when she excused herself to leave. After the door shut behind her, he and Lowell stared at each other in shock.
“I am so confused,” Brent admitted as he took a seat on the sectional. Lowell had bought it, and Brent had decided not to ask about the price tag after it was delivered. It was comfortable, and it looked great. That was good enough for him.
Lowell laughed and settled beside him, curling his legs up under him. “Welcome to life with the Prescott family.”
“I totally see where you get it from,” Brent admitted.
“Get what from?”
“Your ability to make things happen without the other person even realizing what they’re agreeing to.”
Lowell chuckled. “Oh, my being a force of nature?”
“Pretty much.” Brent frowned. “I mean, you did get me to agree to get a two-bedroom place and let you pay more for rent. Still not sure how that happened.”
“It made the most sense. I’ll have a quiet room to read or do yoga in when I need some alone time. And we’ll have a spare bedroom for guests.”
“Oh, I know. It all makes sense when you put it like that. I just ...” Brent shook his head. “Anyway, I’m still confused about what your mom said. That’s crazy, right? We were barely getting along when we visited your parents. How could they know we were into each other, much less going to end up together?”
Lowell shrugged. “Well, my mother is a shrewd woman. She’s a psychiatrist. She chooses to ignore some of what I say, but she is phenomenal at reading people. Maybe she picked up on things we didn’t even realize ourselves. And my dad’s not dumb either. He’s a damn good businessman.”
“I know but ... Wow.” Brent shook his head. “Part of me wants to be offended, but I’m kinda just grateful for what they did.”
Lowell beamed at him. He shifted until he was straddling Brent’s lap. “I’m honestly really grateful too. With one fell swoop, they made both of our lives easier.”
“They did,” Brent agreed. He’d have been a lot less comfortable signing a lease on a place with Lowell if he’d been searching for work. And he knew damn well there were few positions out there that paid as well as an engineering internship. Hell, plenty of internships didn’t pay at all.
“I wouldn’t care though, you know?” Lowell said. “How much you make doesn’t matter to me.”
“I know.” Brent nodded toward the glass canister on the shelf above the flat screen that held the rocks Lowell had collected on their trip. It was one of the first things Lowell had unpacked.
“I like nice things,” Lowell had said on a beach in Milwaukee. “They don’t have to be expensive things, just nice. Something that grabs my attention.”
“I’m glad I caught your attention.” Brent frowned a little as he contemplated what that meant. “Does that make me a nice thing?”
Lowell leaned in for a kiss. “The nicest.”
August 29, 2013 – Chicago, Illinois
Brent
It turned out the gifts from Anabel Prescott were a potted orchid that Brent was convinced he’d kill. A silver picture frame that Lowell had already used to hold a photo a fellow hiker had taken of the two of them near Tahquamenon Falls. And a glass chip and dip set.
They used the serving bowls a few weeks later during a housewarming party. They invited Nathan and Caleb, of course, plus a few friends of theirs whom Brent and Lowell had gotten to know. They invited Ricky, several people Lowell had befriended in his psychology program, and Carmen, a girl Brent worked with. They also invited Micah and Justin, mostly to be polite, but to Brent’s surprise, they showed up toward the end of the party.
“How’s the shoulder?” Brent asked a little while later as they hung out on the couch. It had been around eight weeks since Micah’s surgery. They’d hung out a few times since then, but Brent had been so busy lately, he hadn’t seen Micah much.
“Not great. Recovery is going slower than I’d like.” Micah made a face at the sling he still wore on his right shoulder. “Should have had this off a couple of weeks ago, but there was a setback. How’s the internship?”
“Good,” Brent said enthusiastically. “I’m learning so much already.”
“Cushy set up you’ve got,” Micah said, his tone a little sour. “Great job, fancy place, rich boyfriend ...”
Brent shot him a look. “You know damn well that’s not why I’m with him.”
To his surprise, Micah ducked his head. “Yeah, I know. Sorry.”
Brent looked across the room at Lowell, who stood talking to Carmen, Ricky, and Caleb. He held a cocktail in one hand and was laughing about something. His cheeks were pink, and he looked like he was having a wonderful time. Caleb had his arm draped around Lowell as they talked. It had weirded Brent out a little at first, seeing Lowell be so touchy-feely with another guy. He’d known they were close, but when he’d come home from a jog one Saturday morning to find them cuddled on the couch talking, it was the first time he’d really seen it.
But it hadn’t taken Brent long to realize they really were like brothers. And since Brent had slept with both Nathan and Micah and stayed friends with them, maybe he didn’t have any room to talk. So Brent had kept his mouth shut and spent more time getting to know Caleb. The good news was he liked him a lot.
Brent glanced back at Micah. He was staring at Justin and Nathan, who were deep in conversation. “How’s that going?”
“How’s what going?”
“Things with Justin.”
“I’m living in my physical therapist’s spare bedroom. That’s all.” Micah sounded a bit terse but less outwardly hostile than he had been the last time Brent had seen him. Either his doctors had switched him to pain medication that really mellowed him out, or he was actually starting to learn from his shitty behavior. Brent wasn’t willing to bet on which one it was.
“And it’s all been perfectly platonic, right? That’s why you came together today?”
Micah rolled his eyes. “You invited both of us. I can’t drive, and public transit really sucks with my shoulder like this,” Micah muttered.
“And that’s the only reason?”
Micah just scowled. But Brent could see something lurking underneath the surface of his emotions every time Micah glanced over at Justin. Brent was placing odds on there being something happening between the two of them. Even if Micah refused to admit it aloud.
“Sweets?” Brent lifted his head to see Lowell staring at him with a smile on his face. “Kate is heading out. Where did you put her purse?”
“Oh, in the spare room.”
“Why didn’t you put it in the closet by the door?”
Brent grinned at him. “Because it’s not even September, and you already have it filled with your coats.”
“Oh, right.” Lowell grinned back. “Just wait until this winter.”
He walked off, and Micah shook his head. “You two really are nauseating.”
“Then why in the hell did you come today?”
“Justin told me to.”
“Do you do everything he says?” Brent asked, amused.
“These days ... pretty much. He’s my best chance for a miracle.” Micah looked off in the distance, and Brent saw a sheen of tears in his eyes.
Carefully, Brent patted Micah’s uninjured shoulder. “I’m rooting for that, you know?”
Micah nodded. “Thanks, man. And if I didn’t thank you before for what you and Lowell did for me—cutting your road trip short to visit me in the hospital and renting a car when I was discharged and all that—I want you to know I appreciate it.”
Micah stood and walked toward the kitchen before Brent could respond. A few minutes later, Lowell joined him on the cou
ch. Under his breath, Brent told him about their exchange.
“Will wonders never cease?” Lowell muttered. “We took a road trip that turned into a relationship, and we’re living together. Micah’s living with a guy and nudging the closet door open. He’s actually learning to apologize and thank people. Damn. We’ve had a hell of a summer.”
“And people say the Midwest is boring!”
Lowell’s smile was dazzling. “With me around, sweets, nothing is ever going to be boring.”
The End
Looking for more from The Midwest Series?
Book three, Touch & Go will be available September 27, 2019!
Micah looked anguished. “You saw how well I pitched last night! I can’t let an injury knock me out before I’ve even begun.”
“Hey, I get it.” Justin kept his own words gentle. “For a ball player, there’s nothing worse than an injury sidelining you right when you’re about to get a shot at the big time. I know what that’s like.”
Micah frowned. “Sure, you see it happening to other people, but it’s not the same as living it. You have no idea what the pressure’s like, man.”
“Really? It couldn’t possibly be the same as when I blew out my ACL?” Exhaustion made him snippy and sarcastic. “They were scouting me in high school, Micah. I was sure I was gonna get recruited my senior year. Instead, I was on crutches for my graduation. I never even made it to college ball.”
“Shit ... I’m sorry.” An expression of genuine remorse crossed Micah’s face. “I had no idea.”
“No, you wouldn’t have. I’m just saying, you’re not the only one, okay?” Justin dropped a hand to Micah’s left shoulder and squeezed. “I’ve been there. I know what you’re going through. I know the crazy thoughts going through your head right now and the fear and anxiety. You’re under a shitload of pressure right now. I get it.”
Micah sighed. “It’s just ... I’ve been working my ass off to get here, you know?” There was a vulnerability to him that Justin had never seen before as if he’d been given a glimpse behind the wall Micah usually had around him. “This is everything to me.”
“It is for a lot of guys,” Justin gently reminded him.
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