The Sweetest Thing

by E. M. Denning

  Scotty stared at his door and were it not for the spicy scent of Nathan’s cologne clinging to him, or the gentle press of his kiss on Scotty’s mouth, he might have thought he had dreamed it all up.

  Nathaniel fucking Blackburn. He’d fucked Nathan. His brother’s best friend. The guy who made Scotty realize he was gay. He could pinpoint the exact moment he realized he wasn’t into girls. Their family lived in a house with a huge back yard and a massive pool. Their cousins were always over with their friends. One day, Scotty’s friend, Grant had been there with him. Grant spent the entire day nudging Scotty and making comments about Christine, one of Scotty’s cousins. He’d told Grant to stop being gross, that was Scotty’s cousin, but Scotty hadn’t even been interested in her friend who Grant also drooled over. Scotty had been annoyed with Grant that day, namely because he’d been casually keeping an eye on Nathan.

  Nathan with his bare chest and his muscles and his swim trunks. He watched the way the water poured off Nathan when he climbed out of the pool. It was after the fourth or fifth time Grant elbowed him to point at Christine and her friend that Scotty realized the girls didn’t do anything for him.

  Scotty pushed the memories away. So what if he fucked the guy who kicked open the door of his sexuality? A guy he’d been crazy in love with for a decade. It didn’t mean anything. And it’s not as though Nathan would’ve had any interest if he’d have recognized Scotty.

  The fact that he didn’t stung a little, but Scotty had changed a lot and Nathan couldn’t be faulted for not recognizing someone he’d never noticed in the first place.

  “You’re a fucking idiot, Prescott.” Scotty rolled his eyes at himself and flipped the deadbolt into the locked position. He went to his bathroom and removed his makeup, then climbed into the shower. He should’ve offered to let Nathan shower before he left, then he could’ve had more memories involving Nathan and water. But maybe it was for the best that he didn’t.

  When he was out of the shower, sans makeup, Scotty looked in the mirror and wondered if Nathan would’ve recognized him had he answered the door without his makeup done. But that felt like it would’ve been a bigger lie. Scotty had spent the last four years becoming the person he wanted to be, and he was goddamn proud of who he was, lip gloss and all.

  Scotty climbed into a bed smelling of Nathan and sex and decided that maybe he would make an appearance at the family brunch tomorrow after all. He skipped it sometimes and he’d intended to do so tomorrow, but that was before he knew Nathan would be there.

  Scotty’s mom, Eileen, and her three sisters all lived in town and the aunts would come over with food and they’d drag the cousins along and it became a tradition of sorts. They tried to do it once a month and his mom tried to say that attendance was mandatory, but Scotty was sometimes able to get out of it.

  That’s why the next morning when Scotty pulled into her driveway, he expected to get reprimanded for missing the last brunch, but she was too busy being happy to see him. Some of his cousins had arrived already because it was a known fact in the family that his mom had the best coffee and pre-brunch snacks and if you didn’t come early, you missed out.

  “Hey mom.” Scotty bent to hug her and kissed her cheek.

  “I thought you weren’t coming.”

  “I changed my mind. I thought, gee, mom sure hates it when I miss brunch. I better go so I can keep my title as her favorite son.”

  “I’m the favorite. You’re the pain in the ass.”

  “Oh, cut it out.” Their mom sent Tod a scathing look. “Your cousins are out back. Linda is here with the baby, why don’t you boys take over for a bit and let the poor girl have a break.”

  “Are you trying to get rid of us?” Scotty asked. “We just got here.”

  “Yes. You’re going to bicker at each other all day, I can tell.”

  “He bickers with me.” Scotty grinned and did as she said, ignoring Tod’s protests about who bickers with who. Scotty found Linda sitting on the back deck under the gazebo. Her little boy was a few months old and slept peacefully against her chest.

  “Hey,” he kept his voice quiet as he sat down. “How’s the little angel?” Scott looked at the sleeping baby.

  “He’s a devil. He cried all night. All night, Scotty. As soon as I got here, he passed out cold.”

  “Mom told me to take him for a bit.”

  Linda shook her head. “I’m fine, Scotty. If I move Mason, he’ll scream again and no one wants to hear it.”

  “Oh, let me take him. Your mom always gets here early and when she does, I’ll pass him off to her.” Scotty stood and carefully extracted the sleeping boy from his cousin. “You should get a snack or go relax or something. I’ll hang out here with the little man.”

  Linda stood and Scotty took her chair. Mason hadn’t noticed the change of person or the switch in position and remained fast asleep.

  “Go, eat. Drink. Prove to my mom I’m a good boy and I listen sometimes.”

  “Okay, I’m going.” Linda looked at Mason one more time until Scotty shooed her away.

  “It’s just you and me, little man.” Scotty watched some of the younger cousins leap into the pool. “Don’t pay any attention to the noise over there. And what’s this I hear about you crying all night. Give your mom a break, little buddy.”

  “What are you, the baby whisperer?” Tod asked. He brought Scott a cup of coffee and set it on the table next to him. “Mom told me to bring you a coffee. She also told me to quit picking fights with you.”

  “Well, too bad for her we only listen to half of what she says.” Scotty grinned and adjusted the sleeping bundle so he could reach for his coffee. He never figured out why, but Tod was often cold to Scotty. He picked fights with him and generally was an ass. But only to Scotty. He’d once accused Tod of hating him because he was gay and Tod had gotten so mad at him about it, he didn’t speak to Scott for a month.

  Scott figured the reason was because he was the younger brother. Maybe it was that way for everyone who had an older brother. Maybe older brothers were programmed to hate their younger brothers. Or maybe, Tod was an asshole.

  A familiar face stepped out onto the deck and Scotty bent his head and pretended to be looking at Mason.

  Tod also caught the movement and walked over to Nathan, reaching him in a few long strides. Scott watched Tod wrap his arms around Nathan and hug him tight.

  “Hey bro, how’ve you been?”

  Bro. Brother. The words shouldn’t hurt, but they did. It stung that Tod had a friendly greeting for Nathan. That he’d call him brother and hug him and be happy to see him, and for Scotty all he had were snide remarks and thinly veiled hostility with the odd flash of love and humanity.

  “I’ve been good.” Scott watched Nathan pull away from Tod. His smile was wide and dazzling. “Your mom said you and Scott were out here.” Nathan scanned the pool looking for Scotty.

  “He goes by Scotty now, and yeah, he got stuck with baby duty.” Tod motioned toward Scotty and he raised his head.

  He looked at Nathan and watched the exact moment Nathan figured it out.

  “Scotty?”

  “Hi Neil.”

  Scott watched the color drain from Nathan’s face. Then he watched the moment he tried to recover his composure before Tod noticed anything was up. But Tod knew.

  “Neil? Isn’t that the name you give…” Tod paused. “Oh, fuck no.”

  Mason started to fuss and as if she had some sort of fussy baby radar, Aunt Cathy, Mason’s grandma came out looking for him. She was oblivious to the drama about to unfold and took Mason with her back into the kitchen where he’d be properly fussed over.

  Scott stood with a quiet confidence he seldom felt. “I won’t apologize for last night.”

  “Last night.” Tod’s face flashed a shade of angry crimson and the vein in the middle of his forehead stood out like their dad’s did when he was pissed about something. “You blew me off for beers so you could go fuck my little brother.”

&n
bsp; Chapter Three

  Nathan

  The only thing stronger than Tod’s fury was Nathan’s own. Scotty had known it was him. He’d known. He had to have. The utter lack of surprise on his face when their eyes had connected had given it away. He knew who Nathan was and had fucked him anyway. Had it been some sort of way to piss Tod off? The thought made Nathan angrier than the fact that Scotty had known who he was at all.

  On some level, Nathan was also mad at himself. In the daylight, even with his makeup on, and once again dressed in something shimmery and a pair of tight skinny jeans, he was very clearly Prescott Aaron St. James. Scott. Scotty. The gangly teen who copied everything Tod did, and who, the last time Nathan saw him, had been wearing shorts and a backward baseball hat. He had seldom been seen anywhere without it.

  But he was still Scott, only he was shinier now. The years had filled him out and grown him up and he was polished like a jewel. But he was also a liar. It shouldn’t be a big deal, still, it was. It had just been sex. A one off. Though, until two minutes ago Nathan had every intention of a repeat.

  “You knew?” Nathan hissed.

  Scotty opened his mouth to speak, but Tod took over the conversation.

  “With all the guys you’ve been with or could be with, you had to go there?” Tod whisper shouted. Despite his half-assed attempt to keep the volume down, they’d attracted the attention of a few of the cousins who were in the pool.

  Scotty didn’t seem fazed at all. Of course, he wasn’t, Nathan thought.

  “Why did you lie?” Nathan asked, moving closer so he could keep the volume down. With Tod and Scott’s family there the last thing Nathan wanted was a scene.

  “He did it to be an asshole,” Tod sneered at Scotty. “He’s always doing shit to make my life miserable.”

  Scotty whipped his head around and he glared at Tod. “Excuse you? This isn’t about you.”

  “The fuck it’s not.” Tod pointed at Scotty and Nathan. “One is my brother, the other is my best friend. You’ve known him your whole life. He’s practically family. God, you’re such an asshole, Prescott.”

  “Fuck you, Todrick.”

  Scott brushed past Nathan and into the house.

  Nathan sighed and looked at Tod. “Was that necessary?” Nathan didn’t know how he felt about Scott lying to him, but he knew he wasn’t okay with Tod’s reaction.

  “Was it necessary to fuck my brother?”

  At the time, yes. It had been of the utmost importance that he let Scotty touch him. Now he didn’t know what to feel. Everything was all jumbled up inside.

  “I know you’re pissed, but I don’t know why.” Nathan said smoothly. “It’s not about you.”

  “Not about me?”

  “Nope.” Nathan exhaled. “Look, I’m here for a month to help with the renovations to Grandpa’s house, then I have to go back to work. And even if I were hanging around, it still wouldn’t be your business.”

  “You’re my best friend.”

  “Yes, I am. But you also don’t get a say in who I spend time with. Even if it’s Scott.” Tod glared at him, but Nathan didn’t give a shit how Tod felt about it. “Really, Tod? Grow up. What do you think will happen?”

  “So, you’re saying that nothing would ever stop you from coming here, where my entire family is, and hanging out with us? You know I was right. You’re one of the family, Nathan. You and Scott, it’s… it’s weird.” Tod sighed and Nathan could almost see him let go of his anger. “Good thing it was only a one-time thing.”

  Nathan nodded, but didn’t confirm the assumption. Even now he couldn’t think of anything except the way Scott’s hands had felt on him. The softness of Scott’s skin and the heat of his mouth. All the memories which kept him awake long after he’d left last night were still there, fresh and vivid at the front of his mind.

  After that, Tod seemed to relax. But Nathan couldn’t. He sensed Scott’s presence. He felt himself being watched like prey. He’d half expected Scott to leave after Tod’s little butthurt outburst, but he hadn’t. Nathan saw him by the pool, his feet dangled in the water and he talked animatedly with his cousins. Then he was with Linda again and took the baby from her so she could get something to eat.

  Brunch was always served buffet style and people ate as they wanted to, where they wanted to. Sometimes the weather kept them crammed indoors, but it was almost August and the weather was perfect for swimming. Tod decided to have a dip in the pool.

  “You should come in with me.” Tod said as he stripped his shirt off and hung it on the fence separating the pool from the deck.

  “I’m going to hit the buffet. I’ve missed your aunt’s cooking.”

  “I think Aunt Marilyn said something about saving you a batch of cookies. You’ll have to ask her.”

  Nathan went into the house and grabbed a paper plate from the stack at the end of the counter. He moved along, taking a bit of his favorites. When he reached for the tongs to get a few sausages, a familiar person pressed up against his back. A well-manicured hand reached out and grabbed the tongs.

  “Two or three.” Scott’s hot breath tickled the shell of Nathan’s ear.

  “Two.”

  Scott placed two sausages on Nathan’s plate. Nathan wanted to stay angry. He should be mad.

  “Why’d you lie?”

  “I didn’t exactly lie, Neil.”

  Nathan turned and Scott took a step back. “You knew who I was.”

  “I don’t see why it’s such a big deal. We had fun, didn’t we?”

  “If I’d know it was you, I wouldn’t have done it at all.” Nathan hated the words the minute they came out of his mouth, because the look they put on Scott’s face wasn’t acceptable. No one should ever make someone look like a kicked puppy.

  “All right.” Scott said, his words clipped.

  Before Nathan could get his foot out of his mouth to respond, Scott walked away. Nathan looked down at his plate of food and realized he had no appetite anymore but was committed to eating.

  He took his plate outside and hoped he’d see Scott again, but he must have been hiding. Nathan picked away at his food and managed to eat most of it. The sausages remained untouched. Various members of the clan came to talk to him, and Nathan saw what Tod meant about him being one of them. Maybe it worried Tod, that things would go south and Nathan would be unable to attend the family gatherings anymore.

  Nathan took his plate inside, discarding the sausages without anyone seeing, and tossed his fork in the sink.

  Marilyn and Cathy came in with Linda’s fussing baby in Cathy’s arms.

  “Why don’t you find Scotty? He’s so good with little Mason.” Marilyn said.

  “Scotty left a little while ago.”

  “He didn’t even stay for dessert.” Marilyn said. “Why’d he leave?”

  “Eileen didn’t say.”

  Fuck. Nathan wanted to find Scott and what? Drag him back here? Kiss him? Kick his pouty ass? Explain? All the options were tempting.

  The worst of it was that he’d meant what he said. He’d meant, if he’d known the funny guy he chatted up on grindr was Tod’s younger brother, he’d never have gone there. If he’d walked in and recognized his hookup, Aaron, as being little Prescott St. James, he’d never have kissed him. But now that he’d tasted him, touched him, fucking fantasized about the way those nails made his body shiver when Scotty touched him, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to say with absolute certainty he didn’t want to do it again.

  Tod found him a while later and passed him a drink.

  Nathan eyed it suspiciously.

  “It’s literally plain orange juice, you paranoid fuck.”

  Nathan took a sip and grinned at Tod. “Can’t help but not trust you.”

  “Gee, you spike a guy’s juice one time.” Tod sat next to him and bumped their shoulders together. “Sorry I was a dick.”

  “I’m sorry you were a dick, too.” Nathan laughed, Tod punched his leg, everything between them went back to normal.


  It had been that easy to repair his relationship with Tod. They had a history that made everything easier. They’d had plenty of fights, but Tod had stuck with him through everything. He was thankful for their friendship, but now he had to go and fix shit with Scott.

  “I have to take off man.”

  Tod raised an eyebrow at him.

  “I have to be at Grandpa’s house to meet the delivery from the building supply.” Another half-truth. He did have to be there, but the delivery wasn’t until the next morning.

  Tod walked him to his truck and clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t be a stranger.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I’m holding you to it.”

  “See you later.” Nathan drove away, his gaze flicked up to the rearview until Tod disappeared from view, then he shoved him out of his mind and drove back to his grandpa’s, where he was staying. Nathan showered and had intended to visit with his grandpa, Reggie, but instead he found himself climbing back into his truck and driving back across town to Scotty’s apartment.

  Nathan didn’t give himself time to rehearse what he was going to say. He might not ever work up the courage to knock if he did. Instead, he climbed the stairs two at a time and after he gave himself half a minute to catch his breath, he knocked on Scotty’s door.

  He stood there, anxious for the door to open, but for different reasons than the night before. Last night he’d been there for sex and today he was there for answers. The why of it bothered Nathan. He needed to know why Scotty hadn’t told him.

  The door opened and Scotty stood there in his black robe, the one Nathan had dreamed about all night last night.

  “What are you doing here?” Scotty said with a perfect poker face that betrayed nothing, but the fact that he needed a poker face at all said everything.

  “I need you to answer a question for me.”

  Scotty shrugged. “So ask.”

  Nathan cocked his head in disbelief. “Are you for real right now? Let me in.”

  Scotty moved aside and waved for him to enter.

  Once Nathan stalked into Scotty’s house the memories were even more vivid. The scents. The proximity to Scotty. The fact no one was here to stop them.