Even with the decision made, Ollie’s limbs still felt heavy as he crawled into the small, carpeted room with an open ceiling. Goran swallowed a sob and looked up at him with his eyes red.
“Oliver, I… yeah, I’m sorry I put you in a bad position,” he mumbled and quickly rubbed his eyes with his arm.
That was the last thing Ollie expected to hear. “What? No,” he said quickly, crawling over to Goran. His hands itched to touch his warm body, but he didn’t dare to. An insistent voice in the back of his head was telling him it would be unwelcome.
“I messed everything up. I always do that. I have a good thing going, and I can’t stick with it. I have to open my big fat mouth and put myself in trouble. I’m so stupid.” Goran clenched his fingers in his hair.
Ollie shifted next to Goran so that they would face each other. “What? What do you mean?”
“I always want too much. You never wanted to leave with me.” Goran shrugged with a sniff. “But I still had to take a chance. I’m so selfish. I should have gritted my teeth so I could have money for my parents.”
Ollie sensed something explode in his chest, and he grabbed Goran’s forearm. “But we had an agreement. You wanted to be exclusive. You think I wanted to see him have sex with you?”
Goran looked away. “Does it even matter? I should have known you’re still in love with him. He was your first. You stayed here for years to be around him. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Ollie squeezed Goran’s hand tighter, and a whole flood of words was pushing at his mouth, struggling to get out, but he was stuck. He couldn’t logically explain what happened in the last two months, so maybe it was better not to overthink it. “No. I’m in love with you.”
Their eyes met, and Goran’s lips trembled slightly. “But… you’d rather stay here.” He clenched Ollie’s fingers.
Ollie took a deep breath, sensing the air move through his lungs, taking away some of the stress. “I’m afraid, but you take everything head on. You’ll help me, won’t you?” he asked softly, keeping his gaze on Goran’s eyes, which were still puffy from crying.
Goran pulled Ollie into his lap and squeezed him tight in one rapid movement that felt more triumphant than anything else Ollie had seen him do. “I love you, Oliver. I will do everything I can to help you out. We have something special.”
Ollie half-sobbed and half-laughed, and he rubbed his face in embarrassment even as he leaned into the embrace. At once, he felt so light it was as if he could rise from the ground at any time. He believed it. Everything in the way Goran acted since they got together told him so. This was like nothing he’d experienced before, and if he could have it forever, it was worth the risk of leaving the cattery.
“I know. When I look at you, I feel like we could do anything together.”
Goran took a deep breath, stroking Ollie’s back. “I wish I’d stayed for the money, but if you come with me, I’ll have something much more precious.”
Ollie smiled and embraced Goran tight, smelling his warm skin. “We can have my money. I might as well put it to good use now,” he said, nuzzling Goran’s nose. He was so happy all of a sudden that the urge to kiss those sweet lips was hard to ignore.
Goran gasped. “No, I couldn’t. I mean… it’s yours, baby. You need it too.”
“You deserve it,” said Ollie, pressing his cheek to Goran’s. “You lost it for me, and I want you to have it.” He took a deep breath and hugged Goran tighter, smiling already. “When you said you only want to be with me. It made me feel so special. That’s all I need.”
Goran hugged him even tighter than before. “Oliver… I want to say no, but this would solve so many of my problems. If I could only pay off the debt, we could use the rest as we choose. We could live on a boat or help the hotel thrive. We could do anything.” He gave Ollie’s neck a kiss.
Ollie grinned and squeezed Goran. “I hope your parents will be more accepting than mine.”
“They will take one look at you and tell me you’re a good influence that I should never let go. And they’ll feed you. A lot.” Goran laughed.
Ollie joined in, completely relaxed even as he brushed the traces of tears off Goran’s face. “I promise not to be selfish again.”
Goran shook his head. “You’re scared. I get it. But I promise not to let you down. And I’ll try to keep my mouth shut when needed, but I can’t promise that.”
Ollie snorted and pushed his forehead against Goran’s. “Don’t do that. I like it that you always say it like it is.”
Goran’s smile widened. “I think you’re the first person who’s ever said that to me.”
In the faint light coming through the open roof, Ollie touched Goran’s face with absolute clarity in his mind for once. “That’s because I want you just the way you are.”
Epilogue
The setting sun colored the body of the boat with a bright orange, and Ollie leaned against the railing, watching the huge burning ball descend the pale blue sky to meet its reflection. On the other side of the boat was Zadar, propped at the shore with its majestic medieval walls. It’d been over a year since they had moved to Goran’s hometown, on one of the islands across from the city, and Ollie was still overwhelmed with the peace he found here.
It was the end of May, and while the tourists weren’t yet here, they would be turning the quaint villages into chaotic vacation sites lively with parties and family-oriented activities soon enough. In a few weeks, the family hotel, which had changed its name since Goran’s hospitality fiasco, would be bursting with people. The restaurant downstairs would need a waiting area in the peak hours, and Goran would start another season as a guide.
Ollie spent the winter educating himself about the relevant laws and learning Croatian so that he could handle the business side of his and Goran’s tour company, and he was glad the knowledge he had acquired in college was quickly coming back to him as well.
He’d been worried about coming here and meeting Goran’s family, but they embraced him with such warmth, it almost felt like the parents unofficially adopted him. Even the family members who weren’t entirely comfortable with Goran’s sexuality remained civil, and with time, the fear Ollie had been carrying in his heart for so long was slowly fading away. Goran was with him every step of the way, and when Ollie thought he couldn’t handle a task or deal with people, Goran was there to prove him wrong.
They had bought a boat from Goran’s father’s friend who was retiring from the tour business, and they had repainted the vessel just before the start of the previous summer season together. Seeing Goran not intimidated by all the issues that needed to be tackled, and most of all, by failing, gave Ollie the courage to throw himself into work as well. He found out he wasn’t as delicate as he thought he was and could handle more than his share of trouble.
Somehow, the laid-back attitude of the locals boosted his confidence. He never felt at home in the cutthroat atmosphere of big business, but on a smaller scale, discussing stuff with real people, not sharks who were out for his blood, was a pleasant challenge. Learning a completely new language within a short time was proving to be a bit overwhelming, even with Goran’s whole family trying to help Ollie out, so it was a relief that in most cases he could rely on English and already delve into deeper waters and get a lot off Goran’s back.
After two years of doing nothing, being useful and accomplishing all those things in a foreign country made him proud. And once he felt completely at home in the small apartment adjoined to Goran’s family’s hotel, he finally dared to contact his own parents for the first time in years, and it went much better than he expected. While not thrilled by his ‘lifestyle choices’, they were clearly relieved to hear from him again and even promised to visit in September.
Goran’s friends became Ollie’s friends, and he even made a few new ones when he’d ventured out on his own. It only made him realize how shallow his friendships at college had been. Here, no one asked him what company his parents owned or if he coul
d put in a good word for them. No one knew him or his family, and it was a clean slate. He was Oliver, a guy with his own dreams and passions, building a business with his boyfriend.
He didn’t want to share those insecurities with Goran, but he had been worried their relationship might fall apart outside of the idyllic world of the cattery, but as troubles piled up and were conquered every time, the bond with Goran only became stronger.
They did such normal things. They ate breakfasts together and dined with Goran’s family in the evening, they swam naked at wild beaches, and they went out clubbing in Zadar sometimes and frequently met up with friends, just to talk and cook. At this point, even whole lambs grilled over open fire didn’t freak him out anymore. They were delicious.
It almost felt as if he truly started living since he came here.
“White or red?” Goran yelled from the back of the boat. The wine they drank wasn’t anywhere near as expensive as the ones Ollie’s parents drank, yet somehow, because he bought them with his own money, they tasted better.
“White,” said Ollie, pulling away from the edge of the boat and walking underneath the roofing above the passenger deck where all their friends were gathered, already munching on some of the food Goran’s mom prepared earlier. Just thinking of the stuffed peppers made Ollie salivate as he put his arms around Goran and rested his head on his shoulder.
Goran shook his head with a smile. “Why do I even bother? It’s always white.” He poured Ollie a glass without pulling away.
Ollie grinned, relaxing into the embrace, but he frowned when all their guests started whistling a melody he didn’t know. On the computer screen, the next Eurovision candidate was carried onstage by a group of shirtless men in pink harem pants. Yes, the songs were cheesy beyond belief, and many of the lyrics, while in English, sounded weird, but now that he was attending his second-ever Eurovision party, Ollie was slowly understanding the appeal of the contest. Almost no one treated it seriously, and the celebration of trashy cheese was yet another opportunity to get drunk and have some fun with friends. Ollie was sure that by the end of the night, he’d be on his third glass of wine, dancing with Goran to some sappy love song.
The End
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Diary of a Teenage Taxidermist
— Too cool for school. —
Ethan is a levelheaded, some might say ‘antisocial’, young artist-entrepreneur with a love for quirky taxidermy. He is close to graduating high school and at a crossroads. All he wants is to develop his business further, yet all his parents want is for him to go to law school. That is more than enough problems for Ethan, so any kind of love life is off his agenda. That is until Robert Hunter, the quarterback of the football team, comes crashing into him. Literally.
Robert drifts along in high school. He has good grades, he’s getting ready for med school, he’s even leaving potentially problematic datng until college. He’s gay, not ashamed of it, but he doesn’t want to stir up any trouble. His carefully laid plans might just go completely off the rails though, when he drinks too much at a party and causes irreversible damage to Ethan, the school’s weirdo.
Robert has to face the fact that maybe he isn’t the good guy he always considered himself to be. And maybe he doesn’t want to go to med school. And maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t actually want to wait with dating until college.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: First love, virginity, bullying, fitting in, entrepreneurship, disability, high school, jock/goth, taxidermy, artist
Genre: New Adult gay erotic romance
Length: ~ 90,000 words (Standalone novel, no cliffhanger.)
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The Cattery_M/M contemporary sweet kinky romance Page 19