by Max Hudson
“Chicken, bacon, and cheese?”
“That's the one.”
Evan smirked. “Can I add spinach?”
“To half the pizza. It better not touch my cheese.”
“You got it, mister.”
Harvey collapsed into the couch with a grin. He crossed his arms and folded his legs beneath him until he noticed Evan's stern glance. He rolled his eyes as he dropped his legs and kicked off his sneakers. He resumed his position and shrugged.
“I forgot. So, sue me.”
Evan chuckled. “You're such a brat.”
“Hey, I'm not a brat.”
“If you're not, then you wouldn't like this.”
Evan took Harvey's chin gently but firmly, drawing as close as he could without their lips touching. As he traced Harvey's lower lip with his tongue, Harvey shuddered and whimpered incoherently.
Evan pulled away with a knowing grin. “Told you.”
“Shut up, Evan, and come back.”
Harvey sat up on his knees and fumbled to grab Evan's shirt, gripping the buttoned fabric to tug Evan back to his quivering lips. He kissed Evan fiercely with bated breath.
Evan caught his shoulders and whispered, “Did you miss me?”
“A bit.”
“I don't remember the last time we kissed this much.”
Harvey smiled weakly. “It was a long time ago.”
“Well, we can keep kissing as soon as I put in this order.”
“All right, I'll try to behave.”
Evan winked. “Good boy.”
Harvey blushed as Evan sat next to him. Evan ordered their pizza and set his phone down on the coffee table, scooting it aside to reveal the empty fireplace. He jokingly smacked his forehead.
“The fire.”
Harvey grabbed his collar. “Forget the fire. Come back and kiss me.”
Evan dove willingly and happily to take Harvey's lips, sighing contentedly as Harvey returned the kiss. He sighed when he felt Harvey's hand slip under his flannel shirt. As Harvey explored his chest hair, he snaked his arm around Harvey's waist to deepen their kiss.
After a few minutes of passionate affection, Evan drew away, blinking lazily to clear his vision. Harvey seemed to reflect the same drunken lust, his lips twitching with desire as his eyelids fluttered. Evan chuckled as he stroked Harvey's cheek.
“Yeah,” he sighed. “It's been a long time.”
“What changed us, Evan?”
“A lot of things. Do you want to talk about it?”
Harvey hummed as he adjusted his position, tugging his legs underneath him as he sat facing Evan. His eyes darted over Evan's shoulder, searching for something to focus on.
He shrugged. “I don't know.”
“We can do that another day.”
“Aren't we supposed to be organizing the events for the festival?”
Evan hissed as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “Oops.”
“You just wanted me to come over, huh?”
“Yeah, I kind of did.”
“Well, you didn't have to lie about it.”
Evan smirked. “I'm sorry.”
“And I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough to ask.”
“But you're here now.”
Harvey grinned. “Yeah, I am. I'm ready for that fire now. Do you want help with it?”
“Sure. Can you get the wood from the porch?”
“Yes, sir.”
Evan huffed with amusement as he went to the fireplace to get the starter firewood. He heard the porch door slide open, cringing at the squeak of the door on the track as he balanced a few small pieces of wood inside the fireplace. He grabbed the candle lighter from the top of the mantel and held the buttons down, applying the miniature flame to the starter wood.
When Harvey returned, he piled the fresh pieces of cool wood on the starter wood. He stepped back and collided with the coffee table, tumbling backward. Evan caught him before he could collapse and stood him upright.
“Careful,” Evan warned. “There's a table there.”
“I forgot.”
“Apparently.”
Harvey chuckled. “I was also distracted.”
“How is it you could be distracted after hating me for three years?”
Harvey went silent as his brows knitted together. His eyes became glossy as the flames came to life, firelight dancing in his pupils as they darted repeatedly between Evan's eyes.
“I didn't hate you,” he whispered shakily. “I was just angry.”
“I was angry, too.”
“It seemed like you didn't care when I left.”
Evan sniffled, emotions overwhelming his gut as he guided Harvey to the couch. He invited Harvey to relax next to him, wrapping a comforting arm around Harvey's shoulders to tug Harvey close.
“I cared so much.”
Harvey shuddered. “I did, too. What happened to us?”
“I guess we just had a difference of opinion.”
“I'm sorry, Evan.”
Evan frowned. “For what?”
“For everything.”
“I'm sorry, too.”
Harvey sat up, his eyes shimmering with tears waiting to trickle down his face. He sniffled and shook his head, fixing his lips with a knowing grin.
“Whatever,” he said. “Let's just move forward.”
“No talk needed?”
“We kind of talked.”
Evan chuckled. “I guess we did.”
“So, what have I missed over the past three years? How's everything been going?”
“All I've been doing is developing and testing video games. And volunteering. You know how I do.”
Harvey huffed slightly. “Yeah, I do.”
“What about you?”
“I guess it's just been work. I got a speeding ticket that I was ignoring for a while.”
Evan laughed. “Speeding, huh?”
“I can't help it. I like a little exhilaration in my life.”
“You were probably late for work.”
Harvey attempted to hide his grin, but failed utterly, breaking into a guttural laugh that inspired Evan to do the same.
“Yeah, I was late,” he admitted. “That's pretty on par for me.”
“I know from personal experience.”
“How is your family? Your friends?”
Evan shrugged. “They're all good. My parents keep treating me like I'm delicate, but I'm fine.”
“Are you?”
“I swear, I'm fine.”
Harvey nodded. “Well, that's good.”
“How's your family?”
“They're a whole lot as they usually are. My brothers’ wives have all popped out more babies. It's getting crowded during the holidays.”
Evan chuckled. “June is about to give birth. She's been sharing the ultrasounds with me.”
“When is she due?”
“Christmas, if you can believe it.”
Harvey raised his eyebrows. “That's certainly a gift.”
“I'll say.”
“Do you still want kids?”
Evan frowned briefly, biting his lower lip, and lowering his gaze to Harvey's hands. He took Harvey's hands, squeezing them gently as he tried to huff away his anxiety.
“Maybe we shouldn't talk about that.”
Harvey shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
“Although I am excited for June. She promised I could visit after she gives birth.”
“I bet that will be nice for you.”
Evan shrugged. “Don't try to hide your disappointment. I know that was a point of tension between us.”
“Well, that's in the past. I'm not worried about it.”
“Really? Are you serious?”
Harvey nodded. “More than serious.”
Evan grinned. He bit down on the anxiety swelling into his chest like the tide climbing up the shore in the evening. As he cleared his throat, he struggled to retain his grin.
He's
lying, he thought. I can tell by the way his upper lip is twitching. He's going to pass it off as allergies if I say something, but I know him too well.
He eventually nodded, bringing Harvey's hands to his lips. Though the gesture was genuine, he felt dishonest with his internal dialogue. Still, he pressed on. He resolved himself to enjoying the evening—food and company alike.
And when the time came for Harvey to leave, he found himself wanting Harvey to stay.
Chapter Eight
Harvey
“Sorry, we have to make a pit stop,” Harvey said while maneuvering the steering wheel. “I can't believe I'm late again, Jesus.”
“Sorry, my name is Evan.”
Harvey cackled. “Listen, I know this is last minute, but I promised my parents I would stop by before the festival.”
“Your parents?”
“Yeah, they...Ugh, my brother is in town and he wants me to see my nephews.”
Harvey studied Evan out of his peripheral vision, noticing the slight nod that Evan gave. He caught the worried expression before Evan had time to fix it. When he paused at a stoplight, he turned fully to Evan with a warm smile.
“This isn't a meet-the-parents thing, okay? It's just a timetable issue. We have to set up the cabin again later, so I figured we would do this all with one car.”
Evan smiled and huffed with amusement. “It's okay. I already know your parents.”
“I know you know.”
“And I know that you know that I know.”
Harvey chuckled lightly, turning to observe the light. “You're ridiculous.”
“How about you just admit that you like being around me?”
“I will do no such thing.”
Evan snickered. “You will by the end of the night. Just you wait.”
“You'll have to torture it out of me.”
“Oh, I have my ways.”
Harvey rolled his eyes as the light turned green. He let his foot off the brake and gently pushed on the gas pedal, following the afternoon traffic toward his parents’ neighborhood street.
“I'm sure you do,” he teased. “But you wouldn't dare employ those methods while I'm driving.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because I know that you—”
Evan traced the back of Harvey's neck, causing Harvey to shiver. His eyelids fluttered as he slowed the vehicle down, preparing to make a right-hand turn on Florence Ave. When he reached the driveway of his parents’ house, he stopped the car, put it in park, and turned to grab Evan's face.
He kissed Evan as if they hadn’t seen each other in centuries. He slipped his fingers into Evan’s hair, stroked Evan’s scalp, and then dropped his hands to Evan’s shoulders. As he drew slowly away, he felt electricity crackle between their lips. His eyelids drooped. He could hardly keep them open.
“Wow,” Evan whispered. “I guess I should have prepared for retaliation.”
“I guess so.”
“So…”
Harvey blinked lazily and smirked. “So?”
“You like being around me, don’t you?”
“It’s not the end of the night, Evan.”
Evan chuckled and shook his head while sitting back in the passenger seat. He didn’t say anything. He simply watched as Harvey maneuvered the car into the driveway and shut it off.
Harvey jingled the keys in his right hand. “In and out. Fifteen minutes.”
“You keep telling yourself that, but I’m positive that your mother will kidnap me when she sees me.”
“I sure hope not. We can’t have the festival without Santa.”
Evan laughed while exiting the vehicle. Harvey followed suit and led the way up the porch steps, his heart fluttering in his chest as he approached the front door.
I haven’t told my parents that Evan and I are talking now, he thought as he raised a shaky hand to knock. If she says anything about it, I swear I’ll—
The door wheezed open and revealed a short woman wearing a forest green dress with a white apron over it. Her hands were covered in flour and her hair seemed to match, most of the dark brown strands now streaked with silver and white.
She gasped, “Evan?!”
“Oh, right. Your son stands right here, but say hi to Evan.”
She disregarded her son and yanked Evan into the house, pulling him into a warm embrace. “I haven’t seen you in years!”
“It certainly has been a while, Eloise. I see you’ve gotten prettier.”
“Oh, stop it. Come in! I’m making muffins for the kids. You should meet them. Oh, they’re getting so big!”
She grabbed his hand and jerked him in the direction of the kitchen, leaving Harvey on the doorstep with a dumbfounded expression. Harvey sighed as he took a step into the foyer and shut the door behind him. Just as he began shedding his coat, he heard the sound of sneakers stomping against the wooden floor.
Two small boys came barreling down the hall followed by a rather tall and far more muscular version of Harvey. Harvey knelt down to greet his nephews.
“Baxter! Travis! You’re so big!” he exclaimed.
“Hey, brother,” his brother said. “You’re late.”
“Yep, that’s me. Always late. How are things going, Adam?”
“Great! I just got a raise at the firm. It’s been going beautifully.”
Harvey forced a smile as he stood up. “That’s wonderful.”
“What about you? How’s that insurance gig?”
“It’s not a gig. It’s a job.”
Adam laughed. “Same thing.”
“Where did Evan go? Did our mother steal him?”
“Yeah, she took him to the kitchen. Listen, if you’re ever tired of the money you make, you just let me know. I have connections.”
Harvey forced another smile, bordering on a grimace. “I’ll certainly keep that in mind. Let me go find Evan.”
“Who’s Evan?” Travis asked while grabbing Harvey’s hand. “Uncle Harvey, who is your friend?”
“Uh, he’s just a friend,” Harvey replied while walking to the kitchen. “Gosh, you’ve gotten tall. How old are you now?”
“I’m almost four.”
“Incredible.”
Adam spoke behind him, but he ignored it in favor of sitting at the kitchen table. His mother had already roped Evan into helping prepare the muffins. She was talking rapidly—as she often did on too much coffee or too much excitement—and shooting partially confused glances at Harvey.
Harvey drummed his fingers against the table, offering reassuring smiles at Evan whenever Evan glanced in his direction. After his mother sidled away from the table to grab the baking sheets, Evan leaned over to Harvey and whispered, “This is weird. Why is she being so nice?”
“She always loved you,” Harvey whispered in return. “Just embrace it. Five more minutes.”
“You just have to wait until they're baked,” Eloise insisted while setting the baking trays on the table. “Santa needs his treats before he goes to work.”
“How do you know I’m Santa this year?” Evan asked. “I mean, aside from Harvey telling you.”
“He didn’t tell me squat. I saw it in the festival email. You always did it every year when you two were married.”
Harvey blushed and sank down in his seat. “Well, I mean, duh.”
“You're right. I did,” Evan agreed with a gentle grin. “I guess I can't help it. It's my favorite time of year.”
“And we're so thankful you're here. Harvey is such a grump around the holidays.”
Harvey closed his eyes briefly and exhaled, “Mother.”
“It's true. Isn't that right, Adam?”
Adam smiled and nodded from the doorway leading into the living room to the right of the kitchen. The boys had gone back to playing, making a medley of sounds that resembled dinosaurs or feral animals. Adam bounced from the doorway and patted Evan on the back.
“Do you want to meet the boys? Travis is three and Baxter is one. I don't think you
had the pleasure of meeting them yet.”
Evan beamed. “I would love to meet them.”
As Harvey began to protest, his mother set a baking tray in front of him and scooted the bowl of muffin mix toward him. She gave him a knowing grin as she sank into the chair to his left.
“So,” she said in a low voice. “What's going on with you and Evan?”
“Nothing is going on, Mother.”
“Well, he kept looking at you.”
He chuckled nervously. “That's because he wasn't sure why you were being so nice to him.”
“That's because I love him.”
“That's what I told him.”
She snickered and started setting multicolor baking cups into the muffin tray. She traded trays with her son and pointed to the bowl, indicating for him to start pouring the batter.
Harvey reluctantly obeyed. He sighed as he filled each baking cup with the same care and precision as his mother had taught him. After a moment of silence, he set down the bowl and studied his mother.
“What do you think is going on?”
She shrugged. “I didn't say anything about that.”
“But you think something is going on.”
“Harvey, I thought you two got a divorce. Then, you show up with him three years later. What am I supposed to think?”
He blinked rapidly, unable to regain the smile he had been wearing when he had walked into the house. Although his features were smooth, he could feel a confused grimace surfacing, the sort of annoyed expression that he wore whenever he was dealing with a particularly testy customer.
“I don't know what's happening,” he admitted. “We've been hanging out because I volunteered for the festival.”
She squared her gaze on him. “You volunteered? Voluntarily?”
“Well, it's for a ticket.”
“See, I thought so.”
He huffed with amusement. “But it's been nice spending my time there. I'm enjoying it.”
“Is that because it's enjoyable or because Evan is there?”
“I can't keep anything from you, can I?”
She smirked. “I'm your mother. I know everything.”
“We're just working together for now. We have to hit the festival after this, so I thought I would bring him along to save time and gas.”
“Well, next time you do that, let me know. I'll make something for you both to take so you don't have to sit around waiting.”