Seb’s Summer by K.C. Wells

Chapter Twenty-Seven

 

August 22

Seb’s books were on the table, along with his notes, but preparing for the new semester was the last thing on his mind. His heart wasn’t in it. Aaron had texted a week ago to invite him and all the others to a barbecue the following weekend, and then he’d texted again that morning to find out if Seb had got the text.

Seb hadn’t replied because he didn’t know what to say.

Never thought it would come to this, that I don’t feel like spending a weekend with the guys.

He’d been home a week, and contact with Marcus had been sporadic at best. There had been texts, sure, and one voice call, and even then Marcus had sounded distracted.

Maybe I was right not to get my hopes up. All the signs pointed to the two of them going nowhere, but despite his fears, Seb couldn’t help but feel concerned for Marcus. I hope he’s okay.

When his phone buzzed, he grabbed it, but his heart sank when he saw it wasn’t Marcus, but Levi. Seb grimaced. I really have been a shit friend lately. He clicked on Accept, and Levi’s cheerful voice filled his ears.

“Hey. Since Mohammed won’t come to the mountain… We haven’t spoken for three weeks, dude. I was starting to worry.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’ve only been back here a week.”

There was a pause. “You’re in Ogunquit? And you haven’t come over?” Seb couldn’t miss the hurt in Levi’s voice, and that only twisted the knife in a little more.

“I wouldn’t be much company.” He hesitated, but the thought lay so heavy on his heart, he had to share it. “I miss him.”

“Oh, Seb.” Levi’s voice was soft. “I know. But this was always going to be a shit deal. You did the right thing, walking away.”

Fuck.

Seb’s mouth was suddenly devoid of spit, and there was a tightness in his throat. “Levi, it… That wasn’t the way it happened.”

“What do you mean? Did he dump you?”

This is getting worse. “Look, there was no dumping, okay? After you and I spoke, I did exactly what you suggested—I did some research— and… I got some surprising results.”

“If you were surprised, you were looking in the wrong place.” A hard edge crept into Levi’s tone.

There was no way around this. “Levi, you know I love you, right?” Seb said in as gentle a voice as he could muster. “We think alike on so many issues. But… on this one, I’m gonna have to differ. This… This isn’t as black-and-white as you think it is. I understand how you feel, and believe me, if I were in your shoes, I’d probably feel the same way. But—”

“There is no but, not about this.” Levi’s voice hardened even further.

“Yes, there is,” Seb insisted. “I don’t want us to fall out over this, but… I thought the same way you did, okay?”

There was a pause. “That implies you don’t now.”

“No, I don’t. And about Marcus… He’s not an addict, okay? Yes, he did meth, but he doesn’t now, and I don’t know if he’ll ever do it again. Even if he does, he can do it responsibly. And before you blow up at me, I’m gonna send you a link. Once you’ve looked at it—and I mean look at it, read it, digest it—if you still feel I’m deluded, then okay. I’m just gonna have to live with that.” Jesus, this was hard. “I’m hoping we can come through this though.” Seb didn’t want to lose his brother.

“But… you said you missed him.”

“Yeah, dude, ’cause he’s in New York. Before he left, he said there was still an us. I’m finding it a little more difficult to hold onto that, but…”

“You’re going to send me a link? Let me guess, it’s a site full of opinions from people who’ve deluded themselves into thinking they can handle it.”

Seb had known it wouldn’t be easy. “This is a reputable source, not just something I found on Dr. Google, okay? You’ll realize that as soon as you see it.” When the thought came to him, he debated ignoring it, but then relented. “Levi… you said a while ago that we all know how society treats addicts. You don’t even know Marcus is an addict, but you’ve already judged him. So how are you any different from the rest of ‘society’?”

Crickets.

“I know that sounds harsh, but I had to say it.” Seb caught the sound of a car engine outside, and got up from the couch to peek through the window. His heart pounded. “Levi? Marcus’s car is in my driveway.”

Levi sighed. “Then I guess this conversation is ended. Stop talking to me, and go see your man. I don’t pretend to understand any of this, but you’re not stupid. I have to assume you know what you’re doing. So send me your link. I promise I’ll read it. I’m not promising I’ll come over to your way of thinking, but I’ll read it.”

Seb expelled a breath, his heart a little lighter. “Thank you. That’s all I ask.” He disconnected, and hurried to the front door. When he opened it, Marcus stood there in his faded jeans and dark blue tee, his face drawn.

“I could really use some coffee if there’s any going.”

Seb swallowed. “You didn’t drive three hundred miles for a cup of coffee. And I’m sure it wasn’t to apologize for not calling me either.”  He peered past Marcus to the car, and stilled. It was full of boxes. Seb arched his eyebrows. “Something you wanna tell me?”

Marcus laughed. “Don’t I even get a kiss?”

“What, and give all my neighbors a free show?” Seb grabbed his hand and yanked him through the doorway, kicking it shut behind them. Then he was in Marcus’s arms, and they were kissing, the past week fading from memory with every second.

Seb pressed his cheek against Marcus’s, breathing him in. “God, I missed you.”

Marcus pulled back. “I didn’t have time to miss you. I hit the ground running and I didn’t stop.”

Seb led him to the couch, and they sat. “So? What’s going on? Why are you here? And why does your car look as if you couldn’t even fit a cigarette paper in there?” He kept hold of Marcus’s hand, as though releasing it would somehow make him vanish, and prove to be a dream.

“I’m on my way back to Cape Porpoise. My parents are home in Boston, and I’ll be living in the house until I can find a place of my own.” He met Seb’s gaze. “In Maine.”

Holy shit. “But… your job…”

Marcus sagged against the cushions. “Yeah, about that. I met up with my boss, and we did a lot of talking. It soon became obvious that no matter how often he said things would change, things would get better… I saw the truth. Sure, things would get better—for a while—and then it would be like it was back in April. Deadlines, pressure, more deadlines, more pressure… Hell, the backlog that awaited me was proof of that. So… I made a decision.” Marcus held his head high. “You are looking at an independent copywriter. I’ll be working from home from now on—all I need now is the home part.”

Seb had to rein in the impulse to yell ‘Move in here.’ He’s just got here. “You sure you wanna do this?” It seemed like an awful huge step.

“I’m good at what I do, and enough people know my work if I need endorsements. It might be slow to take off but I’m prepared for that.” He drew in a breath. “And… I meant what I said at Justin’s funeral. I’m going to finish the book.”

Seb’s heart was getting lighter by the second. “I’m glad about that. What you have to say is important.” His throat tightened. “I still can’t believe you’re really here. I thought we were done. When I hardly heard from you…”

Marcus hauled Seb into his lap, holding him close. “I’m sorry, baby. I was working so hard to pull all this together in a week. There was my apartment to see to. I went through everything I had in storage. I threw so much into the trash, keeping only what was necessary. Then I realized something was missing.” His eyes twinkled. “My box of toys. You’ve got that.”

“Did I forget to put it in your car?” Seb asked innocently. “Gee, that was remiss of me.”

Marcus laughed. “Well, it can either come back with me to the house, or stay here.”

“We could share them,” Seb suggested. “Joint custody? Swap on the weekends?” He swallowed. “That is, if we’re going to keep seeing each other.”

Marcus’s hand was warm on his nape. “I didn’t drive three hundred miles just to start a new career. I came back here for you.” He pulled Seb in, and kissed him, a soft brushing of lips. Then Marcus drew back. “And I think it’s time I was honest.”

Seb’s heart felt as if it was about to explode.

Marcus cupped his cheek. “I think you already know what I’m about to say.”

His pulse raced and his breathing quickened. “Yeah, but you don’t say it.”

Marcus laughed. “You want your love scene, is that it? Okay.” He looked Seb in the eye. “I love you. I don’t want to be without you. I know things are kind of up in the air right—”

Seb silenced him with a kiss, pouring his heart and soul into it. “Love you too,” he murmured against Marcus’s lips. Marcus’s hands were so goddamn gentle on his neck and cheek.

“It won’t be easy, balancing our careers.”

“We’ll work it out,” Seb uttered with confidence. “My biggest problem right now? Learning to be patient.” He still had the urge to tell Marcus to move in, but he knew it was all too damn fast. “So, now what?” He leaned into Marcus, heat radiating through his chest.

I guess this is what happy feels like. It was so good, Seb could become an addict.

“Well, after I’d had my coffee, I was going to drive to Cape Porpoise and unpack all my stuff.” Marcus kissed his head. “I was hoping you’d come with me.”

“I’ve still got work to do for the next semester, but I can bring that with me. I’ll stay for the week.” Marcus’s smile was all the response Seb needed. Then he remembered. “Oh. Next Saturday. You know you said you wanted to visit Acadia?”

“Yes,” Marcus said, drawing out the syllable.

“Well, one of my friends, Aaron—the one who lives in Bar Harbor—is having a barbecue. Kind of a let’s-celebrate-the-end-of-summer thing. All the guys will be there, I think. I wasn’t sure if I was going to go or not.”

Marcus frowned. “But I thought you loved getting together with them.”

Seb bit his lip. “I was feeling kinda low.”

“That was my fault, wasn’t it?” Marcus’s eyes widened. “You want to go—and you want to take me with you.”

Seb grinned. “I knew you were a smart man.”

His gaze narrowed. “Do they even know about me?”

“Only one of them does.” And if they did go, Seb was in two minds as to whether he’d tell Levi.

“And you’re just gonna turn up?”

“Hey, Finn did it. We had no clue about Joel—well, the others didn’t.” Seb had been in the loop.

“So I’ll be the entertainment.” Marcus’s voice was a little strained.

He looped his arms around Marcus’s neck. “These are the people I love most in the world, and they need to meet you.” Seb smiled. “Right now I feel so freaking happy, I wanna shout it from the rooftops, but telling the guys is a good start.”

“When you put it like that…” Marcus cocked his head to one side. “Who knows about me?”

“Levi.”

Marcus’s face tightened. “Shit.” His gaze met Seb’s. “How much does he know? Because given his history, if he knows mine? This could get awkward.”

“Trust me, it’ll be fine.” At least, Seb hoped it would. “And by the sound of it, something else has been arranged for the entertainment.” Aaron’s second text had said something about a surprise, but there’d been no clue as to what. He kissed Marcus on the mouth. “By the way, you won’t be the only old dude at the party.”

Marcus arched his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

Seb grinned. “Hey, you’re older than me. But Joel is in his early forties, I think.”

“Thank God. I thought for a minute there I’d have seven more of you to cope with.” His eyes gleamed.

“Hey, what does that mean?”

Marcus kissed him, a long, deep kiss that went all the way to Seb’s dick. “One of you is more than enough.”

“Then you’ll come?”

He nodded. “I’m nervous as hell about this, but yes I’ll come.” Then he smiled. “But there’s a catch. If I go to the barbecue with you, the following weekend you have to come stay at the house for Labor Day.” He grinned. “I want my family to officially meet my boyfriend. Not that any of them will be surprised in the slightest.”

Seb liked that idea. “Will there be as many of them as last time?”

“No idea. But we’ll be in the summerhouse. I just need to go shopping before then.”

“For what?”

Marcus’s lips twitched. “Blinds.”

Seb snorted. “Do they make soundproofed blinds?”

“Alas, no, but I do have a solution.” Marcus kissed him lightly on the lips. “I’ll just gag you.”

He grinned. “I have only one word to say—Ditto.”

Marcus laughed. “Okay, so I’m not quiet either. But back to now… How long do you need to pack a bag for the week?”

Seb widened his eyes. “Do we have to go right now?”

“Why? Do you have something else in mind?” Marcus’s eyes glittered. “Stupid question. Forget I asked. Maybe this is the time when you give me the guided tour of your place—starting with the bedroom.”

Seb let out a happy sigh. “I love it when you read my mind.” Then he frowned. “What about this coffee you keep mentioning?”

Marcus’s eyes gleamed. “Sex beats coffee every time.”

He got up off Marcus’s lap, took his hand to hoist him to his feet, then led him toward the bedroom.

Practicalities could wait. Making love to his man was way more important.

They had some catching up to do.