Bed was always the right answer when people decided to get smashed.
“I’m not tired.” Kelly protested. “It’s early! Why would I go to bed now?”
“Because, my dear,”—he gently gripped her beneath her arms and helped her down from the counter—“you are plastered as all get-out and you need to be in bed.”
“Ohhhh, I see what’s happening here.” She poked a finger against his chest. “I know what you’re trying to do.”
“What am I trying to do?” His eyebrows pinched together.
“You want to get me in bed so you can have your way with me.”
“I...what?”
“Don’t act so innocent, Mister.” Her hot breath fanned over his chin as she tiptoed, obviously trying to be eye-to-eye with him—and that didn’t make sense because it was dark and she couldn’t see. “I know you want me. I see the way you look at me.”
His expression softened and he snickered quietly. “Okay, you caught me. That’s
exactly
why I want you to go to bed. It has nothing to do with concern for your safety or anything.”
“I knew it!”
“You’re a riot, Kelly Spencer.” His arm wrapped around her body and he guided her towards the door, stopping briefly to shine the flashlight on Devin. “Are you coming with, or do I need to make two trips?”
“What?” Devin lifted his head to gaze at him, his eyes glossy with intoxication. “Y-you want me to go up there? To her bed?”
“I never said that. ‘Bed’ can mean two different things. In this case it means where you’re going to sleep, and you, Sir, are going to sleep on the couch.”
“The couch?” He scowled, wrinkling his nose in a cute drunken manner. “Why do I have to sleep on the couch?”
“Because we don’t need anything happening tonight that one of us will regret in the morning.”
He was
not
used to being the one who set a good example, but he knew that needed to be the case right now. Putting Devin and Kelly in a bed together, completely shit-faced, was only asking for trouble. That happening—
if
it happened—was supposed to be special for all of them. He didn’t want to ruin things before they had a chance to start.
“I’ll stay here,” Devin mumbled, pulling him from his thoughts.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
Helping Kelly up the stairs wasn’t as hard as he imagined it would be. She serenaded him all the way into the bedroom, and things only became difficult after he pulled her shoes off and tried to get her beneath the blankets.
“Don’t leave me.” Her arms locked around his neck like a freaking vice. “It’s dark.”
“Then I’ll find you some candles. The power can’t stay off forever, Kelly—ow. You’re kind of choking me right now.”
“I’m sorry.” His pain amused her apparently. “Just stay for a minute? One minute?”
Pressing a knee against the mattress and keeping himself from toppling over, he gently peeled her arms from around his neck and helped her lie down again. “Okay, but just for a minute – Devin is still downstairs and God only knows what he’ll get into.”
“Oh, Devin.” Her voice became solemn. “Poor Devin has been through so much. We all have.”
“I know, sweetheart.” He fluffed the pillow beneath her head and hoped she’d become comfortable enough to fall asleep soon.
“My friend Lydia – do you know Lydia?”
“I’m afraid we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet.”
“She’s been through a lot, too. Devin used to make her life hell, especially back when she was a boy.” She gasped loudly and slammed her hand against her mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
Whoa, wait. Her friend used to be a boy? Not that it was his business—nothing in Prairie Town was his business—but he hadn’t known there were any transgender people living in such an itty bitty place.
It gave him hope that maybe Prairie Town could accept who he was, too.
“I didn’t hear anything if you didn’t want me to.” He tucked the blankets around her and leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Get some rest.”
“But I’m not sleepy,” she whispered, and moved her hand to the back of his neck. “Stay with me. Please?”
He wanted to. God, he wanted to stay all night and hold her in his arms. He wanted to play with her hair and listen to her breathing while she slept, but there was no way he could let that happen.
Not yet.
“What about Devin?” His voice remained as soft as ever as he strained to see her in the darkness.
“He can come up here, too. My bed is big enough for all of us to sleep in.”
“Things happen when people sleep in bed together, Kelly.” He licked his lips and swallowed hard. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea...”
“Or maybe it is.” She sighed and wiggled beneath the blankets. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve kissed a man, even
considered
it?”
“I imagine it’s been a long time, sweetheart.” His fingers twitched against the fabric of her comforter, aching to touch her.
“Ever since Patrick died,”—she sniffled—“I always told myself I’d never be with anyone else, ever again.”
“And?” His breath hitched in his throat and his heart began to pound.
“And...well, I just think that maybe I shouldn’t have thought such things. Patrick wouldn’t have wanted that for me. He’d want me to be happy, wouldn’t he?”
“Of course he would, Kelly. There’s no reason to punish yourself. You loved him, and only him, when he was alive. He wouldn’t be very happy knowing you’re depriving yourself of affection, of love, because he’s gone.”
“I know. I just...it’s hard. I loved him so much.”
And then came the crying. It was a lot of crying. All he could do was hold her as her body shook against his, and all the while he wished there was something he could do to ease her heartache.
“I don’t mean to be like this,” she mumbled sleepily against his chest sometime later. “I guess I’ve just never really talked about it before.”
“It’s okay.” He nuzzled his nose into her hair and breathed in as deeply as he could. “I’m glad you feel comfortable enough to talk to me about it. You can talk to me about anything, you know.”
“That’s nice.” She yawned. “You’re nice.”
“I try to be.” He kissed her temple. “Go to sleep, beautiful.”
“Okay.”
Another five minutes passed by and she was finally sound asleep. Carefully, very carefully, he untangled himself from her arms and got out of bed, tiptoeing towards the door.
She’s a good woman,
his eyes moved back to the bed and he caught a glimpse of her sleeping frame when lightning flashed again.
She may be too good for me.
Descending the stairs in complete silence, he thought about everything Kelly must have gone through after losing her husband. It had to be hard raising two kids by herself—two very young kids at that.
He wasn’t sure he could have done it, but man did his hat go off to her for trying so hard.
He admired her greatly for it, and it didn’t help his growing infatuation with her.
I could make their lives better – all of them.
Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned the flashlight back on and shined it around the room, making his way towards the kitchen.
“Dev-o?” He whispered loudly.
“I’m right here,” Devin said, much closer than Nick anticipated.
He jumped slightly and quickly turned the flashlight towards the couch, surprised to find Devin sitting there.
“Scare the shit out of somebody, won’t you?” He released a shaky breath and rolled his eyes. “Jesus Christ.”
“Sorry.” Devin grinned a little and scooted over, patting the empty cushion beside him. “Want to sit down?”
I probably should not,
he thought, his eyes landing on the cushion.
He’s still drunk.
Yet he found himself sitting beside him seconds later. Placing the flashlight on the coffee table, pointing towards the ceiling, he eased back on the cushions and sighed.
“I thought you were going to get candles,” Devin commented after a moment.
“I got distracted.” He turned his head to look at him. “And I thought I told you to stay put in the kitchen.”
“My butt went numb.” Oh, the remarks he could have made. “Is Kelly asleep?”
“Yeah, she’s down for the count. We should probably consider doing that soon, too.”
“I’m not really tired.” Devin shrugged. “Should we stay here tonight?”
“I’d planned on it. I don’t feel right leaving her alone with the weather like this. We should at least stay until morning.”
“Okay.” Devin huddled closer to him and cleared his throat. “It’s cold in here, isn’t it?”
The hair on his arms stood on end, fully aware of their close proximity. He knew that Devin was only trying to get warm and he knew it didn’t mean what he thought it meant, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.
“It’s a little cold. Here.” He twisted his body around until he could grab an old crocheted blanket from the back of the couch, then he unfolded it and wrapped it around Devin’s torso. “Better?”
“Much.” Devin’s head fell against his shoulder once again and a quiet yawn slipped past his lips. “I’m tired.”
“I thought you said you weren’t,” he teased, nudging his ribs playfully. “Go to sleep.”
“Mhm,” Devin mumbled, and then he scooted even closer. He was basically in Nick’s lap, and holy shit, he didn’t know what to do about that.
After a few seconds—maybe even an eternity—Nick finally asked the question heaviest on his mind at the moment. “Do you like guys, Devin?”
He was afraid he wasn’t going to answer him, but then Devin lifted his head to peer at him with those ridiculously beautiful eyes and smiled shyly. “I don’t know. I’ve not given it too much thought.”
That wasn’t necessarily the answer he was looking for, but Nick could accept it. It was better than hearing a flat-out no, wasn’t it?
“I like you though,” he added quickly. “You’re nice. Is that what you meant?”
“It depends on what way you mean it, Devin.” Against his better judgment, he lifted his hand and rested it against Devin’s cheek, allowing his thumb to trace over the outline of his bottom lip. “Do you think you’d ever kiss a guy, date a guy?”
Devin’s eyes darted back and forth between his, but he didn’t seem scared. Hell, why would he? He was drunk. Alcohol meant liquid courage.
“I don’t know,” he murmured. “Like I said, I haven’t given it too much thought. All of this has been a crazy ride for me. It’s hard to know what I like, or who I like, when I can’t remember anything.”
“I know. I’m sorry, that was stupid of me to ask.” Nick exhaled loudly and dropped his hand back to his side. “Go to sleep, Dev-o.”
If he were lucky, neither Kelly nor Devin would remember the conversations from tonight. The last thing he wanted was for either of them to feel weird around him. He’d experienced enough of that when he was younger.
Settling down beside Devin and fully intending to fall asleep, he was startled when two cold hands grabbed either side of his face and then hot, delicious lips claimed his in a mind-blowing kiss.
Little bursts of heat ran rampant through his veins as Devin kissed him, hard and passionately. He didn’t even have time to respond, not really, as his hands grabbed for him just as Devin pulled away.
He remained quiet, aside from his heavy breathing, and stared at the other male in complete shock.
Devin settled back on the couch and curled up beneath his blanket again. He smiled at him. “Goodnight, Nick.” And then he closed his eyes.
Confused, thrilled, and a little turned on, Nick let his head fall back against the couch as another small smile played on his lips.
“Goodnight, indeed,” he whispered, and then he fell asleep.
K
elly
A week had already flown by in the Spencer household. Justin had suddenly gotten into a hellish phase of back-talking and not doing as he was told, and Jamie decided it was time to start potty-training early; Kelly definitely hadn’t been prepared for any of it. Between the sudden chaos her children sprang on her and an unusually high call volume at work—presumably from damage from the storms—she hadn’t had a chance to see Nick and Devin since the morning after their dinner, which was a total disaster, and the breakfast they’d shared before the two said goodbye.
As strange as it seemed, she missed them.
She couldn’t recall too terribly much from their time together that night, but there were fuzzy flashbacks here and there. Sometimes she was certain Nick had been nothing but a gentleman, and other times she couldn’t help but to wonder if more had happened than he’d let on.
But that was silly. Nick didn’t come off as the type of guy who would take advantage of a situation like that; he was kind and warm, and he stayed on her mind more than she wanted to admit.
While dusting—or at least
attempting
to dust—her living room, she stopped briefly to admire the flowers Devin had brought to her. They were wilted and would need to be thrown away soon, but they were the prettiest and sweetest gesture she’d received in a long time.
Maybe Devin truly had changed for the better.
She had to be careful when she brought up the topic of Devin around her friends. While Laney didn’t seem so bothered about it, Jeb’s face contorted with anger, even at the mention of his name. Kelly had learned that the hard way when they’d stopped by to have lunch with her during the week.
“So, Devin’s my neighbor now. Kind of,” she said, picking through her salad. “He lives with this guy named Nick; Nick is the son of Mr. Laveau.”
“As in ‘Laveau of All Trades’?” Laney took a sip of her drink and waited for confirmation before continuing. “How’s that working out? Do you see him out and about a lot?”
“Does he frequent the sidewalk? I might need to drive by,” Jeb muttered, dropping his fork against his plate. It clattered loudly and caused both women to pause and stare at him.
“Jeb.” Laney sighed. “We’ve been over this a million times. Devin isn’t the same person we remember.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” He rolled his eyes. “He’s so innocent and good now, huh? Well, what happens when he finally remembers who he used to be? Then what?”