Page 9 of Sugared

He set his mug of tea aside and scooted closer to Leland, reaching for the fly of his jeans.

Leland was so shocked he nearly spilled his tea.

FOUR

Happiness had becomea foreign concept to Ean in the last few months. Or maybe the last few years. Everything was starting to meld together in his head, like his experiences over the last stretch of his life were like the basil, garlic, and everything else he’d blended in the food processor to make pesto. His life was pesto, but he’d never been happier.

It was that unfamiliar happiness that caused him to jump to what his scrambled but grateful brain told him he wanted. Cock. He wanted cock. Specifically, Leland’s cock. Not in a selfish or horny way, although he was definitely horny, what with his stomach full, his body clean, and a warm home around him. He was just so happy that he wanted to make the man who had given him that happiness feel good.

But Leland had other ideas.

“Whoa, whoa! Hold up there,” he said, dropping the remote and placing a hand on Ean’s shoulder to push him back just as Ean had started to lean forward and down.

Leland could have thrown the hot tea on him and he wouldn’t have felt more scalded. He pulled back, nearly falling off the couch in his efforts to cover for the horrible mistake he’d just made.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he gasped, tears stinging in his eyes. Bloody hell, was he going to cry every time something happened to him now? “I thought you wanted it. I thought I could pay you back. It was a stupid idea. I’ll just go now.”

He leaped off the couch and stumbled over his feet as he launched himself toward the door.

“Ean, hold on, wait!”

Leland put his tea down, splashing it as he did, then jumped up and chased after him. He caught Ean before he made it to the door and pulled him into an embrace.

The embrace was enough to both freeze Ean in his tracks and melt his brain with confusion.

“Take it easy,” Leland said, shifting his initial tight hug into a gentler hold. He rubbed Ean’s back with one hand as he did. “Breathe, sweetie. I’ve got you.”

That did it. Ean didn’t know shit about the world or how he was supposed to function in it, but he knew he was quiet and bottomy, and probably subby while he was at it, even though he didn’t think he was particularly kinky. There was just something about having a kind, older, bigger man who he really, really liked calling him “sweetie” and holding him that made the cold, cruel, too-fast world stop for a second.

“That’s better,” Leland said, then kissed the top of Ean’s head.

Ean closed his eyes and leaned into him. It was so, so wrong to let his guard down and believe that he’d found a savior. He’d fostered hope that someone might swoop in and be able to save him before, but that definitely hadn’t happened. Leland was different, though. Leland was the real deal.

“Let’s just sit down again and drink our tea and talk about this, okay?” Leland let go and turned him gently to walk him back to the couch.

Even though he wasn’t trying to run anymore, Ean’s heart pounded hard against his ribs. His emotions were all over the place. That old traitor, hope, pulsed loudly inside him, but he was so ashamed of his behavior. At the same time, when Leland sat again and pulled him down to sit beside him, so close their sides smushed up against each other, feelings of comfort and trust started to grow and overtake the spikier emotions.

“Alright, let’s deal with this one bit at a time,” Leland said. He leaned across Ean and reached for his mug, then handed it to him before grabbing his own. “I don’t expect anything from you and I’m definitely not making any demands. We’re just two mates sitting around, drinking tea, and working through a problem.”

“Okay,” Ean said, then hid his red face by taking a long drink from his mug. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a good cup of tea. He closed his eyes and let it wash through him, making the world better.

“Right,” Leland said after swallowing. “Now, tell me more about your parents kicking you out. You said it was because you’re gay?”

Ean nodded, his heart sinking. Leland probably hated him because he was gay, too.

Then again, that didn’t make sense. He’d been honest with Leland about his sexuality from the start and Leland hadn’t pushed him away or sneered at him. The way he’d touched his hand down in the kitchen a few times, the way he’d hugged him several times now….

“I wish I could say I was surprised,” Leland said, resting a hand on Ean’s leg, “but I should have known. When I came out to Davie, he ended our friendship then and there.”

Ean’s eyes went wide as the very thing he’d just been wondering about was proven true.

“You’re gay?” he asked.

Leland had gone to take another sip of tea and nearly choked on it. “You didn’t know?”

Ean blinked, then shook his head. Then his face pinched as he felt unbelievably stupid. “How did I not know?”

“I have no idea,” Leland laughed. “I’ve always been pretty open. But it sounds like you’ve been dealing with so much of your own stuff that you might not have thought about me at all.”

---