Page 8 of Sugared

Ean made a small noise of surprise and held his arms at odd angles, since his hands were wet and soapy. He was stiff for a moment, but then he relaxed into Leland’s chest with a sigh.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but you make it better.”

It was the simplest and sweetest statement Leland had ever heard, and it made him hug Ean tighter.

Which was wonderful, except that was how Robbie Hawthorne and his boyfriend, Toby Tillman, who also worked as the Hawthorne Community Arts Center’s business manager, found them.

“Hey, Leland, we have a few questions about the Valentine’s Day supper,” Robbie asked as they entered the kitchen.

Both men stopped when they saw Leland and Ean in their embrace. Leland let Ean go, but that felt wrong. Being caught hugging someone who Robbie and Toby probably thought was a student must have looked even more wrong, though.

“Hi, guys,” Leland greeted them, trying to remain outwardly calm while scrambling to make things right. “This is a friend of mine, Ean Jones. If it’s alright with you, he’ll be staying with me for a while.” He paused slightly as Robbie and Toby exchanged a look, then told Ean, “This is Robbie Hawthorne and Toby Tillman.”

“Oh. Hi,” Ean said, lowering his head. Leland wasn’t hugging him anymore, so he hugged himself as if he were trying to hide.

Leland would have to deal with that in a minute. “I’ve got answers to whatever questions you might have about Valentine’s Day,” he said.

Toby nodded, then said, “The budget seems a little…large.”

“I told him that we can’t skimp on something like this, but you know how efficiency experts are,” Robbie added, grinning sideways at his beau.

“Hawthorne House has only just started operating at a teeny, tiny, minuscule profit,” Toby argued back. “If you want to keep things in the black, you can’t go on spending like an artist.”

“It’s absolutely worth it,” Robbie told him, his smile broadening. “Mostly it’s worth it to get a reaction out of you.”

“This is how you choose to get a reaction out of me?” Toby fired back, desire in his eyes as he squared off with Robbie. “By breaking Hawthorne House’s budget?”

Leland cleared his throat. The conversation in front of him was definitely about to head someplace he didn’t really want to witness. As soon as Robbie and Toby turned to him, he said, “I can work on the budget for the event. I was going to get the teen pastry class to help with desserts for the supper, but I’m not sure they’re really up to it.”

“I could help,” Ean offered. He had so much hope in his eyes, but that immediately dampened when Robbie and Toby looked at him. “I mean, if you want me to. I don’t know how to make desserts, but I’m sure if you tell me I could figure it out.”

“I’d be happy to have your help,” Leland said, resting a hand on Ean’s shoulder.

“Can we afford to hire someone else?” Toby asked Robbie. He lowered his voice and muttered, “I’m still on the fence about whether we can afford to hire a cooking teacher.”

Prickles broke out down Leland’s back. He was almost certain Toby had only said that to tease Robbie. The Hawthorne family had been more than happy to hire him and to expand the arts center’s offerings for cooking classes. But a frustrating niggle of the idea that Toby was serious and that he had to prove himself and his worth poked at Leland.

“Don’t worry,” he said, trying to sound as confident as possible. “I’ll make certain the Valentine’s Day supper is a smash hit, and I’ll bring it in under budget as I do.”

“I’m sure you’ll do a fantastic job,” Robbie said. He turned to Toby and repeated, “I’m sure he’ll do a fantastic job. Now stop harassing our staff and find something more productive to do with your time.”

“Is that a threat or a challenge?” Toby asked as the two of them headed out of the room.

Robbie just laughed.

As soon as they were gone, Leland breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t really need to worry about his place at Hawthorne House, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t highly motivated to make the Valentine’s Day supper an event to remember.

“Are you sure I should be here?” Ean asked, turning back to the sink to finish with the dishes. “They seemed kind of…uptight.”

“That’s just how Toby is,” Leland said, turning around to help him. “You’re fine. I’ll make sure of it.”

Ean smiled at him, but he was still anxious. It made sense, really. After everything Ean had been through recently, he was bound to be on edge and insecure about housing as well as food. Leland promised himself he would do whatever needed to be done to put him at ease.

They finished cleaning the kitchen and putting it to bed for the night, then headed back upstairs to Leland’s flat. Since they’d already had dinner, they didn’t have to worry about that once they settled in for the night. Ean followed Leland into his kitchen while he made tea, and once they both had a cup, they relocated to the main room and sat on the couch.

“So we should probably discuss sleeping arrangements,” Leland said, reaching for the remote to turn the telly on with his free hand.

“You can fuck me if you’d like,” Ean answered quickly and breathlessly. “Or I could give you a blow job. It’s the least I could do after all the kindness you’ve shown me. I’ll do it right now if you want me to.”

---