Page 56 of Free Me

Miko was so confused he eventually called Emory to vent the whole thing. And Emory, the king of multitasking, listened to Miko ramble on about the issue while also (from what Miko could hear) wrangling at least two of the triplets through a diaper change. Miko heard Kell in the background, as well. Miko missed the days when he and his best friend could sit without interruption and vent to each other, but those days were long past them now. Everything changed when kids arrived.

“You should call Frey,” Emory said when Miko ran out of steam.

“Frey? Why?” Miko knew Frey Freel, who was mated to Emory’s honorary cousin Gaven, but Miko and Frey weren’t exactly friends. Frey was six years older than Miko, and he’d just given birth to his and Gaven’s first son less than six months ago.

“Because his sire owns that private cottage up in Ampshire Province. His sire let Eriq and me used it for a long weekend to celebrate our six-month-mating anniversary, so I’m sure he’d let you and Linus use it for a few days.”

It wasn’t a terrible idea. A brief vacation to another province that Miko had never seen? “But you guys went in the fall whenit was still semi-warm. It’s the middle of winter. The lake is probably frozen.”

“Yeah, and you’ll get to see some real snow! Not just pictures but to actually see it and roll around in it. Maybe even build a snowman.”

“That could…be fun, actually. Do you think Linus’s parents would let him go on a long trip, though?”

“Dude, Linus is twenty-one. He’s way beyond a legal adult, so they can’t really stop him. As long as his doctor and physical therapist say it’s okay, why not?” A baby squawked, and Emory laughed. “See, even Ferran agrees with me. Ask Linus what he thinks first, and then call Frey. I doubt he’ll say no.”

“Okay.” Miko grinned at nothing in particular. “Okay, I’ll do that. Thank you. I knew calling you was a good idea.”

“And don’t ever forget it. Let me know what you guys end up doing. And congrats, again. This is a big step for you, but I can tell by the way you talk that you’re ready. Just make sure Linus is ready, too.”

“I will. Love you, brother.”

“Love you back, Miko. Ack! Misha is trying to climb the dresser. Talk later!”

Miko chuckled as the call ended abruptly. He’d helped babysit the triplets a couple of times, and he’d barely survived those afternoons. He could not imagine how Emory, Eriq, and their collective parents wrangled those kids twenty-four-seven.

Armed with his new plan, Miko left the university campus lounge where he’d made the call after his final exam. He’d met an underclassman there to sell one of his textbooks that he no longer needed, and now the rest of his winter break was his. He took the bus to the Higgs house, and he was delighted to find Linus, Caden, and his mate Zaq in the living room playing a video game. Well, Linus and Zaq were playing the two-man game, while Caden watched and snacked on popcorn.

“Does no one have a job in this family?” Miko joked as he hung up his coat.

Caden blew a very mature raspberry at him. “Zaq and I are having dinner at my parents’ house in a little while, but we figured we’d annoy this nutcase first.” He pointed his foot at Linus, who quickly flipped him off without looking away from the game.

“Oh, that’s cool. Annoy away.”

Miko loved the mated pair, but he was also happy to see them bundle up and leave thirty minutes later, giving him and Linus privacy for…well, could be minutes, could be hours. Hard to tell with the comings and goings, and he’d noticed Isa had been out more recently. No idea what he was doing, but Miko loved that the older alpha was trying to be less of a homebody for their sake.

“So I have an unusual proposition for you,” Miko said once he and Linus had snuggled up together on the couch. “I know it’s a little last-minute and kind of bonkers, but hear me out.”

“Of course.” Linus played with the curly ends of Miko’s hair. “What’s up?”

“I know the Solstice Gala is coming up next weekend, and we’ve already decided to go together, because you owe me a first dance, but I also really want a chance for us to be alone and intimate before that, and I don’t want to do it the night of the gala, because it’s like copycatting Peyton and Layne’s first time, and I have a wild idea if you wanna.”

Linus chuckled. “Okay, I think I followed all that. And I agree. I’d love to spend some real time alone with you, just us for longer than two hours, with lots of privacy. I also completely get not wanting our first time to be after the gala. I mean, I’m cool with that if you want to, but I’m crazy curious about this wild idea of yours.”

“It’s actually Emory’s idea. He suggested I call Frey and ask about using the Porter family cottage up in Ampshire for a day or two. We could play around in real snow, have a cottage all to ourselves, even if just for twenty-four hours.”

“Wow, okay.” Linus grinned at him, affection shining in his eyes. “What did Frey say?”

“I haven’t asked. I wanted to make sure you were cool with the trip before I made any plans. I mean, you’d have to miss PT at least once, and your omegin will probably hate the idea of you going so far away this soon after the accident.”

“He won’t like it, but if my doctor says I’m fine to travel, he can’t really stop me.” Linus’s expression went briefly distant, and then he nodded. “Okay, let’s call Frey and ask. Worst-case scenario is he says no, and we figure out something else.” He lightly touched Miko’s cheek. “You’re sure you’re ready for this step? Us having sex?”

“Yes. I mean, we don’t have to explicitly plan on intercourse for this trip, but if it happens, I am all for it happening, and I really want to just be with you. You know? No matter what ends up going where.”

Linus laughed at the vague description. “I know. How about we bring supplies, and then we just…be together. I really want to make love to you, Miko, but there’s also no rush.”

“No rush.” Miko gave the living room a pointed look. “But privacy and time is also a hell of a turn-on. I don’t want quickie blow jobs while your parents are out, or parking under a bridge for a little privacy to rub off. All that sounds like thrilling fun later.” He winked. “But not yet. Not when we’ve both waited so long to find each other.”

Linus’s cheeks had flushed, and he seemed turned-on by the idea of sex in a car under the bridge. He loved showing off on the soccer field. Did Linus Higgs have a hidden exhibitionist streakthat Miko didn’t know about? He kind of hoped so and wanted to know more. Soon.

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