Page 59 of Homecoming for Beginners

If Theo looked none the worse for wear, the same could not be said of Ty, who looked like he’d just come off a three-day bender. Ollie didn’t think stress could make your beard come in any faster, but he could swear Ty’s face was scruffier than normal for this time in the afternoon, and he had dark circles under his eyes. In his left hand he held a phone charger, still new in the box; he had a half-empty paper cup of coffee in the right.

“I called about a hundred times, but my phone died half an hour ago. Probably shouldn’t have spent my prep this morning watchingYouTube videos about weird birds. Anyway, Peggy sent me Cassie’s number earlier in case she had a better way to reach you, but when Theo fell asleep, I hit up the gift shop—”

Finally Ollie found his voice. “You’ve been here the whole time?”

Ty tilted his head like the question didn’t make sense. “I wasn’t going to let the school send someone else—”

The guilt flowed out again, but this time something warm and bright filled the vacuum. Of course Ty hadn’t let Theo be alone and scared. Of course he’d kept calling Ollie until his phone died, and called in reinforcements when he couldn’t get through. Never mind that he and Cassie barely knew each other and the town thought he was ahoodlum—that would never stop Ty from making sure Theo was looked after.

“—even if he is giving me the silent treatment,” Ty added, half wry, half hurt, and still twice the speed of his normal speech.

Ollie glanced from Ty to Theo, who hadn’t stirred. Before he could ask why Theo would do that, Ty went on. He was talking even faster now, like he was worried Ollie might be angry if he didn’t explain before Ollie could get a word in.

“He tried to make me promise he wouldn’t have to go to the hospital.” He grimaced but didn’t pause long enough for Ollie to interject. “I couldn’t do that, obviously, especially after the second bee got him.”

Ollie had a hundred questions—how many times had he been stung, how bad had things gotten, whether they could expect his next reaction to be worse—but Ty didn’t give him an opening to ask. That made sense, kind of, since Ty had had several hours to get worked into his anxiety spiral, and Ollie had only had a fraction of that. “Ty—”

“I mean, it’s hard to blame him for not wanting to go to the hospital.” Ty’s hands got in on the talking, and he gestured around at the sterile walls painted an overly cheerful pastel green, the industrial window with its scenic view of the parking lot, the monitoring equipment beeping softly in the corner.

“Ty—”

“Given his history and everything—”

It dawned on Ollie that if he wanted Ty to stop talking, he would have to physically make him. And that was what he intended to do—raise his hand, put his finger over Ty’s lips, and finally let out thethank youthat was blistering the inside of his mouth.

Except that somewhere between his brain and his arm, his heart intercepted the message, and instead of putting a finger to Ty’s lips, he pulled Ty in with one hand on his waist and the other on the back of his neck and pressed their mouths together.

Something electric zinged down his spine. Under his hands, Ty stilled and then shivered. Ollie had caught him mid-word and his lips were open, and when Ty breathed a tiny noise of surprise, Ollietastedit.

He wanted more.

Before he could chase after it, Ty pulled back, just the slightest pressure against Ollie’s right hand. He didn’t go far, only enough to look into Ollie’s eyes with his own, blue irises sharp with curiosity and want. Ollie watched them flick down to his lips, and then he didn’t know which of them had moved, but they were kissing again, Ty’s hands in his hair and on his ass, his chest firm against Ollie’s, his mouth wet around Ollie’s tongue.

Something thunked, and Ty inhaled quickly. Oh. That was Ty’s skull hitting the wall. Ollie had pushed him into it in his enthusiasm. But Ty didn’t pull away, and some long-banked fire in Ollie’s chest roared to life and surged through him—the compulsion to learn all of this man, every tattoo and scar, every bruise and ticklish spot, all of the secret places that made him gasp and beg and moan.

And then the speaker overhead crackled. “Paging Dr. Robinson. Please check in at the nurses’ station.”

This time the noise Ty made was kind of a whimpered laugh, as the metaphorical cold water washed over Ollie and he drew back.

Ty licked already wet lips and Ollie immediately wanted to kiss him again. Just not here, in his son’s hospital room, where anyone could see them, when they hadn’t had a chance to figure outanything, when they hadn’t even—

“Um,” Ty said. His cheeks were very pink, the apples plumped by a shy, unrestrained smile. Any moment now he’d say something likeAw, shucks.

Ollie adored him.

“You, um, wanted to say something?”

Did he? “Uh.” Ollie tried to remember what had been going through his mind a minute ago, but he came up empty. His cheeks went hot. “I forgot.”

Ty blinked rapidly a handful of times and curled his lips over his teeth, but Ollie could still see the smile threatening, and he only lasted a second before a laugh burst out of him.

Ollie snickered too, but he covered his mouth with one hand so Theo didn’t wake up to find his dad howling with laughter in his hospital room. Ollie didn’t want him to get the wrong impression. Except the harder he tried to keep it in, the louder Ty’s suppressed laughter got, until finally Ollie grabbed his arm and pulled him into the hallway, where they both collapsed against the wall until they could breathe again.

“We’re a pair, huh?” Ty commented, smiling vaguely up at the fluorescent lighting.

I hope so, Ollie thought. He reached over and threaded his fingers through Ty’s. “I remember what I was going to say.”

Ty turned to face him.

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