Page 98 of Wants and Needs
“You just want Milton’s cooking again, don’t you?”
“Of course I want his cooking again,” Mike says, like it’s obvious. “But Theo and I wanna hang out too. We heard something about Liam getting a dog? And also about your study session with CJ and Adam.”
For some reason that cracks Mike up and has Carter rolling his eyes.
“I’ll check first with Liam and see if he wants to put up with you during dinner, then I’ll call Milton and let you know,” Carter tells him.
“Awesome. Later, man.” The call disconnects and I need to know.
“What was that about a study session?”
“Right,” he says softly. “The day you... the day after Tristan gave you the news and you went home alone I asked Adam and CJ to give me some tips on gay sex.”
I think about that for a moment and decide I’m still confused.
“Why is that a study session?”
“Back in college, grades were very important to the three of us, so during the summer when Adam was busy training for football, we sometimes had all-night study sessions at CJ’s apartment to prepare for the semester. CJ called it a sex study session,” he mutters.
I suck both lips into my mouth to keep from laughing because Carter doesn’t seem to be in a laughing mood, but he turns to look at me for a second and his face relaxes.
“You can laugh,” he says and sighs.
Admittedly I only chuckle a little, but then I think of something to say that will make him smile as well.
“If they ask, you can tell them you got an A.”
I do get a smile, though a quick one. “Not an A-plus?” he asks with a smirk.
“There’s always room for improvement,” I say with mock seriousness, and that finally gets me a laugh.
“So, would you like to have dinner with my friends tonight?”
“I would. They’re all nice.”
And from growing up knowing a lot of famous people, I know not all of them are.
“They are nice, and if anyone ever isn’t nice to you, we don’t have to hang out with them.” He reaches over and pats my leg. I grab his hand before he can take it away and bring it up to my lips. I like how soft his skin is.
I don’t comment on his last remark, though, because I don’t always understand when people aren’t being nice, especially if I don’t know them well. It feels nice that he cares, though. Very nice.
“I know how important they are to you, that they’re your family, so of course I want to get to know them better.”
“That means a lot to me, darling,” he says, his voice sounding raspier, so I think he’s feeling emotional over something but I don’t know exactly what.
Maybe changing the subject will help?
“You should call Milton now.”
We leavethe car in the same garage where we picked it up, and then we wait hand in hand for the car Carter ordered to take us to my building.
When we kiss before he climbs in, I think about how domestic and comforting that simple action feels.
I don’t have an eidetic memory, but I’m pretty sure I never felt that way with Dirk even years after we’d been together.
Does that mean the signs were there all along and I never saw them?
Does it matter?
