Page 42 of Another Chance
Luckily, he had something in mind. He had been sent here to do a job, and as of yet, he really hadn’t done it. Well, now he had as long as he wanted to take, but he still wanted to sort through his mother’s things, to clean up the house, to make it ready to live in.
It was, after all, no longer just his house, but also his home. Maybe it had never stopped being his home, just waiting for him to realize that he wanted it.
The sun stayed up later these days, but it was losing its struggle, being pulled toward the west. The sky over that way was clear, and as Theo gazed out his window, he smiled a little bit to see the sunbeams pushing through the remaining light clouds and turning the light, misty drizzle which still fell over the little town of Fall City into a shower of rainbows.
It looked like diamonds were falling from the sky, and Theo let himself smile wistfully as he looked at it. He was tired, after a long day of making hard decisions, but he was finished, completely and totally, in the master bedroom and he’d started in the living room. He’d even gone online and purchased new mattresses for the beds.
It was about time. He had been achingly aware of each and every second which had passed, even as he labored. Eric would be coming home soon, and Theo intended to be there to meet him.
He should have been having doubts, he supposed. After all, he was putting himself out there. His plan was basically to reach into his own chest, pull out his beating heart, and offer it to Eric, and that put him in the most intensely vulnerable position of his life.
Still, Eric had done it for him. Eight years ago, almost exactly, a twenty-year-old Eric had offered himself to Theo, and Theo had been too scared to take him up on it. It seemed only fair that he give Eric the same chance that Eric had given him, to make himself open, to put himself out there.
To offer his heart, and his love, and everything that went along with it.
Theo took a deep breath, and despite the fact that he was more than aware that there was a good chance that Eric was going to reject him, he couldn’t help the hopeful smile which stretched his lips.
He walked right through his front door and across the street, and he could literally hear the thrum of his pulse echoing in his ears, nerves making a coppery taste rise in the back of his throat. No, not nerves, fear.
His legs shook, and he was relieved to be able to seat himself on the swing where he had sat with Faith before everything had gone right to hell. Or, more accurately, he supposed, he had been here while everything was right in the middle of going to hell.
Well, he would fix it here, too. He hoped.
The black truck drove up, the engine rumbling, and Theo took a deep breath and tried to force his heart back down into his chest where it belonged. It seemed like it might beat right out of it.
Eric could just drive on past, Theo knew. He was making no effort to hide his presence on the porch, and if Eric really didn’t want to see him, he wouldn’t have to. No answer at all, Theo figured, could be an answer in itself.
He closed his eyes, not able to make himself watch. If Eric did drive away, he didn’t want to see it. He would take the hint, and he would walk away, but …
The low, happy rumble of the truck’s motor was suddenly cut off, and Theo forced his eyes to open. Eric was there, in his driveway, swinging out of the cab of the truck with that same smooth, almost animal grace that he had always shown. Stepping lightly to the ground, Eric walked slowly, deliberately, over the concrete driveway, up the stairs to where Theo sat.
There was no question about whether Eric had seen him or not. The recognition was there in his eyes, as clear as anything. The glimmering green orbs were fixated on him, not looking away, seemingly not blinking, even.
For a moment, Eric just stood on the patio, maybe a foot from Theo. If he wanted, if he had been brave enough, Theo could have reached out and touched him. He didn’t quite dare, but if he breathed in deeply enough, he could swear that he could almost even smell Eric.
Disheveled, tired Eric, in dirty jeans, his hands grimy from the work of the day. Eric, with those kissable lips and the strong, firm body which drove Theo crazy. Eric, who had always been the one for him, and maybe, just maybe, from the look on Eric’s face, Theo hadn’t completely fucked that up.
Theo was falling, and Eric could catch him. For a moment, though, he thought he was doomed because Eric was unlocking his door and pushing it open and Theo wondered if Eric would just walk right past him without saying a word or even acknowledging his presence.
Only Theo should have known better, because when, in their whole history, had Eric not been there for him if Theo needed him? The eight years apart, one might argue, only that had been Theo’s fault. If he’d been brave enough back then, things would be much different now.
So he would just have to be brave now.
“Come in, Teddy,” Eric didn’t look at him, he showed Theo his profile, but his words were clear, and there could be no doubt what they meant. Then Eric was gone, disappearing into the dark house, but Theo didn’t waste any time getting to his feet and following him inside.
