Page 8 of Something Unprofessional

Ev took the half dozen steps across the living room and ducked through the curtain that separated their shared space from his “bedroom.” He’d been a little worried about the setup at first, but with his bed lofted, he had plenty of room for his keyboard and dresser beneath it, and he’d found a tall cabinet to use as a closet. Owen was a quiet guy, so even when he worked late, Ev didn’t have to worry about getting woken up.Plus, splitting a one-bedroom was a hell of a lot cheaper than the alternative.

Ev’s skin was still buzzing from his accidental performance in the subway. It had been a long time—months—since he’d played a real piano, and he’d almost convinced himself to forget the slide of the ivory keys under his fingers, the vibrations of the notes flowing through him, and the adrenaline rush of an audience watching his every move. He ran his finger along the plastic keys of his old Yamaha. He missed performing, and he also didn’t ever want to think about it again. It was fucked up and complicated—just like everything else involving his childhood. He sighed and shoved his glasses out of the way so he could rub his eyes. He needed a distraction.

He needed to not be a grown-up for a while.

The shower cut off. Finally. Ev hopped up and dashed into the kitchen, leaving his thoughts on the other side of the bedroom curtain. If they still had cheese, he could make grilled cheese sandwiches. One of the few meals involving the stove that he was decent at. He got out the ingredients. Ooh, they had ham too. Protein! Owen would be happy. He complained that Ev’s diet needed to consist of more than just cheese and carbs. Ev didn’t see the problem. Cheese and carbs were delicious, and they were at least half the boxes on the food pyramid. It wasn’t like he only ate sugary stuff. He also loved bacon.

He set the heavy cast-iron skillet on the stove and turned on the heat, the gas whooshing to life and making him jump. He still wasn’t used to that. His old place had had electric. Withsome butter sizzling in the pan, he started buttering the bread and slicing the cheese, already imagining the salty, ooey, gooey goodness. He bobbed his head, humming along to some bit of background music, leaving the assembled sandwiches so he could search the cabinet for chips. He was sure there was a bag somewhere. They hadn’t finished them all yet.

“Ev,” Owen said sharply.

Ev startled and banged his head on the cabinet door. “Oww,” he whined, rubbing the bump as he climbed down off the counter, sadly without chips. “Why’d you scare me like that?” he asked.

Owen, with wet hair and a towel wrapped around his hips, ignored him. He was at the stove, turning down the heat. “I keep telling you, gas isn’t like electric. You don’t need to start it so soon or turn it up so high.” He was wiping out the pan with a paper towel, and—huh—the butter was looking a little black. Oops?

Ev walked over and put his chin on Owen’s damp shoulder, hugging him from behind as he deftly replaced the butter and added the sandwiches to the pan. “Sorry. I forgot.”

Owen’s shoulders heaved in a sigh. “It’s fine. No harm done.” Owen was a nice guy. And a much better cook than Ev.

“Do we have chips? Or apples? I love apples.”

Owen huffed a laugh and reached up to ruffle Ev’s hair, knocking it loose from its slicked-back style. “Yeah. I think. Can you watch this and not burn it while I put on clean clothes?”

Ev nodded and let him go, keeping a close eye on the sizzling bread. It was soslowthis way but probably better than getting burned. Burned was only good on marshmallows and bacon. Ev loved some crispy, crispy bacon. He sighed and flicked his tongue against his labret stud. This weekend, he was going to put in the glass rainbow one. That was his favorite. He’d get Owen to dress up and come out with him. That would cheer him up. The best way to get over a shitty Daddy was to get under a new one—at least temporarily.

Owen came back dressed in PJ pants and his favorite baggy sweatshirt with the sleeves that fell over his hands. He pushed them up to his elbows and bumped Ev out of the way with his hip. “Go shower, and it’ll be ready when you’re done.” He gave Ev an up-and-down glance, his mouth pinched. "You should get comfy. I barely recognize you when you're dressed like that."

Owen wasn't wrong. Ev never felt quite like himself in his professional get-up. And a shower sounded better than standing there waiting, so he did as he was told. The hot water released the last of the stress from his shoulders, and by the time he made it back to the living room, he was feeling a lot better. Owen had set them up on the coffee table and—chips! He’d found them! Ev hopped over the back of the sofa and landed on the cushion next to Owen, bouncing a little. He grabbed a couple chips and crammed them into his mouth. “Yesh!”

Owen shook his head, a hint of a smile on his face. That was better. Owen was someone who always needed to smile. He wasso sunshiny, and it just seemed wrong that anyone would make him sad.

“Thank you,” Ev remembered to say after he swallowed a big bite of his grilled cheese. “Wanna watch a movie with me?” he asked. “You can pick.”

Owen shrugged noncommittally but picked up the remote and found them a movie. Ev wasn’t sure the rom-com about the British prince and the president’s son was the right choice, but he managed to keep his mouth shut about it.

A few minutes into the movie Owen had curled in on himself, shivering, so Ev moved closer and snuggled up against his side. Owen shifted to accommodate him, and Ev grinned to himself. Snuggles made everything better. He pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa and tossed it over their legs. After some more shifting, he ended up in the corner of the sofa with Owen’s head on his chest and their legs tangled together.

“This is nice,” Owen said softly during a quiet part of the movie. “Thanks.”

Ev gave him a squeeze. “Oh, man. You’re in trouble now, ’cause I love cuddles. Finny says I’m clingier than an octopus, and it’s been forever since I had a willing victim.”

Owen snickered and hugged him back. “Well, sign me up. I’m swearing off dating, so I’ll need someone to keep me from getting all touch-starved.”

Ev frowned. That didn’t sound good. The other night, he’d tried to press for what had happened with Scott, but Owen had teared up, shaken his head, and fled the room. Ev hadn’t askedagain, but it must have been bad. Ev bit his tongue and pressed a kiss to the top of Owen’s head. “Well, I’m happy to provide. Just don’t get the wrong idea,” he said, keeping his tone light. “I’m on the hunt for a sexy, silver-fox Daddy. You’re cute and all, but we would never work out.”

Owen laughed. Finally. Ev gave a mental fist pump. “Don’t worry. I’m swearing off men too. And Daddies. I only want you for your octopus arms.” Owen paused. “That sounded kinkier than I meant it to.”

Ev cackled and manhandled Owen so that they were stretched out on the sofa, Owen playing the little spoon. Then, he threw a leg over both of Owen’s and squeezed him tight, a surge of protectiveness flooding him. Whatever the hell Dickwad had done to his friend, Ev was going to do his best to fix it.

“I realize you’re verygood at your job, but you don’t know my daughter like I do. We need to be more aggressive than this.”

Kelsey Monroe, one of Gabe’s newest clients, rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored her mother. Her thumbs never paused in their rapid tapping on her phone. She hadn’t looked up once during the meeting to discuss the publicity strategy Gabe was recommending. Ev was starting to get annoyed at the whole situation, and he had a feeling Gabe was in the same boat, though he was better at hiding it. Kelsey clearly didn’t wantto be there, and her mother had no interest in Gabe’s expert opinion, despite the fact that she was paying him for it.

Ev was next to Kelsey on the sofa, taking notes and trying not to get distracted by the constant buzz of incoming notifications on her phone. He wasn’t sure how she kept up. Maybe it was a girl thing.

Kelsey was an up-and-coming singer. She was a few years younger than Ev, with a pretty face and long, wavy blond hair. Her clothes were expensive in that understated way that the very rich often had. From what Ev understood, she’d released a few singles that hadn’t gotten much traction, so her mother, who was in politics and used to getting her way, had hired DeCain PR to get Kelsey to the next level.

“I’m happy to take any suggestions you have into consideration,” Gabe said with more patience than Ev would have in the situation. “Is there something specific you’d like me to look into?”

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