Page 32 of Colin

His dad reached over his walker to shake Dane’s hand, a bemused smile forming on his lips. “Oh, have you? I know you two, I think. The handsome twins around the block. Betty next door is smitten with the two of you.” He gave Colin a far-too-knowing look before stepping back from the doorway. “My Colin’s been so cagey about his living situation. Come in, come in.”

They followed him into the kitchen. Dane, who’d transformed into some 1950sLeave It to Beaverschoolboy, pulled out a chair for Colin’s dad, then settled in the chair next to him.

His dad’s eyes were bright with interest. “Tell me how my boy’s doing.”

Oh God. Colin tried to protest—he hadn’t brought the twins here so his dad could grill them on Colin’s mental state—but Dane was already speaking over him. “He’s doing great. His art is fantastic. Have you seen it? And he takes such good care of us.”

“Jesus.” Colin shifted in place, unsure if he wanted to take a seat or run a mile in the opposite direction. “I just clean a little,” he told his dad desperately. “They’re slobs.”

“He’s always been a good caretaker, my Colin.” His dad leaned in toward Dane conspiratorially. “He makes me lunch every day, you know.”

“Oh my God, it’s just sandwiches. Or takeout half the time.”

Fox pulled out his own chair next to Colin’s dad, giving Colin a stern look. “More than you eat with us.”

What on earth was happening?

Colin’s dad chuckled, as if the three of them were the best of friends. “You have to leave easy stuff around the house. Stuff he can pick up without thinking. That’s how to get him.”

“Dad.”

“What? It’s true. You go off into your own head. It’s part of what makes you great.”

Colin deflated. How could he be pissed at that? He ignored the heat now engulfing his cheeks and shot a glare at the twins. “We’re having cold cuts,” he said stiffly. “Are you two eating?”

“Yes, please,” they answered in unison.

So fucking polite.

He turned with a huff to the fridge, keeping an ear out for their chatter while he made their sandwiches. He stiffened when his dad asked them what they did for a living, then bit back a laugh when they answered with some bullshit about work-from-home finance. It was the biggest crock of shit he’d ever heard—he’d never even seen them touch a computer—but his dad seemed to accept it easily enough.

He placed the sandwiches on the table but remained standing, uncertain of which seat to choose. Dane solved it for him, pushing the chair next to him out with his foot. Colin took it, relaxing slightly when Dane set a hand on his knee, squeezing gently as they dug in.

They ate together quietly enough, and when Colin got up to do what little dishes there were, Fox followed him up from the table and pushed him gently away from the sink with a hand on his lower back.

It wasn’t until his dad caught his eye that Colin realized how much they were touching him. Nothing overt, but it was definitely…intimate.

And his dad was no fool.

He did his best not to panic. Tried not to imagine his dad suddenly quizzing the twins on their intentions toward him. Which was a bit hard to manage, since once they were all back at the table, a silence falling for the first time, his dad seemed to size it all up, looking to Dane, then to Fox, then back to Colin, that same bemused, lopsided smile from the doorway on his lips.

Then all it once it brightened into a real grin, one Colin would swear was less crooked than it had been a week ago.

He shot Colin a wink.

“So you gentlemen ever play Hearts?”

The twins waited until they were out of the house to complain.

“I think your dad cheats,” Fox accused in a whisper, as if Colin’s father could hear them from almost a block away.

Colin bit his lip to keep in a smile, even though neither would have been able to see him, with him walking ahead of both of them. “He most definitely does not. You two are just bad at cards.”

Dane spoke up. “We’re out of practice.”

“He’ll fix that, if you let him.”

He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth. They implied he thought they were going to keep visiting his dad with him, like some kind of…vampire boyfriends.

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