Page 6 of Twice Shy

“Yeah?” Morgan’s eyes darted to Ollie’s hand as it fell back to his side.

He hoped he hadn’t offended the guy’s hetero sensibilities. “I just wanted to say thanks for encouraging me to stay this evening. The boys had fun. And so did I.”

“Me too.” For a brief, flickering moment Morgan’s eyes met his. Ollie felt the contact like a tiny spark behind his breastbone, a suggestion of something more. Then Morgan cleared his throat, turning to look out over the sports field and Ollie wondered whether he was imagining things. “I, um,” Morgan said. Then, “Oh...”

A familiar wail rose up into the golden evening, and Ollie saw Luis flat on his face in the grass while Rory and friends hared off without him. “Crap,” he sighed, and headed over at a jog. Alyssa had already reached Luis, hoisting him up onto her hip and dusting him down. “It’s okay,” Ollie said when he reached them, pulling Luis into his arms. “I’ve got him.”

“Sure you do.” Alyssa gave him a curious smile. “Uh, you need something for his knee?”

Ollie looked down and saw the bloody scrape on Luis’s knee. “Crap.” He patted his pockets one-handed but didn’t even have a Kleenex.

“Here.” From her copious bag, Alyssa pulled a small pack of antiseptic wipes and pressed one onto Luis’s knee. “Hold that, I’ve got a Band-Aid somewhere.”

Ollie knew she was being kind, but he kicked himself for needing the help; a real parent would have had all this covered. Ollie always felt like he was running to catch up.

With a sigh, he cuddled Luis while Alyssa put the Band-Aid on his knee and gradually Luis’s outraged wails subsided into weary grizzles and he started rubbing his face against Ollie’s shoulder. Time to get him home and into bed. Luckily, the other kids were leaving too, so after he’d thanked Alyssa, it wasn’t difficult to drag Rory away from his friends. Ollie snagged his hand as they made their way over the dry grass to the parking lot, Luis still clamped on his hip.

Morgan was packing away the grill, the rosy evening light adding a golden glow to his skin. Ollie wondered who he was going home to tonight. And then told himself not to be stupid—romance, even a low-key crush, was a distraction he didn’t need. He had a million more important things going on in his life. But perhaps his gaze lingered too long, because Morgan lifted his head from where he was wiping down the table and, across the sports field, their eyes met. Ollie dropped Rory’s hand to give an awkward wave and Morgan returned the gesture before getting back to work.

Something twanged in Ollie’s chest, a little pang of loneliness or disappointment. Stupid. Ignoring the feeling, he picked up Rory’s hand again and squeezed it. “Hey, how about we pick up ice cream on the way home?”

“Three scoops and sprinkles!”

“Spwinkles,” Luis echoed sleepily.

Ollie chuckled. “Onescoop, Buster.”

“Ten scoops!”

“Uh-huh,” he said as they crossed the parking lot to the car. “You think you could eattenscoops?”

“I could eat amillionscoops!”

The debate lasted all the way into town.

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