Page 20 of American Love Story

I looked over at Ari and Yin who were now making out more than actually unpacking, then gestured for Nesto to come closer, hoping to get the conversation off of me for a minute.

“So how are things going at Ari’s? He said his uncle was still angry about the texts from Yin he saw on his phone.”

Nesto’s face turned sour at the mention of Ari’s uncle. “He’s still giving him a hard time. I don’t want to push him to move out, because the only way he can pay for school is by saving on rent, but at this point, I’m almost ready to have him come live with Jude and me for a while.” Nesto sucked his teeth, clearly upset by the situation. “It’s fucking ridiculous, but he can’t burn that bridge because the uncle is helping him with his green card shit.” Nesto’s face hardened at that. “The guy is an asshole and so manipulative.”

I thought about the green card thing for a second. “I wonder if I can help out with that. I mean I can sponsor him, if that’s the issue. We made tentative plans to finally get together this weekend.” Between the move and Ari’s two jobs and school, wehadn’t been able to lock down a time, but we’d settled on dinner Saturday.

Nesto nodded at that. “Good, I was hoping you could get that going.” He looked over again at the two young men and turned back to me. “I don’t know if you can just switch since his uncle started the process. It’s better for us to talk to him about it.” Nesto squeezed my shoulder. “I’m glad that you’re doing this. The more people he has in his corner, the better.”

“He’s a good kid.”

Nesto nodded again. “They both are, and they deserve to be fucking carefree and happy after all the shit they’ve lived through. At least Yin’s started going to therapy. Ari needs it, too.”

I almost wanted to go back to talking about Easton, because all of this stuff was heavy and too close to home. As if I conjured him up, I heard a knock on my open apartment door and turned around to see him standing in the hallway outside, holding a bottle of something.

Nesto just chuckled beside me. “What where you saying about the ‘just friends’ plan, P?”

I wasn’t going to answer.

I stood up from the stool I was sitting on and walked over to the door. I probably looked like a slob in cutoff sweats and an old Yankees tank top.

He, on other hand, looked perfect.

He still had on his work clothes. Gray slacks that fit him like a glove with a green-and-blue gingham shirt. No tie. When I looked down, he was barefoot, which for some reason only made him look hotter. Everything about Easton turned me on so fucking much.

I waved him in from his perch on my door. “Hey. Come in. We’re just unpacking. These guys have been helping, but they need to go soon. Nesto has to go back to the restaurant and thesetwo have school tomorrow.” I turned to Yin and Ari who were standing close and holding hands.

Ari kissed Yin’s head and nodded. “Yeah, this one has classes at SUNY Cortland, so he needs to be up early. We should be heading out.” They got moving as I pointed at the bottle and raised my eyebrow in question.

“Oh, just some bubbly to toast your moving day.”

Easton handed it to me and walked inside to say hello to the guys. I went to the fridge and put the bottle into chill. By the time I got back, Nesto was unsurprisingly pushing Ari and Yin out the door.

“I need to be in by 6:30 p.m. so I can be there for the rest of the dinner service.” He looked at his watch. “If you guys need a ride back, we gotta go now.”

He talked while looking at me, a shit-eating grin on his face.

I mouthed, “I know what you’re doing” as I worked very hard at keeping a straight face.

Ari and Yin were ready to go in seconds and within a minute, I was walking them to the door. Easton was sitting on my couch watching it all unfold, that placid expression he almost always wore on his face.

Before finally getting the hell out of my apartment, Nesto waved at Easton. “See you later, man. Take care of this guy for me. Feed him, too; we haven’t even had time to order food.”

Easton’s smile was a little leery, like he wasn’t sure what reception he would get. But he still nodded, and with his eyes fixed on me, he assured Nesto I was in good hands.

I closed the door to the apartment and walked to the couch and sat on the coffee table across from him. I could tell myself all kinds of things, but it was going to be very hard to ignore the effect that Easton’s mere presence had on me.

“Thanks for the champagne. I’d offer you some, but I haven’t had food since like 11:00 a.m. this morning, and I’m a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.”

He shook his head and leaned in a little, trying to move closer.

“I didn’t bring it for you to open it for me. You can do it later, drink it with whomever you want.”

I gestured to the stainless steel refrigerator which now held the bottle of champagne and nothing else. “I’d love to drink it with you, after I have something to eat. I’m sure there’s something we could order. I haven’t had time to go food shopping yet.” I grimaced, pointing at the takeout bag Nesto had brought from the restaurant. “I love Ernesto like a brother, but I can’t eat another burrito.” Easton cracked a sympathetic smile at that and stood up suddenly.

“If you’re up for it, I can make something at my place.” He said it tentatively, like he was pretty sure he was getting a yes but didn’t want to seem too cocky, either.

I wasn’t sure what I was doing with Easton. I really didn’t. It seemed like my ability to follow through on boundaries just didn’t work when it came to him.