Nick woke to the earth rumbling. He had enough presence to know he wasn’t in a war zone and it wasn’t the rumble of tanks or the ground shaking from incoming fire, but it took him a minute to sort out that he was at Teddy’s house, in Teddy’s soft bed, Teddy pressed up against him like he was a cat and Nick was his radiator. He even stretched like a feline, spine rolling and a lazy yawn escaping.
“What’s that sound?” Nick demanded.
“It’s nothing.” Teddy petted his shoulder like Nick was a cranky dog. “Just Uncle Liam plowing my driveway. He loves to plow, so he always gets an early start. Just ignore it. He’ll be done soon.”
But Nick couldn’t. He sat up and cast around for his boxers. He couldn’t be in here naked while Teddy’s relative was outside. Just felt too weird.
“Don’t worry.” Teddy rubbed his biceps, trying to tug Nick backward, his other hand stroking down Nick’s chest. “Come back here. Let me give you a proper wake-up.”
“We cannot have sex right now.” Or ever again. Nick was going to have to have that talk with Teddy at some point, but one thing at a time. And underwear. Underwear would help. The sex last night had been incredible, but Nick knew he couldn’t continue to dally with Teddy for a number of reasons. There was the age thing. The Nick leaving thing. The not wanting to hurt Teddy thing. But mainly there was the Teddy thing, the weird way he made him feel. Nick hadn’t felt this…wide open since Micah. He’d expected Teddy to be good at kissing because he had such a damn kissable mouth, but he hadn’t expected to want to drown in it, to want to wallow in that happy place with Teddy for hours.
And he hadn’t been lying about liking to take his time, store up memories for later, but he hadn’t figured on Teddy pushing out all other memories until it was just him and Nick, and so much need that Nick almost hadn’t known what to do with it. He’d seldom wanted a person as much as he had Teddy, and that was exactly why they couldn’t do it again. Nick couldn’t afford to go needing Teddy. Nor could he afford to deviate from his plan—he’d promised Adams his investment in a second boat for his business, and he always kept his promises.
Which was why as soon as he found his boxers at the foot of the bed he pulled them on and went in search of pants. Even the ridiculous Santa pants would be better than the temptation to crawl back in with Teddy, get skin to skin…
Move on, Nowicki, he ordered himself as he marched downstairs to where his pants were dry in the chilly living room, warmth of the fire long gone. He pulled on his pants and the T-shirt he’d worn under the Santa coat, then went in search of the kitchen to make coffee.
Teddy padded down the stairs a few minutes later, in jeans and a sweatshirt. “Really. You don’t have to rush…” he finished on a yawn. “Uncle Liam won’t even come in. He’ll be headed on to my parents’ place next. Mom makes far better breakfasts than me.”
“If the driveway and road’s clear, that means your brother might be able to get my truck, right? Then I can be out of your hair.”
“You’re not a bother.” Teddy reached around him for a bag of coffee. “I don’t drink a ton of coffee. Not really much of a breakfast person at all.”
“I can make it.” Nick grabbed the glass carafe from the coffee maker on the counter and went to rinse it. “You call your brother about the tow, and I’ll figure out some food.”
He was a big fan of divide and conquer, and he’d been making his own breakfast since before Teddy was born. And oh, that was a sobering thought. He hadn’t thought about their age difference once while making out last night, but now in the chilly light of morning, it loomed large. What had he been thinking?
You weren’t. Yeah, that was it in a nutshell. He’d willfully, intentionally turned off thought. But now his brain was firmly back online and all he could think about was getting back to base, putting this weekend behind him. Younger guys were a risk he simply didn’t need—Micah should have shown him that.
After getting the coffee on, he found eggs in Teddy’s fridge, but there were only two of them, which sent him on a hunt for flour, baking powder, and milk. Teddy had a nice flat nonstick skillet that looked practically unused but would be perfect for pancakes. Happy to have found purpose, he worked quickly to whip up a batter and tried not to listen in on Teddy’s phone conversation with his brother. Teddy had paced into the living room, so Nick made a conscious decision to focus on the breakfast and give him privacy.
“Okay, Charlie’s going to meet us here soon, then you can show us where the truck is.” Teddy came back into the kitchen. “And oh hey, you like made actual food.”
“That is what people tend to eat.” Nick chuckled and handed Teddy a plate. He’d found some maple syrup so he passed that over too before carrying his own plate to the little table.
“Wow. Not sure when was the last time someone not my mom made me breakfast.” Teddy looked at him with big eyes that meant trouble.
“Look. About last night—”
“It shouldn’t have happened, can’t happen again, blah blah blah.” Teddy did a fair imitation of Nick’s deeper, gruffer voice. “That about it?”
“Pretty much.” Nick didn’t like how Teddy seemed to have his number. “We have to see each other several more times, right? Don’t need sex complicating that. That’s all.”
“It doesn’t have to be complicated. It could be more like a bonus. A reward.”
“I do not need some sort of…payment for being Santa.”
“Not payment. Jeez.” Teddy rolled his eyes. “More like something nice for both of us. Come on. You can’t tell me that once was enough for you. We’ve got mad chemistry in bed.”
They did. And therein was the problem, but before Nick could quash this idea of Teddy’s a knock sounded at the front door.
“That must be Charlie.” Teddy hopped up to admit a bundled-up guy who looked like a taller, older version of himself—blond curls poking out from a knit cap and sparkling blue eyes that didn’t miss much as his gaze swept over the kitchen.
“Damn, Teddy. Your houseguest made you food? What did you do to earn that?” Charlie laughed with what could only be described as a big brother’s evil mirth.
“None of your damn business. Did you eat? Nick made coffee over on the counter.”
“Well, if Nick made it, I’ll have a cup while you find boots. I can’t stand that weak brew you always make. Swear you couldn’t boil water if Mom didn’t write down instructions for you.” Charlie went to the coffeepot and poured himself a cup.
“He made good hot chocolate last night.” Why Nick felt like he should be defending Teddy, he couldn’t say.
“Did he now?” Charlie’s eyes widened, another joke clearly coming, but Teddy cut him off first.
“Can it, Charlie. Nick’s a sergeant major. He probably knows all sorts of ways to make you shut up.”
Since that was true, Nick nodded, letting Teddy think he could turn him loose on his meddling big brother. Teddy handed Nick his boots before putting on his own.
“Okay, okay, I’ll be good. Sergeant Major Santa, let’s go find your truck.” Charlie set his coffee cup down and brushed off his thick coveralls. Teddy bundled himself up—sweater, coat, hat, gloves, scarf, while Nick made do with his Santa coat, thin outer coat, and gloves.
Teddy frowned at him. “We’re going to be out there for more than a couple of minutes, I’m sure. Here.”
He retrieved another hat and scarf from the pegboard near the door and before Nick could realize what he was about, he wrapped the scarf around his neck, stretching to try to put the hat on Nick too.
“Hey. I don’t need—”
“Yeah, you do.” Charlie wasn’t even trying to hide how hard he was laughing at the two of them. “Listen to Teddy. And trust me, our mom and sisters knit enough to blanket the county twice over. Take the scarf.”
“Fine.” The scarf was a gaudy green thing that clashed with the Santa suit and made Nick feel even more ridiculous, but he finished wrapping it around and jammed the matching hat on his head. At least it wasn’t a Santa hat. But it was far softer and fluffier than anything he’d have chosen for himself, with a ridiculous pompom on top.
He pulled it down over his ears and hoped he could be handing it back and seeing this town in the rearview in short order. He’d put up with a lot to do that, including squeezing in with Teddy and Charlie into the front of the big tow truck. Teddy was practically in his lap, which Teddy didn’t seem to mind, but was distracting as hell. But soon, soon, he could give the outerwear back and leave.
But, unfortunately, when they reached the ditch Nick had slid into, Charlie transformed from teasing big brother to concerned mechanic, making clucking noises and frowning as he circled Nick’s truck.
“Look at how your wheel is turned. I’d bet money on your alignment being all kinds of messed up. We’re going to need to get it up on the lift to see for sure what’s up with it.”
“Is it going to be totaled, you think?” Nick did not need this, not at all. It wasn’t that he didn’t have savings, but the savings he did have were earmarked for investing in Adams’s business and buying himself a place to live. Plus, he’d had the truck for years, tried to keep it well maintained, and had figured they’d retire together.
Charlie gave the truck another critical once-over. “No, not totaled, not unless I find more frame damage, but it’s going to take a few days to get it back up and running for you.”
“Hell. I’ve got to get back to base. I don’t suppose your garage does loaners?”
“No.” Charlie sighed heavily. “I wish, but we don’t have that much of a profit margin. The closest rental place is in Watertown, but your insurance will probably cover it.”
“I can take you,” Teddy volunteered. “It’s no trouble. I need to visit the store there before Thanksgiving anyway. Speaking of which, Charlie, tell Nick that he’s invited. He didn’t believe Rhonda and me.”
“Come, man.” Charlie clapped him on the back. “I’ll try to have the truck done by then. And our mom always likes taking care of people from the base. You won’t be the only service person. I’ll have the football games on, and we usually get a few friendly bets going. It’s fun.”
Watching the game with company didn’t sound terrible, but everything was complicated by the fact that he’d let his cock drive last night and had had sex with Teddy, who would undoubtedly read far more into his showing up for the holiday than Nick wanted. And despite all evidence to the contrary, he wasn’t a callous guy and didn’t want to hurt Teddy.
“I can pick you up, help you return the rental.” Teddy’s eager voice confirmed his fears that Teddy wanted this a bit too much. “But honestly, this time of year, you’re going to be lucky to get a rental. You can use my phone to call and find out, and I can also take you to the phone store if you need.”
Nick groaned because he’d forgotten all about the phone. He’d told Teddy about it the night before and then promptly pushed out of his head what a headache getting a new phone was likely to be.
“You do love to be helpful, don’t you,” Charlie teased Teddy before getting serious again. “Second problem, more pressing than the alignment, is the angle of the truck here in the ditch. I’m not going to be able to pull it out right now. It’d pull the tow truck in the ditch if I try it. I’m going to need our second truck and my cousin—my business partner—to help. That’s going to be later today if the snow stays away because he’s on another call right now.”
“So no possible outcome where I have the truck today?” Nick fell back on his military training, assessing the situation, trying to come up with a workable plan whereby he was back in control of the situation.
“Nope. Sorry. I’ll run you guys back to Teddy’s because I’ve got other call-outs to see to, and Teddy can get you sorted with the rental and the phone. And then I’ll update when I have news, but plan on seeing you Thursday.”
Good Lord but this family was a steamroller of good intentions. “I’m still not sure about—”
“It’ll be great.” Charlie clapped him on the shoulder before leading the way back to the tow truck. “You’ll see.”
Somehow Nick very much doubted that the next week was going to be anything other than torture. And as Teddy wedged himself in the truck, again almost on top of him, he had to suppress another groan. Being dependent on Teddy for anything was the last thing he wanted or needed.