Page 20 of Broken Halos
“Be careful,” Maria said then followed it up with “driving home” in case he was confused about her meaning.
“You too, Mamma,” Archie said, hugging his mom. “Watch out for the brain freeze.”
“Call me tomorrow, or come see me,” she said over her shoulder as she headed for the door.
“So,” I said once we were alone. “What was—”
My words were cut off when Archie firmly gripped my head and slanted his lips over mind for a desperate kiss, making me instantly hard again. I was shocked at first, but then I slid my fingers beneath the lace shirt he wore, caressing soft skin over hard muscles. I ached to touch him like this when there was no chance for interruption. I wanted to mark his fair skin, claim him, and possess him in ways I’d never done before. The intensity of it was frightening and made me pull back before I could do something stupid.
“What are we doing, Arch?” I asked, breathing as hard as if I’d run a mile. “What do you want from me?”
“Right now?”
I needed to know what he wanted beyond tonight before I was willing to let my guard down fully. I could see he wasn’t ready to have that discussion, so I’d settle for what he was willing to give me. “Yeah, right now.”
“I want a quiet place where we can share a meal that doesn’t include my mother interrupting us. I want us to talk so I can get to know you better, and I want more kisses.”
“Dinner, talking, and kissing?” I asked, making sure I knew exactly what he was willing to offer me.
“It sounds like junior high, doesn’t it?” Archie asked, sounding embarrassed.
“It sounds amazing, Arch. I know just the place we can eat and talk without anyone bugging us. The food is pretty basic but tasty.”
Archie lifted a brow in question. “How private are we talking?”
“Come home with me, Arch. I don’t want to share your attention with anyone else. I can assure you of two things: I make the best grilled cheese sandwich you’ll ever have, and my intentions are honorable. You said you want to eat, talk, and kiss. That’s all I’m offering.”
“You think either of us can behave ourselves with a bed nearby?”
“We won’t know unless we try.”
I saw the moment he decided to accept my offer, and I vowed to keep my word, no matter how hard he made me or how much he chipped away at my resolve. I wouldn’t strip Archie White down and love him the way he was made to be loved until I no longer saw hesitation in his gorgeous, green eyes.
“Do you also have tomato soup?” he challenged.
“As if you could have one without the other,” I replied. “Follow me.”
I didn’t wait for him to respond verbally. I’d said all I was willing to right then. I needed to use my actions to communicate and demonstrate my intentions to Archie. I glanced over my shoulder to see if he was following me and saw he hadn’t budged from the spot where I left him. I would’ve been nervous had he not been smiling like the Cheshire cat.
MY HEART RACED THE ENTIREtime I followed Ollie back to his place. At one point, I allowed myself to dream that “kissing” included his dick in my mouth. The image was so vivid I nearly rear-ended his car at a red light which made me think about a different kind of collision involving rear ends. “We agreed to kiss,” I said out loud to myself. “That means mouth-on-mouth action only.” I nodded in an attempt to convince myself even though I knew damn well I’d cave if Ollie made the first move toward something other than mouth-to-mouth action.
I expected Ollie to live somewhere inside the city limits, but I followed him north to a more rural setting where cornfields grew on either side of the country road. I bet it was a lovely drive during the day, but at night, it felt creepy as fuck and as foreign to me as if we had magically transported to another land. I was a city boy through and through; the only jungles I roamed were ones made of concrete.
Ollie slowed down to take a sharp curve to the left, so I did the same. Once we came out of the curve, the fields gave way to trees, and the once straight road wove its way up a curvy hill, reminding me of a roller coaster ride. Ollie flipped on his turn signal at the top of the hill, and that’s when I saw the driveway to the small, country church. It looked like it was built 200 years ago but had been lovingly maintained. The sign in front of the church was a new addition. It wasn’t one of those tacky ones where you could replace the letters daily or weekly, Ollie permanently and boldly identified Grace Fellowship Church as a place of worship for the LGBTQ+ community in rainbow letters. Ollie didn’t need glitter or unicorns to get his point across.
I followed Ollie down the gravel lane past the church to a small house sitting nestled in the woods. It was close enough for him to walk to work, but the trees surrounding the home afforded him privacy and allowed him to separate his work and his private life. The only downside to me living at Ryan’s Place was never fully getting away from my work and responsibilities. I was working on getting out more and reclaiming a life for myself. The man who exited his car and waited for me to do the same was a big reason for the change. At some point, I would need to admit meeting Ollie was the biggest reason I’d started emceeing the weekly fundraising events.
“Nothing below the neck,” I reminded myself as I turned off my car and got out to meet Ollie.
“I probably should’ve warned you just how far you had to follow me,” Ollie said sheepishly.
I would follow you anywhere.The thought came swiftly and out of nowhere as if some invisible narrator was telling my story instead of me. I didn’t know Ollie enough to know if I’d follow him anywhere. I hadn’t allowed myself to believe in that kind of blind faith in more than a decade, so the urge to get back in the car and drive to safety was overwhelming.
Ollie, sensing my nervousness, said, “Nothing will creep out of the woods and bite you, Arch. You’re safe here with me.” His white teeth gleamed in the moonlight, and I felt a whole lot like Little Red Riding Hood looking into the eyes of a wolf in pastor’s clothing.
“My, what kissable lips you have,” I breathily said once I stood in front of him. Ollie’s laughter bounced off the swaying trees and carried in the wind, breaking the tension gripping my body. My car headlights were programmed by the manufacturer to turn off automatically after a few minutes, allowing a person to get inside their home or wherever they went after dark. In this case, I’d only had enough time to reach Archie before they shut off. Our only light source was the moon which bathed Ollie its splendor, making him look angelic and pure until our gazed met and held. His dark eyes promised me devilish delights that were otherworldly and earth-shattering while his smile promised serenity and peace. I found I wanted all of those things, and I could have them if I would only take a chance.
Ollie extended his hand like an olive branch, and I reached out to accept it, knowing I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t try.Okay, Ollie, you win.I couldn’t blame a faceless narrator this time because I knew the words came from my soul. Ollie gently squeezed my fingers between his and guided me to the front of his house. I wished the walk was longer when he released my hand to unlock the door, but he reached for me as soon as he opened it. Did he think I was on the verge of bolting? I wasn’t.