Page 140 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

“She does, though I wouldn’t say it necessarily means you had to like it just because you aren’t freaked out,” Emily said with a pointed look at her sister. “But seriously, did you like it?”

Matt couldn’t help but laugh, trying to push the two sisters away. “You two are ridiculous, and not helping.”

“You’re not answering the question,” Nicole pointed out as she kept her grip on his arm.

Matt sighed heavily, shaking his head in disbelief.

He opened his mouth to get them to understand there were more important things to worry about.

Namely, he and Nick were now floating in a strange orbit around one another and didn’t know how to meet in the middle.

But before he could find the words, the memory of Nick’s lips against his snapped his mouth shut and furrowed his brow.

Nicole nudged him. “Matt?”

“Shush, he’s thinking,” Emily chided.

Matt barely heard them as he thought hard about the question because, really, had he enjoyed it?

In the moment, he’d been so taken aback by the suddenness that all he’d felt was shock.

One minute, he was dealing with the reality of Nick’s long-held feelings, and the next, he was feeling his best friend’s lips on his.

A shiver ran down his spine at the thought, and his lips parted in surprise.

In truth, he’d never considered being with another man.

Sure, there had been the experience from before boot, but he’d barely given it a thought afterward.

It had happened, something he didn’t regret or squirm away from.

But it was still something he hadn’t ever attributed much importance to.

Had that little drunken fumbling in the woods meant more than he’d thought? Could it have been a sign that there was more to his interests than thick-waisted blondes or black-haired amazons?

Did it mean he could be into what Nick wanted?

“I think I need to talk to Nick,” Matt said softly.

Emily smiled knowingly, stepping away. “Probably. However, you might want to take it easy on him. He’s probably feeling like dirt right now.”

Nicole sighed. “You’ll probably have to deal with him feeling sorry for himself and feeling like he forced himself on you.”

Matt wrinkled his nose. “That’s not what happened.”

“No, but he’ll think it anyway,” Nicole said.

Emily snorted. “He’s always been a little stupid about taking too much responsibility and blame for everything.”

Matt stepped back, giving one last glance at the beautiful vista. “Thank you, both of you.”

Emily beamed. “It’s what you do for family.”

“And she’s not just talking about helping Nick,” Nicole pointed out.

“We’ll tell the rest of the family to leave you guys to your hangover tomorrow,” Emily said as she hooked her arm through her sisters.

Nicole shook her head. “And we’ll figure out how to keep Mom off your backs. We’ll think of something, give you guys as much time as you need to...figure things out.”

Matt wasn’t sure he wanted to know what that meant, but he knew better than to ask, especially because the woman looked far too pleased for his taste.

Then again, maybe she knew what was bouncing around his head but was giving him the illusion of privacy as they’d done on the drive to the lodge, namely that his attention was firmly locked on the sensation of Nick’s lips on his.

And how he wondered if the rest of what could have followed would have him tingling just as hard at the thought.

Matt screwed up his mouth, turning away before they saw anything else. He didn’t need any commentary on the new thoughts building in his head. Matt wasn’t even sure he knew what it meant, if it meant anything at all.

All he knew was that he needed to get back to his friend. Nick didn’t deserve to be alone. But first, he told the two women something they could do for him. They listened intently, grinning by the time he was finished.

That done, he returned to Nick, where he was needed.

The house was completely dark when he stepped through the front door.

The warmth surrounded him, setting his nose to itching as he pulled off his hat and gloves.

He listened closely as he pulled his boots and coat off, hearing nothing upstairs.

It was possible Nick had found sleep in his drunken state, but Matt didn’t think so.

Hanging his coat up, he walked down the hallway, stopping when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

He cocked his head, listening closely for the familiar sounds of heavy breathing that always accompanied Nick sleeping.

When he heard nothing, he slowly mounted the stairs, stopping again at the open doorway.

Moonlight peeked in through the large windows.

It was enough for him to see Nick’s dark shape lying on the bed, his back to the door.

Matt felt a wave of affection for the man that he would sleep with his back to the door, even if he still felt bad about how things were between them.

It meant he still trusted Matt, that he felt safe around him.

He could tell from the twitch of Nick’s foot and how he was breathing that his friend wasn’t sleeping. Not sleeping, but certainly trying to pretend he was, as though Matt would be fooled by it.

For a full minute, Matt stood in the doorway, staring at his friend, who was being completely ridiculous.

His heart still ached to think about what Nick had endured for so many years, and his head was still fuzzy about how he felt.

More important to him was to find a way to make Nick feel at least a little better or at least not as panicked.

The answer came to him so easily. He was surprised he had to think about it at all.

Sighing, he reached down, taking the hem of his shirt and pulling it up over his head.

And while he normally wouldn’t think twice about shucking off his pants to sleep in his underwear with Nick, he didn’t think the timing was right.

He did undo the button, easing the pressure around his waist before walking to the bed.

Nick’s shoulder twitched when Matt leaned forward, putting his weight on the edge of the bed.

It was the only reaction he received as he carefully shuffled over, stopping only when he reached Nick.

Moving carefully, Matt let himself fall beside his friend, lying on his side to mirror Nick’s position.

Without hesitation, he reached out, wrapped his arm around his friend’s waist, and pulled himself closer.

Matt pressed himself close, feeling Nick’s rigid body as he settled in. He listened carefully, smiling sadly when he finally heard the soft exhalation of breath that signaled Nick was thinking once again.

“I knew you weren’t sleeping,” Matt mumbled against his friend’s back.

“What…” Nick began, then tried again. “What are you doing?”

“Laying with you, I thought that was obvious,” Matt said simply.

Nick shifted uneasily. “That’s not what I meant.”

Matt smirked, deciding to grab hold of the awkward and yank it out in the open so it couldn’t dance away anymore. “What, you can confess feelings for a guy and kiss him, but you’re too butch to cuddle afterward?”

Nick gave a strangled sound and motioned as though he were going to throw Matt off. Anticipating it, Matt held on tighter, gripping Nick’s waist and pressing firmly against the man’s back.

“Jesus Christ, Matt,” Nick squawked.

Matt chuckled. “Calm down. I knew you were up here overthinking everything and freaking out.”

“I think there’s a good reason for that,” Nick bit out.

“Is there?” Matt asked.

Nick growled. “Don’t play stupid, Matt.”

“That’s the best part. I’m not playing anything. I’m just naturally dense,” Matt said cheerfully.

“It’s nice to know you think everything is so funny,” Nick muttered.

Matt winced, shaking his head. “I’m not trying to make fun of you, Nick. And I’m not going to lie here and pretend that what you said wasn’t a big deal. It is. It’s just...not a big deal the way you’re making it out to be.”

Nick took a minute to respond. “Then what is it?”

Matt laid his forehead against the back of Nick’s neck. “It’s you and me, just like it’s always been. No one else here, no one else to deal with, just the two of us. And we’ll deal with this, and tomorrow, after we’ve both got some sleep and you’ve sobered up, we can face this.”

“And right now?” Nick asked softly.

That was easy.

“Right now, we’ll just be ourselves. No matter what happens, it’s gonna be you and me, okay?”

Nick didn’t respond, but Matt could feel the tension slowly leaking out of the man’s body inch by inch.

Matt waited patiently, knowing Nick was running every word through his filter, parsing it in every way he could think of.

There would be a dozen questions later. Some Nick would answer himself, others he would never ask, and some he eventually would.

Matt let it happen, closing his eyes and laying comfortably against his friend.

Even with this new fog hanging over them, he could appreciate the warmth and solidness of Nick’s body.

For him, it always made sense that someone as big and strong as Nick was so warm and comforting to be around.

Matt knew there were worries and fears in Nick’s head, there always had been, but that was Nick, and he was still as solid and true as ever.

And if he was evaluating things in a different light that he still hadn’t entirely worked through, that was to be expected.

Because he’d said exactly what he meant, they would come through on the other side no matter what.

He honestly didn’t know what awaited them, didn’t even know what he thought might happen.

What mattered most was that Nick knew he would always have Matt with him.

His eyes snapped open when he heard a soft hitch of breath followed by a deep exhalation. Unbelievably, Nick had fallen asleep.

“There you go,” Matt whispered, nuzzling closer. “There you go.”