Page 100 of String Boys

Now, the Cruz family minivan was on its way to Monterey to get the house ready—and hopefully warm it up in the chill of December—and Kelly had Craig’s Caddy and was there to take Seth to see his family.

Except first, Kelly had to yell at Seth.

“You—I asked Mom, you know that? After Matty was all sorted out, I said, ‘What did he look like to you?’ and she said, ‘Like he put makeup on to hide his bruises,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, me too, but no, he’d havetold me if something happened!’”

Seth shrugged. “Was a robbery. Me and Guthrie fought back, that was all.”

Kelly pulled away and regarded him with flat, unfriendly eyes. “Guthrie.”

“I showed you his picture. He’s the drummer in the band.” Seth couldn’t stop smiling at him. Kelly was so beautiful. His hair had grown—long enough to put up on the back of his head with an elastic—and his chin had squared up. He was still working out, his neck and pecs were lookingverygrown-up, and he’d shaved, maybe just for Seth because he’d had stubble Christmas morning, when he’d looked delicious and mussed.

God, he got better every time Seth got to touch him.

Kelly cocked his head. “And I haven’t heard of this band before now because…?”

Seth chewed his lip. “We needed money,” he said, matter-of-fact.

“Seth—”

Seth turned around and grabbed his bag. He’d been waiting out on the steps of the dorm building in the foggy morning. “We should go,” he said, picking up his violin case and walking determinedly to the Cadillac. “By the way, can I tell you how much my dad must love you to let you drive this car? He won’t eventeachme to drive.”

“Seth—”

Seth threw his stuff in the back and then got into the passenger seat, looking at Kelly and smiling. “Comeon.I know it’s going to be cold and stuff, but tomorrow we’re gonna take the girls to see the aquarium, and it’s gonna get super foggy tonight!”

“None of that is a reason for us not to talk about this,” Kelly grumbled, slamming the car door. Seth waited until he turned to put the keys in the ignition to ambush him with a kiss, and to his surprise, Kelly melted into his arms like Seth had hoped he would from the beginning.

It was like being shot through with sunshine, that kiss. And when Kelly took over, pressing him into the car seat, ravaging his bruised mouth, plundering Seth’s chest with greedy hands, Seth actually whined with need and with happiness and with pure rollicking lust.

The kiss went on and on until Seth was hard and aching under Kelly’s insistent hand, and Kelly’s groin pushed temptingly against his thigh. With a gasp, Kelly pulled away and turned to rest his head on the steering wheel.

“You make me stupid,” he complained. “God, I want to yell at you for keeping secrets and making money and spoiling us, but I’m just so fucking grateful, and…augh!I just need to kiss you some more!”

“Yeah. That.” Seth couldn’t catch his breath. “You know, we could go up to my dorm right now and—”

Kelly turned toward him with a glare. “Oh no. No, no, no. You’ve been working toward us, in a house, by ourselves, with a bed and a view and everything. I’m not going in for a quickie in the dorms when I’ve got… perfection a couple of hours away.”

“But our family is going to be there for a week!” Seth complained.

“They’re going to the aquarium tomorrow—you told me yourself. And this is all very clever and all, but I need to hear more about this fight or we’re going nowhere.”

Seth sighed. “I’ve been playing for a country-western band—they call me the Fiddler—”

“That’s original.”

Seth booped him on the upturned wrinkled nose, and his grin back was so infectiously Kelly that Seth felt sunshine in his heart, just like when they were kissing.

“Hush. Anyway, we play this dive bar called the Stomp, and two nights ago, I did a Christmas set, and they passed the hat….”

Apparently reassured that Seth would keep talking, Kelly turned the car ignition and set them on their way toward Monterey. By the time they arrived a few hours later, Kelly had asked him dozens of questions—and answered Seth’s questions about his job.

“Vashti’s a good guy,” Kelly said for the umpteenth time. “But….” His smile went crooked as they negotiated through the tricky tunnel that was part of downtown. “He’s not you. He knows it. He’s dating someone else now, anyway.”

“Yeah. Guthrie was just glad to have a friend to talk to about it. Like, the only people who know he’s bi are the guys he’s hooked up with. It’s sort of sad.”

“That sucks. Left or right?”

“Straight along the coast road past this curvy part. Then there’s going to be a road inland.”