Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 51

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Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 51

Which was a dangerous thing to think.
He was dozing off by the time Nick finished. Somewhere on the edge of a dream, he heard
Nick’s socked feet on the tile floor, coming closer. His hand touched Eli’s shoulder.
“Cocoa?” Nick asked.
“Mmm.” Eli lifted his own hand to pat Nick’s. He didn’t even open his eyes. He didn’t want to
leave this little bubble of warmth. “D’you have marshmallows?”
“Of course I have marshmallows. What kind of father do you think I am?”
Eli stayed on the sofa, luxuriating in the sounds of Nick shuffling around in his kitchen. The kettle
being filled with water, the click of two mugs on the countertop. He would fall asleep if he let
himself, so he opened his eyes and sat up straighter. He shook his arms out, moved his head
from side to side, got his jaw working.
When Nick returned, it was very slowly, so as not to disrupt the ridiculous mountain of mini
marshmallows he’d heaped atop the twin mugs.
Eli reached out to take one, trying not to laugh out loud. He didn’t want to wake Zoe. “This
amount of marshmallows is dangerous,” he said. “It’s an aggressive number of marshmallows.”
“I didn’t want to give you any more reasons to doubt me.” Nick passed off Eli’s mug like they
were handling nuclear material.
“I would never,” Eli murmured as he finally took control of the handle. The topmost
marshmallow wobbled dangerously. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, how am I even supposed to
reach the cocoa?” He started lipping his way over the marshmallows, trying to eat them before
they started falling like sugary snow on Nick’s couch.
Nick sat down very carefully, and very close to Eli. “You look like a deer grazing in the clover.”
“Fuck you,” Eli said through a mouthful of marshmallow.
Nick laughed, but silently, his whole body shaking. Eli made a helpless warning sound in his
throat and tipped his nose at Nick’s cup, which was going to slosh over any second now.

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“Okay, you’re right.” Nick set his own mug on the IKEA coffee table and then took Eli’s to do the
same. “That’s going to end badly.”
Eli watched his cocoa go with a baleful look. “But I haven’t even—” And then they were kissing.
It wasn’t a shock, not like it had been at the beach. Eli was almost prepared this time, or some
version of expectant. All the little moments he’d spent with Nick over the last few days seemed
like they were building up to this. So when he felt Nick’s lips on his, and his eyes closed to match
Nick’s, he wasn’t surprised.
The only thought in his head was: finally.