CHAPTER 03

Asher’s POV

Nico’s voice is low as he responds.

“Some doors stay locked because opening them could cost me my son.”

He leans in, close enough that I can smell the sweat on his skin.

“So yeah, I hide it. And if you breathe a word to Luca, you'll regret it.”

He walks out without another word, slamming the bathroom door with a thud. The hallway light clicks off and he slams his bedroom door with a final thud.

I sigh deeply knowing I've probably pissed him off.

I should leave.

Call an Uber, get the hell out and pretend this never happened.

But the idea of going home made my stomach flip.

I know that Rick, my mom's husband, would probably be passed out in the recliner with a beer in his hand.

I see the way Rick looks at me sometimes when he thinks no one’s watching, and I know my mom pretends she doesn’t see it.

I can’t go back there tonight.

I splash water on my face, then creep out into the living room.

Luca’s sprawled across the entire couch, one of his shoes still on, drooling on a pillow. He looks twelve again.

I scoff and pull the blanket off the back of the couch and tuck it around him before curling up on the rug beside the couch. I drag my hoodie over my head and stare at the ceiling.

I’m still hearing Nico's words, his voice playing in my head.

Hours crawl by and the house is dead quiet except for Luca’s loud snoring. I finally manage to doze off some hours later.

*...*...*...*...*...

“ASH! ASH, YOU LAZY FUCK, WAKE UP!”

“What the fuck?!” I move so fast, my knee hits the table by the side and I gasp in pain.

Luca is crouched over me, grinning like a devil, his usual messy sex hair is flying up in every direction.

“Morning, sunshine!” he hollers, way too loud. “You look like shit. Why'd you sleep on the floor like a hobo?”

“Fuck off!” I groan, clutching my knee. “Why the fuck are you yelling? I think my soul just left my body.”

“Because I’m dying,” he announces, flopping backward onto the rug next to me. “My mouth tastes like a raccoon crawled in it and died. Also I think I puked in your shoe. Sorry, not sorry.”

I sit up, rubbing my face. “You puked in my shoe?”

“Maybe. Probably. We’ll never know.” He throws an arm over his eyes dramatically. “Dad’s making bacon. I smelled it from my sleep. If we don’t move now he’ll eat it all and leave us hungry.”

From the kitchen comes Nico’s deep, stern voice: “I heard that. And I will eat every strip if you two don’t get your asses in here in the next thirty seconds.”

Luca bolts upright so fast he almost head-butts me. “Coming dad!”

He grabs my hoodie and hauls me to my feet like I weigh nothing.

I stumble after him, still half-asleep, my heart suddenly jackhammering because Nico is right there, leaning against the counter in a black T-shirt that’s looks so hot on him.

“Morning,” he says, eyes flicking to me for half a second.

He looks... normal. Like last night never happened.

I suppose I expected that so I don't know why my stomach drops straight through the floor.

Luca barrels past him, snatching two pieces of bacon straight out of the pan. “Ow, hot, but worth it,” he mumbles around a mouthful. “Ash, grab plates so we can get some.”

I force my legs to move. Nico doesn’t budge when I reach past him for the cabinet. His arm barely brushes mine and electricity shoots straight to my dick.

I nearly drop the stack of plates.

Luca, oblivious, keeps talking with his mouth full. “So last night was insane. I think I made out with a sorority girl named Brittany. Or maybe her name was Bella. Honestly fifty-fifty. By the way, every girl totally wants you but you never get laid bro, what the hell?” He turns to me with a raised brow.

I open my mouth but nothing comes out.

Nico’s gaze lands on me again, calm and unreadable.

“Yeah, Asher,” he says, voice perfectly even. “What the hell?”

My cock stands at attention again just from Nico looking at me and I twist fast, facing the fridge just to hide the obvious tent in my pants. My face is on fire.

I am so fucked.

Luca’s hand dives into the pan again, snagging another strip of bacon like a starving raccoon.

“Fuck, hot!” he hisses, shaking his fingers, but shoves it in his mouth anyway, completely distracted from whatever he was about to say to me.

Nico doesn’t turn away.

His eyes drop slowly from my burning face, down my lean torso, then to the front of my sweats where my cock is straining so hard the outline is obscene.

One dark brow arches appreciatively.

Holy shit, I think Nico is checking me out and by the looks of things, he likes what he's seeing.

His green eyes flick back up to mine and we're practically staring at each other.

Luca keeps talking around the bacon, totally clueless. “Honestly dude, it’s so weird that you’re still a virgin especially when—”

“NO, shut up,” I blurt, my voice cracking in embarrassment like I’m fourteen again.

Nico's brows furrows and his expression completely changes. “You’re a fucking virgin?” he asks. His voice is low but he sounds...pissed.

I look away from him.

Answer me,” he says, quieter now. “You’ve never fucked anyone?”

Luca chokes on his bacon. “Jesus Christ, Dad!”

Nico’s jaw is clenched so tight I can see the muscle straining by his chin.

“I—” My voice cracks again. “Can we not do this right now?”

“No,” Nico says, flat. “We’re doing this shit right now.”

Luca throws his hands up. “Okay, I’m out. This is some weird father-son-best-friend intervention I did not sign up for.” He grabs two more pieces of bacon and backs toward the hallway.

“I’m gonna go shower and pretend I never heard any of this. You two… figure your shit out. Or don’t. Whatever.”

He runs off leaving me alone with Nico. Nico takes one slow step toward me. Then another, until he’s close enough that I have to tilt my head up to meet his eyes.

“You're twenty-two years old,” he says, his voice rough, almost accusing. “Every girl on your campus throws themselves at you, and you’ve never fucked anyone of them?”

I swallow hard. My cock is still traitorously hard, pulsing against my thigh like it’s trying to answer for me.

“I've never had an erection with a girl. I've never wanted anyone,” I manage, my face flashed red. “Not until—”

Not until you.