“He and his boyfriend broke up, he called you, and now he’s coming here?”
“Don’t make it sound like that. He’s not coming to see me specifically because his relationship ended. He needs to get away and this is home. Oh, and he doesn’t want you guys to know, so don’t say anything.”
Chance answered with, “I guess you’re not getting head from the guy with postnasal drip. Maybe that’s for the best. It could have gotten messy.”
Oliver wanted to laugh but he couldn’t. He didn’t know what he felt right now. All he knew was, he wished he could have another drink.
CHAPTER FOUR
Oliver didn’t sleep all night. He tried for a couple of hours, then got up and worked out and drank coffee before it was time to leave for the airport.
He’d texted Matt to let him know he’d wait outside at baggage claim.
He wasn’t going inside, and he didn’t stop to get Matt a coffee. See? He wasn’t at Matt’s beck and call anymore. He knew that was what Miles thought and probably Chance too, only Chance would beat around the bush and joke about it where Miles would give him the cold shoulder or straight up call him out on it.
That was the thing with being friends with the same people all your life. No one knew him better than his friends and he knew them equally well. It made it difficult to get away with any shit.
This time they were wrong.
Oliver decided he wasn’t calling off his date tonight. LA was home for Matt. He could hang out around Oliver’s place or keep himself busy while Oliver went out. It wasn’t as if he wouldn’t be able to find things to do. It also wasn’t as if he didn’t have parents here who would want to see him either.
LAX was a mess like it always was—traffic was bumper to bumper. People were everywhere, flagging cabs and jumping into vehicles, honking and screaming at each other. As frustrating as it was, that was LA and he was not only used to it, he loved it.
It was over half an hour after Matt’s flight landed when Oliver saw him come outside. He stuck out in the crowd making its way through the doors. He looked good as always—tall and lean. Maybe a little too skinny, but then Matt had always been thin. Still, Oliver could see defined, sinewy muscles running the lengths of his arms. He wore what was obviously a high-priced T-shirt and jeans. His dark hair was styled shorter on the sides and longer on top. It stood up like he’d run his hands through it, but Oliver knew that was exactly how Matt wanted it to look. If not, it would hang in his eyes, which Oliver had always thought was sexy as hell.
A frown curved Matt’s lips. He had a light dusting of hair on his jaw that looked like it had been cut from stone…but somehow delicately. That was Matt, delicately masculine features. It obviously did it for Oliver.
He jumped when there was a honk behind him. Fuck. He was holding up traffic staring at Matt. This wasn’t a good sign. He stuck his hand out the window and flipped off whoever was being impatient before the car just drove around him. Oliver pulled up to the curb and jumped out of his car.
Matty slipped his sunglasses off, looked over at Oliver and grinned. The dimple under the right side of his mouth didn’t look quite as deep as it did when Matt truly smiled but still, it was a sexy-as-hell smile.
His teeth were perfectly white and straight—they always had been. His family never would’ve been able to afford braces—he hadn’t worn them, but you’d think he had. Oliver had worn them for three years and his teeth were nothing like Matt’s.
“Hey, buddy. What’s up?” Matt said after walking over. Another car honked followed by a second loud blast.
“Hey.” Oliver gave him a one-armed hug. “Let’s get your stuff in the trunk and get out of here before I get into a fight with someone.” They likely weren’t honking at them. There were cars everywhere, but Oliver still wanted to get the fuck on the road.
He opened the trunk, and Matt put his bags inside. Less than a minute later, they were in the car and trying to get through the mass of traffic.
“How was your flight?” Oliver asked, looking over his shoulder and trying to make his way out.
“It was a flight.”
Without looking, he knew Matt had shrugged.
“Thanks for picking me up. I should have just gotten a car. I don’t know why I didn’t. I’m going to need one to get around.”
Before, Oliver used to pick him up because they didn’t have a choice. Matt couldn’t afford a car. Sure, he could have taken a cab, but Oliver had always just wanted to pick him up. Now, Matt didn’t need him to do that. Still, he liked that his old friend kept their familiar routine. It made him feel like the guy sitting next to him was the same Matt he’d always known, even though he hadn’t seen him in a few years. “You know it’s no problem.”