All he could think about was when he’d kiss that face again.
“Ah. Didn’t realize you had a new project.”
Max rolled his eyes and rubbed his face, wiping away the smile that had automatically tugged his lips when he thought of Jeremy’s grin. “He’s not a ‘project.’ What’s so bad about helping people when I can?”
“There’s nothing bad about it. Josh Singh would still have a unibrow and be wearing floods if you hadn’t stepped in. How’s he doing, by the way?”
“Seems good. Finishing at Queens this year, and he’s engaged to his girlfriend.”
“Cool. So what’s the prob with your new protégé?”
“He came out to his family in the summer and it went pretty badly. Hasn’t really talked to them much in months. He’s from Victoria, so he’ll be on campus alone over the holidays. I was just thinking about how much that would suck.”
Meg’s mouth drew down. “Shit. It really would. Poor kid. Are you going to invite him to come home with us?”
And there it was, the idea that had been silently looping around his brain, building up steam. “I should, right?” Hell, it was technically Meg’s suggestion.
“Mom and Dad won’t mind. There’s plenty of room.”
“Yeah. They won’t.”
It still gave him a pang, the easy way Meg called Max’s father “dad.” She’d been younger when their parents got together, so maybe that was it. Max had always called Meg’s mom her given name, Valerie. He’d already had a mom, and he was probably too old to start calling her anything different now. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to.
Shaking off the vague, bittersweet memories of his mom, he refocused and asked Meg, “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Nope. The more the merrier. If he’s just a friend, they won’t be weird about it. You remember that torturous Thanksgiving weekend when I brought Craig home?”
“Ugh, Craig. I forgot about that guy.”
“I wish I could.” She gave a full-body shudder. “He sucked. But it was so awkward. Suddenly they were Puritans and giving us ‘The Talk’ about how inappropriate it would be to ‘engage in sexual activity’ in the family home. As if we didn’t masturbate there for years.”
Max snorted. “Very true.” He’d never dated anyone seriously enough to bring them home for a visit. But maybe Dad and Valerie’s house rules could be just what he and Jeremy needed to slow down. The choice about law school loomed, and even though he was very tempted to distract himself with Jeremy, was that fair?
“Like, what did they think was going to happen? I was going to go down on Craig at the dinner table post-turkey and pre-pumpkin pie?”
“You do enjoy a palate cleanser.”
“Let’s just say I would have had plenty of room for dessert.”
“Oof. Savage.” Max’s mind whirled. “But yeah, Jeremy and I are just friends.” Though he had to admit he could already envision more between them. He could see them in a real relationship.
But was that the lust talking? Was that his desperation to focus on something shiny and new instead of dealing with the life-changing choice he had to make? The last thing he wanted to do was lead Jeremy on.
At a stoplight, Meg tapped her phone, and Max struggled to corral his thoughts. Maybe the responsible plan would be to cool things down between them while making sure Jeremy wouldn’t be alone over the holidays. He wanted to make sure Jeremy didn’t feel pressured, so it would be good for them have a breather over Christmas. Just be friends and not get in too deep.
So to speak.
What was the harm in extending the invite? Jeremy might say no, but Max would be eaten alive by guilt if he didn’t at least ask. The thought of him stuck in the empty dorm for weeks made Max’s stomach swoop with nausea, his chest going hollow with a horrible ache. It would be so lonely.
Jeremy was simply too good to be lonely like that.
“I’m going to ask him.”
“Cool.” Meg frowned as she put away her phone. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She took his arm with her rainbow mitt. “LSATs?”
“No. They’re taking their sweet time.” He stopped on the sidewalk before the building housing Meg’s exam. “Break a clavicle.”
Meg waved, grinning at their old joke, which had come about when he’d told her to break a leg before playing in a school concert and she’d tripped backstage and cracked her violin and collarbone.
Max wandered the campus, walking salted paths and passing the spot where Jeremy had wiped out. When Max had leaned over him, his first thought had been that even in the darkness, Jeremy was a beautiful boy.
He realized he was grinning like a fool to himself as he strolled. Man, when was the last time he’d been so into a guy? He honestly couldn’t remember it ever being quite this intense. Was this deflection?