Young Guys Thanksgiving (Gay Romance Box Set) E-Book

Trina Solet

• Herausgeber: Trina Solet
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Pizza for Thanksgiving
Roommates Mack and Enzo aren't expecting to spend Thanksgiving together. Then nothing goes as it should. Can they mend each other's hearts?
A Midnight Thanksgiving
A Thanksgiving with friends turns into a time alone for two frenemies. Will Alex and Vaughn admit how they truly feel for each other?
Trapped for Thanksgiving
Snowed in for Thanksgiving, Snyder and Joel make the best of it. Will keeping warm turn into something more for these two?

Leseprobe

Young Guys Thanksgiving (Gay Romance)

By Trina Solet

Copyright © 2018 by Trina Solet

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales or actual events is entirely coincidental.

All sexual activity takes place between persons eighteen years of age or older.

This novel contains material intended for mature readers.

Cover image is only for illustrative purposes. Any person depicted is a model.

Pizza for Thanksgiving

Pizza for Thanksgiving (Gay Romance)

By Trina Solet

Copyright © 2015 by Trina Solet

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales or actual events is entirely coincidental.

All sexual activity takes place between persons eighteen years of age or older.

This novel contains material intended for mature readers.

Cover image is only for illustrative purposes. Any person depicted is a model.

Pizza for Thanksgiving

Gay Romance

Trina Solet

Chapter 1

Enzo was one floor down from his apartment. That's where he stopped to sift through the mail. His and Mack's mail arrived all mixed up. Mack was his roommate, but other than handing over their share of junk mail, they didn't have much to do with each other.

As he started walking up the stairs, Enzo heard Mack's gruff voice. "This is nothing new to me. I'm used to it," he said. He must have been in front of the apartment door, talking to someone.

"But Thanksgiving alone. Come on, man, that's some depressing shit."

Enzo recognized the other voice too. It was Mack's friend, Dave. "You don't need to get all lone wolf, tough guy about it. You can come home with me. I'm taking Kate to meet my family. What's one more? You can pitch in for gas. Maybe drive while I make out with Kate in the back."

There was a short silence before Mack said, "Damn, you make it sound appealing. Stuck in the same car with Kate, for what? Five hours?"

"More like six."

"No, thank you."

"She isn't that bad," Dave claimed.

"She hates me."

"A six hour ride will give you a chance to get to know each other."

"Let me upgrade that 'No, thank you' to 'No way in hell,'" Mack told him.

"OK. But this is why I told you to get a girlfriend. They are good for some things, you know. And if you got one that cooks, you could also have yourself a home cooked meal." Dave laughed at his own little joke but Mack didn't. Extra points for him.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll just order a pizza."

"You're breaking my heart," Dave said. "OK then. Be stubborn. I'll see you later, man."

Once the two of them went silent, Enzo hurried up the stairs. He didn't want to get caught lingering and eavesdropping. He passed Dave as he came down.

"Hey, Mack's roomie," Dave greeted him. Enzo was pretty sure he didn't know his name. Guys like him never did.

Dave was popular and tall, always ready with a devilish grin for any girl. Mack was the opposite. He hardly ever cracked a smile.

Arriving on their floor, Enzo got to take in the sight of Mack in the doorway of their apartment. He had close-cropped, dark hair and stormy, blue eyes, not to mention a great body. He was an incredibly good looking guy but seriously standoffish. The way he always held himself, like he was ready for a fight, made for an ultra-masculine attitude. Enzo had no complaints. Maybe one. Mack's clothes were a little looser on him than Enzo would have liked. It was almost like he was trying to hide his obviously gorgeous body.

"Hey," Mack said to him and reached out for one of the two thin stacks of mail Enzo was holding.

Their fingers touched only briefly, but long enough for Enzo to have to hold his breath as he waited for the zap of electricity to pass through him. That didn't mean he had a thing for Mack or anything. He just couldn’t help how his body reacted when he came into actual physical contact with a guy that hot.

Mack went into the apartment ahead of him. He only flipped through the mail to make sure it really was all junk mail. He dumped most of it in the kitchen trash just as Enzo was about to do.

Opening the fridge, Mack grabbed a bottle of water. Watching Mack drinking, his throat working, reminded Enzo that he was very, very thirsty. He went and got a bottle for himself.

As an idea started to nag at him, Enzo glanced at his reflection on the side of the toaster. He resisted the urge to push his hair back. Since he left home, he had let his hair grow long in front so that sometimes he had to brush it out of his eyes. His friend Alan called that his flirty flip, but it wasn't. He just had to get his hair out of his face. Or maybe it was just a nervous habit. Either way, it wasn't flirty.

Enzo leaned his back against the fridge, and spied on Mack out of the corner of his eye. He was busy doing something on his phone and didn't notice that Enzo was scrutinizing him. Just as well. He wouldn't have liked that.

Mack wasn't a friendly guy, but he was an OK roommate. Most days, they hardly said two words to each other. One time Enzo did get Mack's laundry out of the dryer because the girl who lived across the hall threatened to dump it on the floor. Some of Mack's boxers were in there, but Enzo tried his best not to fondle them.

It was totally crazy that he was thinking of asking Mack if he wanted to spend Thanksgiving with him. The way things stood between them, it was going to come out of the blue. There was no way he was going to say yes. Enzo could already hear Mack's gruff voice as he shot him down.

Why should he though? Sure, they didn't have anything in common. But they didn't need to just to eat some turkey together. He just had to make the invitation sound low key. He didn't want Mack thinking he was hitting on him or something.

Actually he wasn't even sure if Mack knew he was gay. So far Enzo was gay mostly in his heart. He didn't get a chance to put it into much practice yet. Being paralyzingly shy didn't exactly help him get his love life in gear.

Hell, he could hardly bring himself to ask a straight guy to a casual Thanksgiving dinner. If he did this though, if he asked someone kind of scary like Mack to have dinner with him, it would be a huge step forward for him. He would be all set to ask a gay guy on a date. Or just for coffee. Or at least it might help him to think of maybe talking to a guy.

OK, that's how he was going to think of it, as practice. One thing was for sure, none of the guys he was likely to ask out were going to be this intimidating. As Enzo fidgeted in the kitchen, trying to get his courage up, he couldn't believe he was going to be breaking out of his shell to ask a straight guy to dinner. Mack was so reserved, Enzo didn't even know how to approach him.

Seeing that Mack was about to go to his bedroom, Enzo stopped him with some stammering. "Um, if... I mean... About Thanksgiving."

Mack turned to him with a frown. "What about it?" He already sounded surly. Not a good start.

"I wasn't eavesdropping," Enzo said defensively. "But I heard you talking to Dave about spending Thanksgiving by yourself. I'm not going home for Thanksgiving either. All my friends are though. Um. I can get us a turkey. I don't mind cooking if you don't have anywhere to go." Enzo made the offer clumsily, grasping for the right words. That was all wrong. It was supposed to be thrown out casually like a "why not" kind of deal. He was so going to crash and burn.

"I'm not hard up, you know," Mack snapped at him. "Whatever you overheard, you overheard wrong. I'm not some kind of charity case."

Enzo drew back from his harsh tone. Damn, he totally fucked that up. Good thing Mack wasn't someone he wanted to date. Now all that was left was for him to try and apologize.

"I didn't mean anything like that. It was just an idea. No big deal. Sorry if I..."

Mack cut him off, "Never mind. I'm sure you meant well. It's fine." Like everyone in the history of ever, he said "it's fine" with an edge to his voice that clearly said that it was not fine.

As Mack walked away, Enzo wondered if he had screwed up more than just the invitation. What if he screwed up this whole peaceful coexistence the two of them had going. Mack was a guy who valued his privacy. Now he was going to think Enzo was some kind of busybody.

But maybe it was something else that made him say no. Maybe Mack did know he was gay, and he thought Enzo was hitting on him. Well he wasn't going to apologize for being gay, but he did wish he had just kept his mouth shut.

Now that his gesture had flopped so badly, all that was left was to call Miranda so she could commiserate with him. Too bad she was busy. She texted that she would call him back later. He wished he could call Nai Lin, but she was in class.

Enzo took a deep breath and called Alan. He didn't call him first because he wanted a sympathetic ear, not to get yelled at.

"How dare you waste that tiny spark of courage on a straight guy?" Yup, he was getting yelled at. "If you're going to ask a guy to dinner, he should be a hundred percent certified gay or bi. Straight guys are only good for looking at and jerking off to."

"I was being nice," Enzo told him.

"Nice is all well and good. Just don't waste it on a straight guy."

"You're starting to sound heterophobic."

"There's no such thing. Yet," Alan told him. "You're going out with me tonight and you're picking up a guy. If you can hit on a straight guy, you can damn well hit on a gay guy."

"I wasn't hitting on him," Enzo said defensively.

"I've seen your roommate. You were hitting. No excuses. Be ready at nine."

As Enzo hung up, he wondered what he had been thinking. Every decision he made today was crazy from his invitation to Mack to calling Alan. But he really wasn't hitting on Mack, not even subconsciously. Turkey day is the least sexy of all the holidays, and it was getting less sexy by the minute.

*

After Enzo ambushed him with that invitation, Mack didn't know what to think. Once he got over his embarrassment and anger for being pitied, he moved on to kicking himself for his outburst.

He didn't have time to dwell on being a jerk though. His job at the party supply store kept him busy these days. Because of all the extra business, the place was open late around holiday time. That was good news for Mack. Longer hours meant more money. He had a scholarship to cover tuition, but he had living expenses to think of, including half the rent.

Mack remembered seeing that little apartment for the first time. He looked up at a brownish gray building that only looked worse as the trees around it lost their leaves. Then it was up to the drab, cramped, depressing, two bedroom apartment. The place looked like an old lady might have lived and died there. Every single thing in there was decades old. Yeah, Mack could picture himself living there. In fact he couldn't picture himself living anywhere nicer.

But when Enzo moved in, the place somehow seemed more cheerful. Enzo didn't do any redecorating. It was all the same used and abused furniture in shades of brown. He did fill that one rickety shelf with books. Mack had already borrowed a few though he wasn't much of a reader if it wasn't required for school.

Mack had never been much of a student either, but he made sure his grades were good enough for a scholarship. It was a big help, but he still had to work to support himself. Enzo had a job too. And Mack had seen him clipping coupons, fitting in with that whole old lady vibe. Mack wouldn't stoop to that, but he could tell that they both lived on the cheap.

They had a few things in common, but they were just too different where it counted. Enzo was shy with apprehensive eyes when he was around Mack. But around his friends, Enzo had a quick, bright smile like the sun breaking through the clouds.

He certainly wasn't smiling earlier. Whenever Mack had a free moment, Enzo's disappointment came back to him to make him feel guilty. The brightness in his hazel eyes dimmed. His smile disappeared. All because Mack was a dick to him.

Why the hell was he obsessing about that? He gave Enzo the only answer he could give him. He had nothing to feel bad about, but what happened at the apartment still bugged him. The bad feeling dogged him even as he finished work.

At closing time, it was already dark. He stepped out onto the sidewalk and felt the chill of the evening air. Zipping up his jacket, he walked home.

He dreaded facing Enzo when he got to the apartment. That's why he decided to take a detour. Dave and his buddies liked to hang out at Tripp's. Dave had texted him to come and join them. They were too loud and laughed at all the wrong crap, but if he was going to be a coward about facing Enzo, he deserved the punishment of hanging out with them.

Maybe he even deserved what happened when he turned the corner on 7th Avenue. His plan backfired. He was trying to avoid Enzo, and he ended up face to face with him. They had come within inches of colliding with each other. Drawing back from Mack just like he had earlier today, Enzo stammered another apology.

Mack frowned. He was the one who turned the corner without looking. "No. It was my fault," he said, but even to his own ears, his tone didn't sound right for an apology.

"Damn right it was."

Hearing that, Mack turned to the guy who was right next to Enzo. Until he spoke, Mack didn't even notice him. How was that possible? He couldn't have been staring into Enzo's pretty eyes that hard.

The guy next to Enzo had spiked hair and pierced eyebrows, and he even had his arm draped over Enzo's slim shoulders. But standing next to Enzo, he was invisible to Mack. Now that he looked at him, he did recognize him as Enzo's bossy, loudmouthed friend who sometimes dropped by the apartment.

The guy had more to say to Mack, but Enzo shushed his friend, who only shrugged. As Mack stood there, not sure what he should say or do, Enzo smiled at him sheepishly.

"See you later, I guess," he said as he led his friend away before he could speak his mind and maybe tell Mack off the way he deserved.

Standing on the corner, Mack looked after them and saw Enzo's friend tighten his hold around his neck and pull him down almost into a choke hold. He heard Enzo protest then laugh as his friend messed up his hair. Seeing them like that, Mack wondered if they might be more than friends. He felt an unexpectedly strong pang of jealousy.

He didn't take his eyes off them until they went around the next corner. Once they were out of sight, Mack didn't know which way to go. There wasn't any reason to continue on to Tripp's. But he felt like there was no reason to go home either. All of a sudden, it seemed pointless and lonely to go back to the apartment if Enzo wasn't going to be there.

Chapter 2

The days were getting shorter, the nights colder. Mack couldn't remember the last time he got up in the morning to daylight. Too many cloudy days weren't making things any more cheerful either. A Thanksgiving spent alone was just more of the same. Then suddenly there was Enzo with his invitation. At first he had been nervous, his eyes shining with a spark of hope, then crestfallen as Mack said no.

As Mack woke up to the gloom of an autumn morning, he thought of his face. That face was always meant to be cheerful. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and maybe the image of Enzo as well, Mack got up with a groan.

He shuffled out of his bedroom and toward the kitchen. Groggy, the sound of the alarm still fresh in his ears, he wouldn't be really awake until he had his coffee. He was only a few steps into the living room when he saw Enzo. Or more like, he saw the back of him as he disappeared into his bedroom on the opposite side of the apartment.

For a moment, Mack just stared after him. Standing there in a dumb stupor, he watched as Enzo's bedroom door closed softly behind him. There wasn't anything really unusual about that. They always used the kitchen in shifts, especially in the mornings.

An early riser, Enzo was usually in and out of there first. Most days, the smell of the coffee he had brewed greeted Mack when he came out of his bedroom. But not today. Mack grumbled to himself as he made his own coffee and wondered if his rude refusal was the cause of this.

As Mack stuck two slices of bread in the toaster, he hoped he hadn't screwed things up with Enzo. He was the best roommate Mack could hope for. He was a nice, unassuming guy, who respected his privacy. For all Mack knew, he might even be a great guy, but he never bothered to find out. To him, Enzo McKay was just someone to pay half the rent.

That's how it had been, anyway. But now something had shifted between them. Mack was ill at ease even though Enzo was in his own bedroom, behind a closed door. Still standing in the kitchen, Mack bit into his dry, overdone toast and told himself he was making too much of this. That refused invitation might not even mean anything to Enzo. Maybe he put it all behind him and made other plans for Thanksgiving. While Mack was obsessing about this, Enzo might have forgotten all about him.

While Mack chewed his breakfast, Enzo came out of his room and mumbled, "Good morning." His bedroom was right next to the kitchen. Mack had to swallow a bite of toast with the help of some coffee before he could reply. By then, Enzo had passed the kitchen door. The kitchen had a serving window that looked out onto the living room. Mack looked through it and saw that Enzo was already halfway out the door, book bag over one shoulder.

No, he hadn't forgotten about the way Mack refused his invitation. That was just wishful thinking. Mack sensed that it was still an issue between them. Something in the way Enzo carried himself as he rushed out the door told him that very clearly. He seemed more hunched over. His head was lower. Enzo's face was more somber too. Mack couldn't be sure though. Enzo was gone too fast. Mack couldn't take a good, long look at him.

Mack sighed thinking of his face, but what else did Enzo expect? That invitation came out of nowhere. Until now, Enzo's main virtue was that he was quiet as a mouse. Sometimes his friends could be loud, but he didn't have them over that often. Most of the time, Mack could hardly tell he lived there, and that was pretty much perfect.

Mack had more than enough racket growing up in one foster home after another. The last few years before he started college, it was a group home for him. There was no peace and quiet there. That's why he valued this living arrangement. It was almost like having the place to himself, and that was a dream come true.

It was a funny dream to want to live in a place like this. Walking around with his coffee cup in his hand reminded Mack that the place had zero appeal. There was some kind of ugly wallpaper on the walls. It had blue stripes and tiny, brown flowers. The brown carpet looked like it died an ugly death but never got a proper burial. The two bedrooms were tiny with square windows that hardly let in any light. The living room was full of old furniture, and worst of all, an uncomfortable couch. That's where he and Enzo hung out in shifts, never together. They never spent more than two minutes in the same room.

Mack had no problem with any of that. The apartment was good enough, and he didn't want to be friendly with his roommate. Still, he hated that he upset him. But Mack also hated that Enzo knew he was alone for Thanksgiving. That's why he got mad. No way would he have this guy feeling sorry for him. If only Enzo had left well enough alone.

Mack was used to being by himself and not depending on anyone. That wasn't the easiest thing in the world at holiday time. And the way they stacked up, Turkey Day then Christmas. The whole season was booby trapped. That didn't mean he wanted Enzo to feel sorry for him and throw him a charity Thanksgiving. Just the thought of that put his teeth on edge.

Swallowing the last of his coffee, Mack got ready to go to class. It was cowardly, but he hoped not to run into Enzo on campus. Once Turkey Day was over, things would go back to normal. Then Mack would feel like himself again instead of worrying about his roommate's hurt feelings.

If he was hoping this would blow over fast, so far no luck. The next time he saw Enzo, he was with a group of his friends. They were being loud and eating lunch at one of the benches by the cafeteria. It was a sunny day. The cold didn't have as much bite to it where the sun was shining. Standing in the shade, where it was a few degrees colder, Mack watched Enzo surrounded by that noisy group. He was cheerful, smiling even as his fries were stolen by a tattooed girl with long braids.

Thinking that was a good sign, Mack felt relieved until Enzo's eyes fell on him. There it was, the look Mack hated washed over Enzo's face. The smile was gone. Enzo's expression turned apprehensive and his eyes sad. Damn it, if he didn't have such pretty eyes, Mack probably wouldn't care if they looked sad or not.

He gave Enzo a small wave and walked away. He had one more class, then he had to go to his job. He didn't have time for this crap. But even as he walked away, he could picture Enzo with his questioning eyes, his hair long on top, always falling into his eyes. How many times had he seen him push it out of the way and then blink a few times? That guy needed to stop being attractive and sweet, and making Mack feel bad.

At work, the bad feeling was still gnawing at him. It didn't help that Pal's Party Store was full of turkeys. Their pictures were on everything from cocktail napkins to table-sized turkey platters. How was he supposed to stop thinking about his own pathetic, lonely Thanksgiving when every other thing he rang up had a turkey on it?

His pride made him say no, and in his view, that meant he was justified. But saying no made Enzo unhappy, and it made Mack feel like shit. By the time he headed back home, Mack was sick of feeling like a bad guy.

Protecting his pride wasn't worth it if it made Enzo look so down. And he had been so nervous when he made the offer. Just for that reason, Mack should have gone easy on him instead of being a dick about it. But he was so used to trying to look tough. His "I don't need anybody" attitude was deeply ingrained. It was second nature to him.

Learning to be independent no matter what was a hard lesson. Being needy was a liability. It was the same as asking for a beating or worse. Mack learned to depend only on himself. He couldn't unlearn it just like that, no matter how pretty and unhappy Enzo's eyes were.

That didn't mean he wanted to hurt someone who meant well. He at least owed him an apology. Enzo had certainly apologized enough. And for what? For doing a nice thing. Mack really was a dick.

As he sat on the living room couch and did some reading for class, he thought about what excuses to make when he apologized. He had time to figure it out. Enzo wasn't there yet, and Mack wondered if he was out with his friends.

He didn't have to wait long though. As he heard a key in the door, Mack looked up from his laptop. Enzo came in then stopped like seeing him sitting there startled him. That's when Mack realized that he had been reading in the dark. The living room was lit only by the light from his laptop screen.

"Sorry," Mack said to him. "I forgot to turn on the lights." He got up and turned on a lamp. He looked back and found Enzo staring at him.

"No problem," Enzo said. He seemed confused, maybe because Mack didn't apologize for every little thing. Apologies made a guy look weak, and being weak made him a target through most of his childhood.

Seeing that he was on his way to his bedroom, Mack stopped him.

"About Thanksgiving..." As soon as he said that, Enzo faced him, looking both eager and hopeful.

Mack stopped, not sure what he wanted to say. Enzo's eyes looked so bright, and it wasn't just the light from the lamp shining in them. Mack was afraid that when he finished what he was planning to say, he was going to see that light dim.

"I think I overreacted," Mack started to say, and Enzo nodded. It was like he was agreeing with him but also anticipating what he was going to say next.

That made Mack pause again, afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"You mean you want to have Thanksgiving together?" Enzo asked, rushing him.

"If you don't have any plans..." Mack heard himself say.

What the hell? He didn't know why he was saying that. Maybe because there was no good excuse not to have turkey with Enzo. They were in the same boat. It wouldn't be that weird for them to have Thanksgiving together.

The more he thought about it, the more Mack realized that refusing Enzo didn't make any sense. It was a stupid, knee-jerk reaction. Enzo deserved better than some half-baked apology. He deserved a big, fucking yes.

"Like you heard, I'm free for Thanksgiving," Mack said. That was sort of like a big, fucking yes.

"Okay," Enzo said and a smile spread across his face. "I don't have plans. I wasn't even going to cook just for myself, but if there's two of us, it might be worth it."

"You still don't have to cook. We can order a pizza," Mack said to try to contain what was happening.

The look on Enzo's face told him that wasn't an acceptable option. "No. I want to cook. I'm not a good cook or anything. I'm pretty sure I can make something edible. If you want, I mean. I can try and make us a real Thanksgiving dinner."

Fuck, if it would make him happy, who the hell was Mack to say no to a home cooked meal. Charity or not, he would let Enzo feed him. "I'm sure it's gonna be fine. I'm not picky."

"I want to try and make a whole turkey, but not a big one," Enzo said. He was clearly excited about it. "It might turn out terrible."

"In that case, I guess we might as well have a terrible Thanksgiving together," Mack told him with a shrug. There was something about the guy, he just couldn't say no to him. "But the turkey is on me. I mean I'm just buying it. After I bring it in, it's all yours. I wouldn't know the first thing about what to do with it."

Enzo nodded and smiled again. He looked so happy as he rushed to the kitchen and started checking the ingredients and making a list. Seeing him like that almost erased all of Mack's reservations.

Now that his Thanksgiving plans were all set, Mack spent the next few days wondering at himself. Was he really doing this? He had to. There was no backing out now. But who the hell had body-snatched him and agreed to this?

That's what he was asking himself as he was eating a quick sandwich between classes while half listening to Dave. He was still on a mission to take Mack along to his family's Thanksgiving. Having a big, noisy family, Dave considered a holiday alone just plain wrong.

At first, Mack had no intention of sharing his new Thanksgiving plans with Dave, but he made that impossible. He kept bugging him to go along with him and Kate to his family's Thanksgiving dinner. Mack had to tell him he had plans just to shut him up.

"I made my own plans. Thanksgiving for two. Now lay off."

"Is she hot? Hotter than Kate?"  Dave asked, jumping to conclusions.

Mack thought for a minute and compared Enzo to Kate.

"Definitely hotter."

"Kate will claw her eyes out," Dave warned him.

Yeah, Kate was a sweetheart. Mack didn't make any comment about her though. He was busy feeling weird for letting Dave believe he was having Thanksgiving with some girl.

"It's my roommate, not a girl. He'll be cooking me dinner," Mack told him.

Dave made a face. He didn't think much of his Thanksgiving plans. "Thanksgiving with your nerdy roommate. I don't know if that's more or less pathetic than Thanksgiving alone. You should still come with me and Kate."

"I already said yes to Enzo. I'm committed to this now."

"Make an excuse and back out. Say I broke my leg and you have to drive me or something." Dave was relentless, but Mack was used to that.

Dave was pretty much the only real friend Mack made since he started college. Actually it was more like Dave targeted him for recruitment and stalked him until he gave in. He was one of those mouthy, friendly guys Mack thought he hated, but maybe not when there's a good guy and a real friend behind all that noise. But there was still so much that Mack didn't share with him. He couldn't.

He was used to hiding who he was and what he felt. It was part of his strategy of survival. Not wanting to get the shit beat out of him, he learned to keep his mouth shut and his eyes averted. It was now second nature.

When someone assumed he was into girls, he let them. He made sure not to look at a guy too long. The better looking a guy was, the less he looked at him. Enzo barely got a glance from him until recently.

It was Enzo's eyes that kept Mack from looking at him. They were too pretty – hazel and bright as stars. Plus he was so shy, and that just pulled Mack closer. At the same time, it made him stay away. No one was ever going to catch him looking at Enzo. Eyes averted, a mumbled hi when they passed each other, and Mack was gone.

Each of them lived a separate existence in the same small apartment. For a while, Mack wasn't even sure Enzo was gay. He was one of those guys who people might assume was gay because he didn't throw his masculinity in your face the way Mack had learned to do. People made assumptions about Mack too, and they were usually wrong.

Fact was Mack hadn't seen Enzo dating either girls or guys. He never brought anyone to the apartment except friends and occasionally people he studied with. Then he overheard his loud friend saying how he was going to find a cute guy for Enzo. That made Mack smile. He had a gay roommate. And what did he do about it? Did he come out to him? Maybe drop a hint? No. He stayed as closed-mouthed on the subject as ever.

Chapter 3

Right before Thanksgiving, things were kind of hectic at the party supply store. Between work and stuff he had to do for school, Mack didn't get a chance to go to the grocery store until Thanksgiving morning. Enzo said that was OK, but Mack was worried. What was going to be left of the turkeys by then? To top it off, Mack didn't know anything about buying a bird though Enzo did warn him not to come back with a frozen turkey.

On Thanksgiving morning, Mack only had a cup of coffee, no breakfast. He was too on edge to eat. Why the hell was he so anxious? It was just a stupid turkey dinner. It wasn't like he was cooking it. But he had that nervous feeling anyway, almost like it was a date. How the hell would he even know? He had never been on a date in his life. And this definitely wasn't one.

He needed to stop worrying about that and go get that turkey. Gulping down the last of his coffee, he looked toward Enzo's bedroom door. He was sleeping a little later than usual, but he would be up soon. Mack needed to make sure he had a turkey to cook.

When he got to the only store in the area that was open on Thanksgiving, Mack was relieved to see that some fresh turkeys were left. Now it was just a matter of picking out the right one. It was dumb of him to insist on getting a turkey, but he was dead set on contributing. So far all he got were a few things from the party supply store – Happy Turkey Day napkins, a plastic serving platter for the turkey, and the oversized aluminum pan for cooking it. With his employee discount, it didn't amount to much.

To try to figure out if there was a trick to turkey buying, he stared for a while and spied on an old couple as they picked out a turkey from the half dozen in there. They picked a big one and worked together to get the turkey into their cart.

That didn't really give Mack any clues. He got worried that all the good ones might already be gone so he got in there. Just for him and Enzo, he figured he should get the smallest one. That turned out not to be that small. It was a twelve pound turkey. If they had smaller ones, they probably ran out.

Mack loaded it into the cart, paid for it, took it to the apartment and presented it for Enzo's approval. He found him already busy in the kitchen. When Mack showed up with the turkey, he smiled like he was happy to see both of them.

"Oof. You weren't kidding around when you bought this turkey," Enzo said as he took it from him.

"You can handle it right?"

"Just barely," Enzo said, but he was still kidding around about how heavy it was.

"I mean cooking it."

"And I meant that I need to do some sit-ups, pushups, weights. Oh, hell, I need to do all of it," Enzo said.

"What are you talking about? You look good," Mack said, realizing too late what just popped out of his mouth.

Fearing the worst, he watched as Enzo smiled shyly and blushed. His reaction wasn't what he expected. He wouldn't have been surprised if Enzo had told him to back off. That smile of his made Mack want to shower him with compliments.

Actually, he didn't know how to compliment a guy except by accident. In his experience, openly admiring a guy got you a beating not a flustered, cute guy smiling at you while his eyes twinkled. OK, this wasn't going to turn out well if he didn't stop staring at him and wanting to lick his bright red earlobes.

For now, the turkey was going in the fridge. Mack moved a shelf to make room for it. He was holding the fridge door open while Enzo maneuvered the turkey in there. That put them too close. Mack just had to take one step and he would know what Enzo felt like, how he smelled and tasted. He could put his hand at the spot between his neck and the collar of his checkered shirt and slide his fingers over his warm skin.

To make himself stop thinking crazy and staring at Enzo, Mack looked around at all the stuff that was spread all over the kitchen counters.

"This looks ambitious," Mack said seeing everything Enzo had piled up on the limited counter space.

Enzo told him what he had going on there. "I have carrots, regular potatoes, and sweet potatoes for the sides. I'm not making a salad because no one cares about salad on Thanksgiving."

"Or any time," Mack said, letting Enzo know where he stood on the subject of salad.

Enzo gave him a wan look for that. "I got biscuits from the bakery, but we'll warm them up."

The mention of a bakery got Mack thinking about something way more important than biscuits. "Are we having pie?" he asked eagerly. He looked around and saw no sign of any pie. If Enzo didn't have one stashed away somewhere, he was ready to go to the store and get one or two.

"I have pumpkin pie and whipped cream in the fridge," Enzo assured him.

"Oh, good."

Enzo smiled at how relieved he was. "I'm also making boniatillo con coco. That's sweet potato pudding. It has coconut and cinnamon."

That explained the bag of coconut flakes Mack had spotted. "Anything with sweet potato sounds good to me."

"Don't get too excited. This is the first time I'm making it."

"So how can I help? I mean, what can I do that doesn't involve any actual cooking?" Mack offered. Looking around, he didn't know what was going on. The kitchen counters looked like something exploded. He saw two cutting boards, a few too many knives and vegetables everywhere. "I didn't even know you could cook." He had never noticed Enzo doing more in the kitchen than making a sandwich or boiling pasta.

"Me either," Enzo said. Seeing Mack's worried look, he explained. "I mean, I can cook, but I've never cooked a whole turkey."

"That's why you should definitely let me help," Mack told him. "Then if it doesn't turn out right, we won't know who's to blame."

That didn't make Enzo feel better. "Way to be positive," he grumbled. "We're already dividing up the blame. This is going to be an awesome Thanksgiving dinner."

"So what do I do?" Mack asked, ready to do his part.

Enzo sighed and gave him a pitying look. "I'm sorry I have to do this to you, but could you peel and chop the onions," he said ominously and stared at Mack like he was doomed.

"Um. I can probably handle that," Mack said, wondering what the fuss was about.

Enzo shook his head. "Cutting onions stings your eyes and makes you cry. It's the worst."

"I guess that will be my job," Mack said with a grin.

"Don't act tough. You don't know."

Mack laughed. Actually cutting onions did turn out to be pretty damn unpleasant, but not as bad as Enzo made it out to be.

"Told you," he gloated when he saw Mack blinking back tears.

He didn't disagree with him. "At least it smells good when it's cooking." He was looking at the pan where the onions were going in to cook along with some other vegetables. His mouth was already watering and dinner was hours away. Maybe skipping breakfast wasn't a good idea.

"I'm just frying this up to go in the stuffing. There's sausage too." As he mixed what was in the pan, Enzo threw in some herbs and spices, making it smell even better.

Whatever it was, Mack could eat it right now. "As far as I'm concerned, you can stop right there."

"Forget the turkey, you mean?" Enzo said, appalled. "Are you trying to sabotage my dinner?"

"Or do it your way," Mack said with a laugh.

*

As Mack helped him cook, Enzo noticed that he was more cheerful than he had ever seen him. He was still reserved, but he did laugh a few times – at Enzo, of course. So far, things were going OK. Enzo was worried about how the dinner would turn out, but he and Mack were getting along better than he expected.

Not that it was exactly comfortable. There was a push and pull of tension. That wasn't anything new. Ever since he moved in, Enzo had been a little ill at ease around Mack. He was so attractive and yet so intense. Enzo couldn't help but indulge in a few fantasies. Mack stalked through his dreams, barged into his bedroom and took him with no mercy.

Then the next time he saw Mack, Enzo would blush remembering what he made him do. He couldn't look Mack in the eye without his fantasies coming back to him. Good thing they didn't have much to do with each other. That way Enzo didn't have an opportunity to give himself away. It was harmless anyway even if Mack was straight.

But that was before Enzo impulsively invited Mack to Thanksgiving dinner. Ever since he made that invitation, his fantasies kicked into high gear. Mack's rejection didn't slow down his overactive imagination or his hand on his cock. How did staying away from a guy turn into obsessing over him? Then out of the blue, Mack accepted and Enzo was a nervous wreck.

Now that dinner preparations were under way, Enzo hoped he would be too busy to even notice Mack. Yeah, right. He was going to ignore a gorgeous guy while he was right next to him. Considering that things were kind of hectic, he hadn't counted on what being so close to Mack would be doing to his body and his mind.

He had trouble concentrating and remembering what came next. At every step, he had to recheck the recipes. The heat from cooking plus even more heat being generated by being near Mack, it was all too much.

In the small kitchen, they were practically pressed up against each other. OK, they weren't pressed up against each other. That was just in Enzo's mind. But that was bad enough. Enzo was tense about dinner and tense in a completely different way about Mack.

Actually that tension was kind of nice. It was a rush, something Enzo hadn't felt... ever. Not like this. Not this strong. Mack was the kind of guy he could just dive into. Get lost in. Like you would in the ocean or a huge forest. He seemed immense. Enzo got a thrill just being around him.

His big body crowded the small space the way it might crowd Enzo's narrow bed. With no room left, he would give Enzo no choice but to crowd him right back and snuggle up tight to every muscle. Oh, crap, that was not something he should be thinking about when only inches away from a short-tempered, straight guy. Mack was in a pretty good mood at the moment, but he wouldn't be if he knew what Enzo was thinking about him.

But ever since he invited Mack to have dinner with him, Enzo had been having crazy thoughts like that. His fantasies were more intimate and vivid than ever. What happened to the smart, cautious Enzo who knew to stay out of this guy's way? He made an uncharacteristically bold move and now look at him. Trapped. He couldn't stay out of Mack's way here. All he could hope to do was keep his thoughts halfway decent.

Chapter 4

While Mack was still trying to come to terms with spending Thanksgiving with Enzo, he tried to make himself useful in the kitchen. Enzo was busy cooking the stuffing and grumbling to himself. Just when Mack was about to ask him if anything was wrong, they heard a knock on the door. Mack went and opened the door to find Dave standing there.

As he let him in, Mack said, "I thought you were on your way to your parents'."

"I had a fight with Kate. She ditched me. You want to drive down with me?" Dave asked.

"Dave, even if you forgot what I told you about having plans, don't you smell this? Enzo is cooking," Mack told him.

"Hi, Mack's roomie," Dave said as he came in and saw him through the serving window that opened to the living room. "I guess it doesn't smell too bad in here."

"Thanks?" Enzo said then he turned to Mack. "If you want to change your plans, it's fine. I can..."

"What? Stick my turkey in the freezer?" Mack asked.

"I'm not sure it would fit," Enzo said frowning at the narrow freezer door. "I can keep it in the fridge."

"I was kidding. You promised me a homemade Thanksgiving dinner," Mack reminded him.

"I'm not backing out. But you can if you want," Enzo said, still trying to let him off the hook.

Mack shook his head at him. "Dave can drive down on his own."

"I guess I can if I have to," Dave said. He threw a glare at Enzo like it was his fault.

Seeing that Dave was determined to hijack his only dinner guest, Enzo said he wanted to send a few "Happy Thanksgiving" texts. He turned off the burner and went to his room.

Left alone with Dave, Mack followed him as he went into the kitchen. He poked around, inspecting what Enzo had going on in there so far.

Not impressed, he turned to Mack. "OK. This is your chance. Let's get out of here. What I'm seeing in this kitchen has 'It's the thought that counts' written all over it."

Actually Mack thought things were shaping up pretty well in the kitchen and smelling even better.

"Dave, you should get going. You have a lot of solo driving to do," Mack told him.

"Exactly why you should be coming with me."

"I have plans," Mack said pointing all around the kitchen.

"I'd understand if you were ditching me for a girl. Dude, did you lose a bet or what?" Dave asked, still trying to figure out the appeal of a dinner with a guy.

Mack could have supplied the one missing piece of information that would have cleared it up for him, but he didn't. He just muscled Dave to the door.

Dave got to be his friend by being off the charts obnoxious about it, so it was no surprise that he was so bullheaded about getting him to go along with him to his parents' house. That strategy wasn't going to work this time.

"Dude, I'm trying to save you," Dave protested.

"I don't need saving. I'm not a hostage here. I'm the one who bought the turkey," Mack told him as he opened the door.

"Smells like a hostage situation to me."

"Smells like stuffing with sausage."

"Ooh, that's the good one."

"Yes, it is. Now get out of here and thanks for the invite. I appreciate it," Mack said and got him out the door with a few gentle shoves.

Mack had only just closed the door in Dave's face when Enzo came out of his room. Once again, he tried to encourage Mack to abandon him.

"It really is OK if you want to go with Dave. I barely started. And I'm not sure I'm doing this right anyway," he said as he poked at the stuffing with a wooden spoon.

"Where do you get this idea that I'm going to change my mind at the drop of a hat? We're already making this dinner," Mack said to him.

"You did refuse and then you changed your mind," Enzo recapped for him. "You could change your mind again."

"Don't make me sound like a flake. I'm a man of my word. My mind is made up. Let's cook this bird," Mack said. He took a strong, decisive stance and got ready to do whatever Enzo told him to.

After all that, he wasn't sure why he was so determined to stick it out with Enzo except he told him he would. In general he did believe in honoring his commitments. Plus the way Enzo was trying to let him off the hook only made him want to say no to Dave even more. He didn't need Dave or anyone taking it easy on him, feeling sorry for him, rescuing him or any of that crap. So the same thing that made him refuse Enzo's invitation before he came to his senses was now making him stick to him like glue.

"Sorry. You would probably have more fun with your friend," Enzo said as he charged him with peeling sweet potatoes.

"And his whole family? I don't think so. I wouldn't be comfortable at someone else's family dinner." Mack shuddered at the thought of being a stranger at a table full of family.

"What's the deal with your family then? I mean you don't have to tell me..."

"No, I don't." Mack didn't mean to snap, but he hated talking about that crap. All it did was make people feel sorry for him. He gritted his teeth and gave Enzo the short version. "I got shuffled around foster homes and group homes until I got kicked out of the system at eighteen. Now I'm on my own."

"I'm sorry," Enzo said.

It wasn't Mack's favorite thing to hear. "You don't need to start playing the violin and kicking off a charity drive. I can take care of myself."

Enzo stared at him for a moment then nodded. "So that's the tripwire I got snagged on when I invited you to spend Thanksgiving with me."

"I guess," Mack said. He really didn't want to get into all that, but he also didn't want to be a dick about it. "I'm so used to being a total shit, and protecting myself from everyone at every minute. Sometimes I don't know how to switch gears. Sorry."

He didn't like to tell people how he grew up. There was too much baggage that went along with the bare facts. Already he was tempted to tell Enzo too much. He had the kindest eyes of anyone he had ever met. That didn't mean that he should know his whole life story.

This was probably the longest the two of them had spent in the same room. Partly it was because they both had work and classes and also because they wanted to stay out of each other's way. Until now all they shared was a tiny apartment, a cramped kitchen with no dishwasher, the old chipped countertop, linoleum on the floor, and the beige porcelain sink, which was all scratched up. Now they were cooking together.

There was more to it than that though. Occasionally their elbows brushed. Sometimes Enzo nudged him out of the way. When Enzo mumbled to himself, Mack leaned closer to be able to hear, like he was going to tell him some secret in the middle of cooking. Then Enzo turned his eyes to him and Mack felt like everything just stopped.

Biting his lower lip in concentration, Enzo was so very serious about what he was doing that Mack couldn't help but smile. Watching Enzo's long fingers at work was kind of hypnotizing. When it came to slicing and dicing, what Enzo lacked in speed, he made up for in precision. Mack half expected him to take out a ruler.

Overall dinner preparations weren't moving along very fast. Enzo spent a lot of time looking at recipes, double-checking things. That worried Mack a little. Other than guessing by the noises Enzo made, Mack had no idea if things were going well or not.

Cooking with someone was a new experience for him. It was kind of fun. Enzo was so uptight about it though, maybe because he was worried about messing up. Mack hoped that he wasn't the one making him anxious about dinner.

"You shouldn't worry about messing up. Something is bound to be edible," Mack told him.

His words of comfort didn't have the right effect. "What do you mean something? What do you mean edible?" Enzo said, his voice rising. "I don't want to have a few edible scraps. I want everything to be good."

"You're an overachiever, aren't you?" Mack said seeing how worked up he was getting.

"Maybe," Enzo said sheepishly.

"But I'm here to keep you from taking it all on yourself, remember?"

"It is more fun cooking with someone," Enzo said tentatively.

"I was just thinking that."

"No way!" Enzo said, surprised.