Housekeeping

November came with rain and mist, and Nicky also celebrated his No.30 birthday.He felt a little sorry for himself.It's been a year since the discovery of Tom and Simon's affair, and a year since his life was completely derailed.He loves living with Spencer and cleaning his house.The numbers in his bank account were slowly rising, and he took advantage of the spring semester to take some additional courses.But Nicky still felt a little sorry for himself.He's not a kid anymore, damn it, he should be more accomplished.His life should have purpose—and he should have someone by his side on the way to that goal.

Nikki had planned to spend his birthday in self-pity, but Ivan called just after noon. "We'll pick you up at six, honey. Get ready. Don't dress too formally, but be sexy."

"Thank you for the invitation, Ivan, but—"

"This is not an invitation. This is an order. Make your little butt look coquettish, and show up at the door at six o'clock on time, or I will break in and arrest you. Don't think I don't have the strength to drag you You go out."

"Then your nails will be chopped off."

"Six o'clock. On time." Ivan hung up the phone.

Nicky spends the next few hours mopping the baseboards and banisters, the weekly fingerprints that inexplicably appear on the walls, and battling mildew in the downstairs bathroom.He had also planned to vacuum the dust, but Spencer was working.By 05:30, Nicky showered and shaved, changing into skinny jeans and a silky amethyst shirt.That should be sexy enough, so be it.

He ran briskly down the stairs and unexpectedly met Spencer, who was going to the kitchen. "I'm going to order pizza delivery," Spencer said. "together?"

"Actually, I'm going out to eat. Thank you for thinking of me."

"Oh. Have a date?"

"Dating? What's that?" Nicky hasn't had a one-night stand in months. "Just go out and play with friends."

Spencer nodded slightly. "have fun."

It occurred to Nikki that since he and Spencer lived together, he had never seen Spencer go out to play.Never saw him bring anyone home.Fuck, he should have some friends, right? "Would you like to come with us?" Nicky asked.

A very bright smile flashed across Spencer's face, but after only a moment, he withdrew his expression and shook his head, as if a dark curtain fell from the sky, covering all his emotions. "No, I'll let it go. Thanks."

"Come on. Please? It's my birthday." Nicky tried to look cute, because he realized that he really wanted Spencer to come.

Spencer was visibly shaken. "But I don't want to be a light bulb. That would be a bummer."

"But actually, it's better with four of you, right? We're both light bulbs? And, well, I guess, you're my friend now. I wish you'd come."

Spencer has always been handsome, but every time he smiles like this—cheerful and a little bit shy—it's just mesmerizing. "Okay. Thanks. Um...do I need a change?" He looked down at himself.

"Actually, your T-shirt and shirt are a bit of a color contrast. Remember: don't mix greens." A few weeks ago, Spencer wore very eye-catching clothes for three consecutive days, so Nicky couldn't bear to help him color Organized the closet in order, but Spencer still kept forgetting how to put clothes together. "T-shirts are fine, just get a long shirt from the blue row, okay?"

"Understood." Spencer rushed upstairs.No sooner had he come down—looking handsome, in matching clothes—when the doorbell rang.

Ivan was studying matriculation at this time.He has a pink POLO shirt on his upper body, khaki trousers on his lower body, and a lime yellow sweater tied around his neck.His hair was tousled and sprayed, and he probably stole the styling from Abercrombie's models.Ivan grabbed Nikki by the arm and pulled him towards him, kissing him loudly on the cheek. "You look so delicious, birthday baby. Remember to remind me to pat your ass later." After finishing speaking, Ivan saw Spencer who was nervously swinging behind Nicky, and his eyes widened. eyes.

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Nicky stepped back. "Evan, this is Spencer. Spencer, this is Evan. Ivan, I convinced Spencer to come with us tonight."

Ivan grinned slyly and jumped on tiptoe. "Awesome! I've been looking forward to meeting the guy who saved Nicky from our sinful couch."

Spencer looked more relaxed now.Ivan has this magic. "Yeah, but I also made a lot of trash and kept him out of the house."

"Oh, Nicky loves this kind of torture. He's our domestic masochist."

Spencer burst out laughing.By the time he and Nicky got into the backseat of Powell's Acura Honda, Ivan was grilling Spencer with a string of soft-spoken questions.He paused a moment to let Nicky and Powell know each other—"Powell, this is Spencer. Spencer, this is Powell"—and then went on to gossip about which companies Spencer worked for.Ivan is editing technical documents, and the business objects of the two actually overlap.They gossip about the intrigue in the office, and Spencer finally relaxes.Powell and Nicky didn't talk much, they were used to being Ivan's audience.

No one had discussed with Nicky where to have dinner, and Powell parked the car directly in front of a seafood restaurant, which Nicky was very satisfied with.Tom and the owner had an inexplicable feud that kept Nicky out of the store for years, and now he was finally able to stop supporting Tom with the silly boycott of seafood.Of course, what made Nicky happier than the seafood was finding Pauline waiting there after entering the door.

"Did you abandon your family and go out to prostitute?" Nicky asked with a smile when the two embraced.

"Oh yeah. How could I leave you here as a three-kilowatt light bulb—oh, am I a light bulb now?"

The number "three" in Pauline's words reminded Nicky of her own age, and she recoiled in fright, and hurriedly introduced Spencer to her.They were then seated by a waitress.

Spencer was a little nervous when he first sat down, but Pauline and Ivan immediately pulled him to chat.Powell told a few stories about Nicky's sleazy youth that almost made Spencer spit wine out of his nose. "Are you really naked?" Spencer laughed out of breath.

"I still have my socks." Usually, such an embarrassing topic would make Nicky feel aggrieved, but today Spencer was so happy that he took pleasure in it. "And a cock ring."

As soon as the words fell, Nicky realized that there was a waitress standing behind him, and his bad friends naturally started a new round of hilarious laughter.The waitress was probably already a mother, Nicky smiled apologetically at her. "Excuse me."

She patted Nicky on the shoulder. "I bet you look very attractive, honey."

Nicky began to consider whether it was necessary to give Spencer a Hamlic first aid, or CPR.This guy burst into tears with laughter.

They played noisily, and all five of them enjoyed it.Tom never liked it when it was done in his restaurant, but Nicky did.These people always order a lot of food, don't pick on the thorns of the waiter, and are quite generous in tipping.And, they were a joy to eat.Don't you just want to have fun when you come out to play?

They wiped out the appetizers and settled down the dinner in a whirlwind.Nicky was full by this time, but Ivan insisted on dessert.A group of waiters came together to deliver a chocolate mousse cake with a candle to Nikki.Then, his friends, waiters, and guests from a few adjacent tables sang an out-of-key but enthusiastic "Happy Birthday" to Nicky.

"It's time for presents!" Ivan cheered as soon as Nicky finished blowing out the candles.

"Oh come on guys, you don't have to—"

"Cut the bullshit," Pauline interrupted. "How can a birthday be counted without presents, even if it's an old man who celebrates the birthday?"

Nicky grimaced back.

He thought he was going to get a few spoof gifts, like a teaser card with 'every year getting worse' garishly written on the greeting card shelf.But Pauline had given him a nice watch—a stylish, elegant watch with a lot of useful features.Ivan and Powell had gifted him a tablet, the very one he had been secretly coveting for months. "Now you can use it to enjoy high-definition porn and read textbooks," Powell explained.

The friend's generosity made Nicky's eyes flush with embarrassment.He didn't have a decent job or a home of his own, but they were so considerate that they didn't take him lightly for it.He is so lucky. "Thanks, guys."

Spencer, who had been happy ever since they sat down, was feeling a little down. "I don't have a present for you," he whispered.

"Well, that's pretty normal considering you didn't know it was my birthday until three hours ago. Anyway, it's a nice gift for you to come and have dinner with me," Nicky said, pinching Pinch Spencer's shoulder to show sincerity. "I haven't been this happy in a long time."

Spencer looked directly into Nicky's eyes, eyes glued together, and an inexplicable emotion flashed through their eyes—beyond the employment relationship, beyond the roommate relationship.Beyond friendship.A warmth bloomed in Nicky's chest, and it became difficult to breathe in an instant.He suddenly found that his hand was still glued to Spencer's shoulder, and quickly withdrew his hand to divert his gaze. "Thank you all," he said succinctly.Hope the smile he puts on doesn't look too fake.

"Hey, that sounds like the end of the show," Pauline said. "It's time for you to go to bed? Although you are an old man, you haven't succumbed to the regimen of going to bed early at nine o'clock, have you?"

This time, Nicky flicked her on the forehead.

When the bill came, his four friends worked out a somewhat complicated way of splitting it up—without him—and tipped the waiter with a smile.very good.Nicky has spent years educating his friends on tipping.

"Where do we go next?" Nicky asked when they got back to the car.Pauline is already in her car and will probably meet later.

Ivan twisted his body in the front seat and turned his head. "Of course it's a drink after dinner. We must drink you down today."

Spencer cleared his throat. "Uh. I guess I should—"

"Don't even think about it, handsome guy. Our Nicky wants to celebrate your birthday with you, so you can just hang out with us tonight. Unless you want to walk back."

No one spoke, and Nicky suddenly felt distraught.Maybe Spencer really wanted to go home.Or those few seconds of eye contact—whatever it was—that scared him too.But in the end Spencer just shrugged. "Hmm. If you guys are determined to kidnap me, then I guess I'll have to go along with it." In the dim backseat of the car, Nicky couldn't see Spencer's expression clearly, but his voice didn't sound too unhappy.

Thinking of this, Nicky felt a little light.

Nicky starts to worry a little as Powell drives onto the highway.What if Powell took them to some luxurious bar or club?The kind of place where Spencer would never go in?Although Powell and Ivan's picky vision has always been good, they occasionally startled him.

So when they walked into a very high-end bar, Nicky was quite relieved.There is a fish tank in the bar, and various neon lights are embedded on the wall to add atmosphere.The booths are separated by low walls, decorated with blue-purple fabrics, which basically isolates the sound of other guests around, and provides excellent privacy. "It's a nice place," Nikki commented after they sat down around the table.

Ivan sat down to Nicky's left and reached over to pinch his cheek. "We thought it was time to take our family Nicky to a grown-up bar." Then he leaned forward, looking at Spencer to Nicky's right. "The wine they make here is quite strong, but you can drink it at ease. My dear family volunteers to be the driver tonight to deal with the aftermath."

"Not voluntarily is throwing in the towel," Powell added.

Ivan winked. "What else can I say? I'm so convincing"

Nicky was still obsessed with that stare in the restaurant, and the seats were squishy, ​​and he was well aware of how close Spencer was to him now.But then Pauline arrived, everyone began to order, and Nicky finally calmed down after pouring a large mango mojito.

By the time the fourth glass of wine was down, Nicky had completely relaxed, so relaxed that he could lean on Spencer's shoulder without hesitation - Spencer was also slightly tipsy from a few glasses of whiskey - and boldly Smell the scent of his aftershave. "You smell so good," Nicky said wisely.

Spencer turned to smell his hair. "You too. Fruity."

Nicky couldn't stop laughing at this sentence, completely uncontrollably.Spencer tried to pat him down to reassure him, but instead made him cough until the fifth drink was brought to the table.But that's not bad either.Spencer also refills a glass of wine, and Nicky watches him drink it blankly.

And Pauline, the woman who had to drive home by herself, could only silently drink a cantaloupe-colored soft drink.She pointed at Spencer with the cherry-clad bamboo skewer that came with the drink. "We've talked about work, so what do you do in your spare time? Besides making garbage for Nicky to clean up."

"He basically has no free time." Nicky said sadly.Then come alive again. "But he has the time to teach me math. Thanks to him, I'm a math genius now."

"I don't get much rest," Spencer said. "It's always been like this, ever since I was a kid."

Pauline shook her head. "Well, it's time for you to learn to relax. No one ever dies saying, 'Man, I should have spent more time working'."

"I know. I've always only known how to move forward. I don't know how to slow down. I don't know how to relax." Spencer sighed, and Nicky heard his words, and his arms involuntarily wrapped around his shoulders.They all looked at the arm in surprise, but none of them took the initiative to distance themselves.Spencer's shoulders are warm and dependable.

Ivan took Powell's hand and kissed his knuckles. "Maybe you just need to find that one worth slowing down."

Spencer sighed again.

Then Powell changed the subject and asked Pauline to post another round of photos of her son, laughing at the toddler's glorious record and completely changing their mood.

Nicky couldn't count how many mojitos he'd had, or how long they'd been at the bar.By the time they got into the back seat of Powell's Acura, Nicky was dazed and sleepy.He dozed off all the way, leaning against Spencer's side.

When they got back to Spencer's house, the cold outside finally woke Nicky up.He put away his gift with a smirk, then bent down, leaned in from the driver's window and kissed Powell on the cheek.And Ivan climbed over his husband's thigh for his share of kisses. "Thanks, guys," Nicky said. "I'm really happy. It's my best birthday ever."

Ivan grinned. "I'm waiting for my birthday when you guys come up with something better. I want someone to celebrate me naked."

"I'll plan it out."

Spencer has been standing by, looking a little bewildered.He waved slightly to the two of them. "Thank you for letting me do it."

"Stuff?" Ivan screamed.He is always noisy. "Because of you, our team's charisma, humor and IQ have increased by at least ten points. If Nicky doesn't bring you here in the future, I won't allow him to act with us."

Nicky and Spencer stood by the side of the road and watched them go. "I like you friends," Spencer said.

"Yeah, I do, too. And they like you too. God, they've known Tom for five years and you've only known you for one night, but they're way more affectionate with you than they are with him." Said something - and all the hints contained in it - and bit his tongue and said nothing.

None of them were really drunk at the time, but they were still slightly tipsy, and they staggered a little on their way to the kitchen.Nicky used to eagerly unwrap presents and look at greeting cards.But this time, he just ignored the shiny gifts heaped on the kitchen counter.

"Want something to eat?" Spencer asked while rummaging through the fridge.

"No, thanks. I don't want to go to bed later than usual. I have to go to bed."

Spencer closed the refrigerator and nodded. "Yeah. I should go to bed too. I have work tomorrow."

I knew you had a job, Nicky complained silently in his heart, but responded with a smile on his face.

They struggled up the stairs, Spencer in front and Nicky in the rear.Some strange emotions churned in Nicky's mind, but his chaotic mind could no longer figure out what it was.There must be happiness, yes, and gratitude to friends.And something else.Not all sad.eager?Pity?He couldn't figure it out either.

But Spencer stopped him at the door of his room.Nicky looked up in surprise, tilting his head in confusion, trying to see what the man in front of him was thinking from his expression.But Spencer just looked at him, green eyes bright and keen. "I haven't sent you a present yet," Spencer said softly.

"It's okay," Nicky whispered back.Why are they so quiet?Nicky couldn't give an answer, but he didn't raise his voice either. "I'm just glad you're here to celebrate my birthday."

Spencer nodded.

They were standing very close now.Have they been this close all this time?Or has anyone stepped forward?Or are they moving closer to each other?All Nicky knew was that they were standing so close, so close that he could see the stubble on Spencer's face, and so close that he could smell the nice smell of aftershave.In fact, he got a taste of Spencer as well—not because of standing close, but because they were kissing.

Spencer's lips were soft, and his fingers on Nicky's shoulders were firm.His chest was as thick and muscular as Nicky's.Under the tight chest muscles, the two heartbeats sounded as fast as a race.Nicky could have sworn he heard the sound of blood rushing through their bodies.

Not knowing what happened to Spencer, Nicky felt his blood pooling in his lower abdomen.Immediately his cock was achingly hard and stuck in his leggings reminding Nicky how lonely and neglected he had been this past year.And, oh my god, Spencer's back is so hard and strong under his palms—his palms go down slowly, past Spencer's belt, where—

"No!" Nicky was shocked and stepped back abruptly.

Spencer blinked blankly.

Nicky took several deep breaths. "I—did you kiss me or I kissed you?"

"do not know."

"That's... that's not a good idea."

Spencer licked his lips, still looking confused. "I think it's a good idea. You look like you're enjoying it, and I'm sure I'm enjoying it, too."

"That's the problem. You're a great guy, a great friend. I love working for you, living with you...I don't want to screw it all up. Don't want to be like Tom again."

"Tom screwed up, not you."

"Yes, I know. I just don't want to go through it again. Home, job, lover. I can have two of them, but I can't be greedy anymore. I only want the first two, and I want both."

"But a lot of people have all three."

Nicky pinched the back of his neck.He suddenly felt exhausted, and the few steps back to his room terrified him. "But I can't. Maybe... maybe you can't either, can't we? Then let's not ruin this good time just by taking that step." He wanted to say something else, but didn't know how.

With a hurt expression on his face, Spencer slowly turned sideways out of the way.