Chapter 5

The spreadsheet of suppliers that Peter had given Timothy was proving to be illuminating. Aside from his nasty habit of over-buying, Andrew had a penchant for only purchasing the absolute highest quality of everything. The end result was a massively overdrawn budget that was very deeply in the red.

Timothy curled up on the sofa in his condo and skimmed the spreadsheet while making notes in the margins. He knew just by looking that there were plenty of areas that he could adjust Andrew’s order a little and save a bunch of money. Ordering a slightly lower grade of meat, maybe a different cut of beef, combining similar items into a single entry with a slightly lower overall cost.

Massaging the numbers into place was something that he had spent his entire time in college learning how to do. It wasn’t going to be easy and there was no way he was going to be able to get their budget back on track from this alone. At this point, however, some improvement was better than none.

He reached for his mug of coffee on the end table and frowned. It was cold. Timothy’s eyes drifted to the clock on the wall. It was already nearly ten. He’d been sitting there for almost four hours. He’d forgotten how easy it was to lose track of time when he was absorbed in something. Back at school, his roommates usually roused him from his studies and reminded him to eat or nudged him to go to bed.

He sighed and uncurled his legs from under him. His entire body felt stiff and sore from sitting in one position for so long. Timothy slowly rose from the couch, groaning as his joints and muscles stretched and popped. He glanced uncertainly at the cup of coffee and tried to decide what to do. He needed to be up early in order to call Andrew’s suppliers and get the orders changed, but he didn’t feel tired in the slightest.

Resigning himself to a late night, Timothy snatched up the coffee cup and headed towards the kitchen.

He’d just dumped out the contents in the sink when there was a knock at the door. His parents were likely in bed. His siblings all had work tomorrow and were either sleeping or preparing to sleep. As a rule, the Snow family had never been much for late nights.

Timothy approached the door cautiously and glanced through the peephole. He furrowed his brow in confusion. What was Derek doing out there? How did he even know which condo was Timothy’s? Other than the one their parents lived in, the condos assigned to the Snow family members were unmarked. They were also scattered throughout the ones for the guests in no particular order. Unless you were told, there was no way to know who actually lived where.

“Come on, Tim, I know you’re awake. I see your lights are on,” Derek said through the door. “It’s freezing out here.”

Timothy sighed and quickly unlatched the door. He pulled it open and rolled his eyes at the shivering alpha on his front porch. “Why are you even out here?” he asked.

“Because your brother kicked me out of his condo and I had nowhere else to go?” Derek chuckled through chattering teeth. “Look, can I come in or not?”

“Why did he kick you out?” Timothy frowned. “What did you do?” It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility for Derek to have done something to offend Peter. He wasn’t exactly the most tactful or responsible of people. Timothy did find it a little difficult to believe that Peter would kick him out, after dark, when he had nowhere else to go. Even if there wasn’t snow on the ground yet, this was the kind of cold weather that resulted in casualties.

“Because he wanted a romantic evening with my cousin. Can I please come in?”

Timothy stepped back from the door and held it open for him. “Take off your shoes before you step on the carpet,” he warned as Derek entered the house.

He quickly shut and locked the door as Derek began to remove his shoes.

“Now, do you want to tell me what this is really about?” asked Timothy as he stepped past Derek and returned to the kitchen. “There’s no way he just kicked you out with nowhere to go.”

“Yeah, well, he did give me a room in the hotel,” Derek admitted as he shrugged off his coat.

“Then why are you here, bothering me, this late?” Timothy focused on refilling the coffee pot and tried to appear as annoyed as possible. He wasn’t about to give Derek the impression that he was happy to see him.

“Well, I was lonely and earlier when I was chatting with Tony he may have mentioned that your condo was the one with the shutters that were two different colors.” Derek hovered near the entrance to the kitchen and watched Timothy’s movements intently. “I really have missed you.”

“If you hadn’t thrown away my number you could have just texted me,” Timothy said with a shrug. He switched on the coffee pot and turned to look back at Derek. “What do you think is going to happen here?”

Derek looked surprised by the question. “I just wanted to talk a little. I…” his voice trailed off for a moment. “It’s been hard, Tim. I’ve been pretty much alone ever since I left you guys. I miss just talking and laughing and being around people who I know are my friends. Luke is nice, and we get along okay, but we’re not really that close. Even after all the stuff I did to try and help him reconnect with his dad he’s still been kind of distant. I don’t think it’s anything personal, I think we’re just too different to really be friends. That’s all.”

Timothy was silent for a long moment. Derek looked like he was being sincere, but there was always the chance that it was just a ploy to try and get Timothy to drop his guard. He hated being so suspicious, but it had been so long since Derek had left. The only metric that Timothy had to judge things by was the old one. The one where Derek was a player and the most important thing on his mind was his next conquest.

Still, they had been friends. As long as Timothy kept his guard up, just talking like old times wouldn’t hurt.

“Go start a fire,” he instructed. “Do you want some coffee?”

A broad smile spread across Derek’s lips. His entire expression lit up and for a moment he looked like a kid at Christmas. “Yeah, coffee would be nice.”

***

The fire had burned low on the hearth by the time Timothy looked at the clock again. They’d been talking for hours, mostly reminiscing about the old times. It was well after midnight now and despite the empty cup of coffee in his hands, Timothy was beginning to feel tired.

“How is everyone?” Derek asked as he set his empty cup on the table. He sat on the opposite end of the couch from Timothy and had been a perfect gentleman all evening. It was almost a little unsettling.

“They’re doing good,” said Timothy. The tone of the evening had been one of light-hearted conversation, but things had shifted. There was a sense of melancholy surrounding Derek now. Despite his vow to remain vigilant against seduction, Timothy couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He’d lost so much over the last few years. “Louisa graduated with honors the year after you left. Reggie switched his major again so he still hasn’t graduated.”

“Again?” Derek laughed. “He’s been going to school there for what almost eight years now?”

“Ten,” Timothy corrected him. “Yeah, he’s special alright. He almost finished this last one too. Louisa tried to talk him into graduating but he wasn’t having it.”

“I remember one of your brothers saying you were traveling with friends this summer. Was it them?” Derek looked over at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Yeah, it was. The three of us went on a road trip after I graduated. We hit a bunch of different places before coming back here.”

“They were here?”

“Not exactly. Things took longer than we had planned and they had to rush to get back before Reggie’s classes started again.” Timothy shifted on the sofa to face Derek. “If we’d known you were here they would have wanted to see you. I know it.”

“It’s fine,” said Derek with a clearly forced smile. “Things will work themselves out eventually. They always do. Besides, you were always my favorite.” He winked.

Timothy felt his chest tighten a little at Derek’s response. His lighthearted attempt at flirtation had fallen flat, there was no real effort to it. He was just trying to put on a brave face. “Derek, we’re friends, right?”

Derek nodded slowly.

“Then tell me how you’re really feeling about all of this. Don’t hold back and worry about appearances. It’s just us here.” Timothy offered him a soft smile that he hoped would highlight his sincerity.

The alpha sighed and shook his head apologetically. “I can’t. Because if I do then I might start crying and really, honestly, I’m an ugly crier. I mean, really awful.”

“Be serious.” Timothy reached across the sofa and playfully slapped at Derek’s shoulder. As his hand withdrew, Derek caught hold of his wrist. Their eyes met and Timothy felt a thrill run through him that made his stomach flop and his dick tighten.

“I am,” breathed Derek as he leaned towards Timothy. “When it comes to you, I can’t lie.”

Conflict raged within Timothy’s chest. He wanted Derek. He wanted to feel the alpha’s lips brush against his own. He wanted to feel those arms encircle him and pull him close. It was something he’d fantasized about more times than he cared to admit. Yet, in the two years he’d known Derek he’d seen countless omegas slink out of the alpha’s bedroom after a one night stand. He didn’t want to wind up like them.

Was this more than that? Or was it just emotion fueled lust?

“Derek…” Timothy’s voice was quiet. “This…”

“Don’t, Tim. Don’t say anything,” Derek pleaded as he pushed forward.

Timothy couldn’t resist. He laid back against the couch cushions, his breath coming in shallow bursts as he stared up at the alpha crouched over him. Derek’s eyes were hazed with desire.

The closeness made Timothy’s skin flush. His cheeks reddened and he looked away from Derek. There were so many thoughts fighting for dominance in his head and he couldn’t hear any of them clearly. Why couldn’t he just give in to what they both clearly wanted? Would it really be that bad? Whatever happened next would be a problem for tomorrow. That sort of lusty, desire filled, thinking was all he could manage and even that was a struggle.

The erection growing in his pants was more than enough to make him want to surrender completely to Derek. This didn’t have to be difficult.

Derek leaned down, his lips hovered inches away from Timothy’s cheek. His warm breath spread across Timothy’s skin and sent chills through his body that made his nipples stand up beneath his shirt.

Timothy turned his head and gazed back up at Derek. Their lips were mere inches apart and mutual desire burned in their eyes. This was it. The final moment. After this there was no going back. Everything would change.

That thought echoed in Timothy’s head as he tilted his chin slightly. His lips brushed against Derek’s. Heat rippled through him like a tidal wave. He wanted more.

Derek recoiled. The alpha withdrew hastily back across the sofa. His fingers pressed against his lips and he looked at Timothy with wide-eyed disbelief.

Reality splashed across Timothy like a bucket of ice water. The heat fled from his body and conscious thought returned to him.

“I’m sorry,” Derek apologized as he rose from the sofa. “I should go.” He quickly crossed the room to the front door.

“Derek, stop.” Timothy sat up and swallowed back the lump in his throat. “It’s late. You can’t walk back in the dark.”

“Tim…” Derek’s voice trailed off. “I…we…”

“We’re both tired and emotional. It’s been a long day.” Timothy rose from the sofa and tried to ignore the erection that had only just begun to soften. “There are blankets and an extra pillow in the closet there,” he said as he moved towards the stairs.

Derek said nothing as he watched Timothy climb to the second floor. A moment passed and Timothy heard the closet door open. Good, at least he wasn’t going to be running around in the dark and the cold this late at night.

Satisfied that the alpha was safe downstairs, Timothy fled to his bedroom and shut the door behind him. The room was cool compared to the rest of the house. The slight chill in the air made the heat in his still flushed cheeks seem just that much more intense. It wasn’t like him to just give in like that. Yet, Derek hadn’t done anything remotely seductive all evening. They’d just been talking like they’d done so many times before.

He shook his head slowly as he peeled off his layers of clothing and prepared for bed.

His thoughts, however, continued to drift back to that moment on the couch. The powerful feeling of the alpha above him, the haze of lust that had settled over him, and the feeling of their lips touching oh so briefly. The memory of it made Timothy blush. If Derek hadn’t stopped them, right now they would likely be…

The very idea of it was almost too much for Timothy to handle. He crawled into his bed blushing out to his ears.