Tanner was sitting on the dock with Aidan and Arielle. They were watching the guys run and Tanner leaned back on his hands. “I’m joining them when they go to Alaska.”

“Really?” Aidan looked at him.

“Oh, yeah. Damon and I already went through all this with my dads. We just haven’t done the wilderness part or the combatives. Sergio says it’s tough.” Tanner smiled. “But it’s so fun to watch them.”

Aidan was scanning the pond and that’s when he saw the black hair. The guys’ houses formed one big loop around the pond and even from where they were he knew who it was and that Nico had just spotted them.

“We should get going.” Aidan stood up and offered his hand to Tanner.

There was a loud whistle and Tanner turned around. He saw Nico waving to him from his uncle’s house.

“It’s Nico!” Tanner whispered.

“Yeah, and you guys haven’t talked.” Aidan pulled his hand.

The next thing he knew Nico was jumping in the pond and swimming toward Tanner’s house. Tanner jumped in and started swimming. All the guys had stopped running and were now watching Tanner and Nico swimming toward each other in the pond.

“Dammit,” Aidan whispered.

Arielle stared at him. “What did you do?”

“What do you mean?” Aidan was getting uncomfortable under her glare.

“It was you.” Arielle accused him. “You’re the reason Nico left after Tanner’s accident at the game.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Aidan started walking.

“It was!” Arielle grabbed him. “How could you?”

“Tanner is mine!” Aidan snarled.

“He was never yours, Aidan. He belongs to Nico.” Arielle watched Tanner swimming.

Nico could see he was getting closer and Tanner was swimming as fast as he could. They finally reached each other and Nico pulled Tanner into his arms.

“Oh, God, I missed you.” Nico held him tight.

“You’re here.” Tanner held him just as tight. “I missed you so much!”

 

 

The guys watched as the two of them held each other. Jensen turned to the group. “Come on, let’s give them some privacy.”

 

Arielle was watching Aidan and he looked as if he was going to explode. “It’s never going to happen, Aidan. No matter what you do, Tanner will always love Nico.”

“He’s hurt him so many times! Why does Tanner keep going back?”

“Because he’s in love with him.” Arielle tried to explain. “You will never understand that kind of love.”

 

“I missed you, I missed you, I missed you!” Tanner was leaving kisses all over Nico’s face.

“I missed you too.” Nico took Tanner’s face in his hands.

“You never called,” Tanner whispered. God, he knew he was being unfair. He hadn’t called Nico, either. At first it was because he was upset he was there and then gone but after time it was because he didn’t want to be the one who broke and picked up the phone.

“I thought I was doing what was best for you. I keep leaving you Tanner and I keep hurting you.”

“It hurts worse when we don’t talk. And you never answered my letters.”

“What letters?” Nico pulled back.

“I sent you a letter once a week just telling you what I was doing in school and stuff. You didn’t get them?”

“No. Did you have the right address?”

“I think I know great-grandpa’s mansion address, Nico.”

“I’m sorry. I never got them. I would have written you back.”

“I thought you were mad at me.”

“Oh, God, no! Tanner, I love you.” Nico held him tight.

Nico watched the dock at Tanner’s house and saw Aidan, and his eyes narrowed. He noticed the guys running and whistled loudly. They all stopped and Nico waved them over. “I think I know where your letters are,” he said to Tanner.

The guys were all geared up, and Nico walked over to Arielle. She smiled and took his hand and then he turned to Tanner.

“You know what to do?”

“Yep.” Tanner smiled.

“Let’s hit it.”

Tanner and Arielle had picked up Aidan and they headed to the bowling alley. As always, Aidan had to touch Tanner in some small way and now that Arielle knew what he was capable of it really pissed her off. She took Tanner’s hand and kissed his cheek.

“I’m going to get some drinks.”

“So did you and Nico talk?” Aidan asked Tanner.

“Yes, he’s going to be here for a little while.”

“Really?” Aidan was already getting mad. “I thought he always came for, like, a day or two.”

“Oh, he’s going to be working at the Santorno office here, plus my Uncle Lorenzo asked him to help train the guys.”

“Why would he ask Nico?” Aidan was confused.

“When I was kidnapped, he was part of the rescue team. He shot his own father to protect me.”

“He what? He shot him? Like dead?”

“Yes and quite a few others in the process. I thought I told you that?” Tanner tried not to look at his face. He knew he would laugh at the pure look of terror on it.

“Must have slipped your mind.” Aidan sat back on the chair. “Holy shit.”

“Yep, he was trained by my uncles so he knows everything.”

Nico was watching the house. Aidan’s parents were in the living room watching TV. He motioned to Damon, and he and Jensen slipped around the back of the house. Hunter had disabled the alarm, then Evan and Ryan switched positions with Nico and watched the parents while Nico moved to the side of the house. Damon threw a rope down from the roof and Nico climbed up. Hunter and Jensen held the rope and lowered Nico to Aidan’s room. He opened the window and closed his eyes hoping the alarm was truly disabled.

“Tsk tsk,” Damon whispered. “No faith.”

“Shh!” Nico smiled.

Nico went in the room with Damon and Hunter. They went through everything and Damon pulled the mattress up. “Well, lookie here.” Damon opened it to the centerfold. “Nice tits.”

“Damon!” Nico whispered smacking him upside the head.

“I thought he was gay?” Hunter cocked an eyebrow.

“Bi?” Damon offered.

“Who cares? Get the letters.” Nico got under the bed and took his knife out.

“Oh, wow.” Hunter had taken one of the bedside table drawers out and found a dildo taped to the bottom.

Damon covered his mouth, laughing. “That’s huge!”

Hunter pulled the next drawer out and found handcuffs. “Jesus, who is this guy?”

“I call dibs on the blow-up doll,” Damon whispered.

Nico ran his hand around a hole in the box spring and, sure enough, hit pay dirt. “That little shit,” Nico whispered.

“You guys have company coming.” Jensen’s voice came through Hunter’s headset.

“Move out now.” Hunter helped Nico up and Jensen pulled them back onto the roof.

“Damon.” Nico cocked an eyebrow.

“He doesn’t need this.” Damon smiled putting the magazine in his back pocket.

“What did you do with the blow up doll?” Nico arched a brow.

“Oh, come on! I wouldn’t take that. I did, however, puncture it with my knife.” He shuddered. “Ewww…ewww! It’s used!” Damon gagged.

“So is the magazine.” Nico looked at him, eyebrow arched.

They all watched the realization hit Damon and covered their mouths when Damon threw it over the side of the house.

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

“We need to hightail our asses out of here,” Nico told them.

“Colin?”

“’Sup, Damon?”

“Everything clear?”

“Come on down.” Colin voice came clear through the radio.

“You sound so sexy,” Nikolai whispered.

“Come on.” Colin chuckled.

They loaded up in the SUV and Nico took the large, plastic bag out of his shirt and opened it. Tanner had sprayed his cologne on them and he could smell it right away.

“Aww, he put cologne on them,” Jensen teased.

“Damn, how many are there?” Evan asked.

“One once a week the whole time I was gone,” Nico murmured.

“That’s way more than one a week, Nico,” Jensen piped up. “That’s at least one every other day.”

“That’s a big stack,” Hunter said. “Someone’s got it bad.”

“Don’t you dare give him shit!”

“Hey, none of us will. You know that, Nico.” Jensen smiled.

Nico texted Tanner. “Let’s go.”

Tanner read the text on his phone and his blood boiled. Nico had found all his letters safely tucked away inside Aidan’s box spring; every letter he had ever written to Nico in the time they were apart. It took everything he had not to strangle him.

“So, having fun?” Tanner asked.

“Yeah, I’m glad you came out with me.”

“Good, enjoy this memory. It’s the last time we will ever go out together.” Tanner grabbed his jacket and looked for Arielle.

“What?” Aidan took his hand. “What’s going on?”

“I trusted you and all you did was hurt me.” Tanner got loose.

“What are you talking about?”

Tanner dragged him outside with Arielle right on their heels. “The letters to Nico, Aidan! All this time I thought he didn’t care but it was you!”

“What? I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Bullshit!” Tanner walked to his car. “That has to be the lowest thing so far. I’m done, Aidan. We’re no longer friends.”

“What did he say to you? He’s lying!”

“I would watch what comes out of your mouth next, Aidan.” Nico stood nearby with the letters in his hand. “I’m not going to be so nice this time.”

“What the fuck?” Aidan gulped at the sight of all the letters.

“That’s what I’m sayin’.” Damon stood with his arms crossed.

“This is bullshit!” Aidan tried to grab the letters from Nico.

“I believe these are mine. Now I suggest you go back into the bowling alley and call your parents for a ride home. They aren’t busy.”

“You broke into my house?” Aidan demanded.

“Two seconds, Aidan. That’s all the time you have before I unload a clip in your ass.” Nico reached for his side.

They all watched Aidan run and Arielle turned to Tanner. “I’m sorry. I should have known.”

Tanner hugged her. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“I’m going to catch a ride with these guys.” Arielle pointed to some friends. “You think you guys can get home?”

“I’ll take Nico home.” Tanner moved closer to Nico.

“Later, big brother.” Damon hugged Tanner.

“Thanks, guys. I just wish I could have been there with you.”

“Remind us to tell you what treasures we found.” Hunter snickered.

Tanner cocked an eyebrow and laughed. He hugged all the guys and then stood alone with Nico and every thought he had since their laser tag date. “Well. Okay, then.”

“I thought you might want these.” Nico handed him the letters.

“Those are yours. Just read them on your way back to Italy, okay?”

“Okay.” Nico smiled. It took everything he had not to open them right there and then.

They pulled into his uncles’ driveway and Nico turned in the seat and faced Tanner. He looked so damn beautiful; he always did. It was getting harder and harder not to touch him, kiss him, be with him. “Could you spend the night?”

“I guess so.” Tanner’s heart was racing. “Let me call my dads.”

They moved into the dark house and Tanner looked around. “Where is everyone?”

“At Grandpa’s house. Is that okay?” Nico took his hand.

“Yeah.” Tanner let Nico lead him to his old room and he switched the bedside lamp on.

“You want a shirt?”

“I can find it. I spent a lot of time here when you first left.”

“You did?” Nico watched Tanner get one of his shirts out of the drawer.

“Yes. Your dad let me sleep here sometimes, just so I would sleep.” Tanner pulled the shirt out and smiled. “This used to be so long on me.”

“You grew up.”

“Yeah, I did.” Tanner looked into his eyes.

Nico was very aware that, first, they were very much alone, and second, Tanner was much older now.

“You still want the right side?” Nico asked.

“Yes, because it’s your side.”

They got into bed and Nico circled Tanner in his arms. He closed his eyes and breathed in his scent. God, he had missed this, being in Nico’s arms. There was nothing else like it.

“Tanner.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry I left the way I did.”

Tanner rolled over and snuggled into Nico. “It’s okay. I knew somehow that you still loved me.”

“I’ll always love you, Tanner.” Nico held him close.

Tanner sighed. Of course Nico would always love him. He was his little Tanner. Nico would always see him as a child. “I love you too.”

Just holding Tanner was doing things to Nico; the little boy had grown up to become quite the man and Nico knew things were going to change. The feelings he had for Tanner now were sexual as well as loving. He wanted to hold him and kiss him but Tanner saw him as his Nico, his protector. It would never be anything more and he knew he needed to let that sink in — and fast.

 

The rest of the group had gone back to their grandparents’ house to give them the low-down on what happened when they went to Aidan’s. Lorenzo almost spit out his beer when they told them what they had found in Aidan’s room.

“He is a deviant for one so young.”

“Sexually repressed?” Reece suggested.

“Um, disgusting.” Damon injected. “What’s worse is Tanner trusted him and here he was getting Tanner’s letters out of the mailbox every day.”

“So, Nico wasn’t happy?” Heath guessed with a smile.

“Well, he contained his anger. I thought for sure he’d beat Aidan’s ass.” Jensen shrugged.

“He would not, not on one so young.” Dimitri shook his head.

“But I can,” Damon said.

“Yeah, no.” Damon shook his head at his son. “Go to bed. At four in the morning you are up and running.”

“Ugh.” Colin sighed.

“Where’s Tanner?” Damon asked.

“Spending the night with Nico.” Caleb smiled.

“Dad, you allowed this?” Damon Jr. smiled at Tyler.

“Hell, yeah I did.” Tyler snickered.

“Bed!” Lorenzo’s loud voice boomed out.

“Okay, okay!” Nikolai laughed. “ ʼNight dads.”

“Goodnight, my love.” Andrei kissed his forehead.

They all watched the kids leave and Roman smiled at the group. “Tomorrow.”

“We break them,” Justin finished.