Nobody's Son by Shae Connor Page A

his head up to find Con smirking at him. He managed a smile. “Not really,” he admitted. “I think I need another vat or two of coffee first.”
    Con came closer. “I wouldn’t know that feeling at all,” he snarked. He leaned on the counter across from Shaun. “So, this morning in the shower I had an idea.”
    Shaun smirked, in part to cover the way the mental image of Con naked and wet affected him. “I can just imagine the kind of ideas you have in the shower.”
    “Somehow I doubt that. But this one was perfectly tame.” Con winked. “Except for the part where I’d get to see you in that tiny little swimsuit again.”
    And that just woke back up all the feelings Shaun had gotten tamped back down. He cleared his throat. “What did you have in mind?”
    “Swimming lessons.” Con rested his forearms on the counter. “Before or after work, whatever days work best for you. There’s a pool right outside, and it’s mostly empty on weekdays, so we’d have privacy. And Jimmy’s sure not gonna do anything but encourage it.”
    And probably not just for the swimming part, Shaun thought. But he didn’t have a good reason to decline, and the truth was, he did still want to learn. He hadn’t truly been in danger when Con had tugged him into the pool the night before, but he cringed inwardly at the idea of the embarrassment of having to be fished out if Con hadn’t taken care of him.
    “That sounds like it could work.” He raised an eyebrow. “What would you expect in payment?”
    Con licked his lips, never breaking eye contact. “No payment necessary,” he said in a low voice. “Like I said, I get to see you mostly naked. And wet. And oh yeah, did I mention the part where I’d need to touch too?”
    A soft groan escaped from Shaun’s chest. “Am I actually going to learn anything about swimming? It sure sounds like that’s not what you’re planning to teach me.”
    Eyes sparkling, Con lifted one hand in oath. “I solemnly swear that you will learn how to swim. Any other lessons that might be taught—or learned—by either of us, will be strictly coincidental.”
    “I’d say you need to swear that on a Bible, but I’m pretty sure that would be completely inappropriate.”
    “I’d be happy to swear it on your swimsuit,” Con replied. “Provided you’re wearing it at the time, of course.”
    Shaun laughed and shook his head, conceding defeat. Not a chance he could keep pace with Con in a battle of innuendo. “You’re a bad influence,” he said. “And I need to get back to work.”
    Con straightened up. “Then I’ll see you at the pool tomorrow after your shift?”
    Shaun wasn’t quite convinced it was his best move ever, but…. “I’ll be there.”
    “Great!” Con’s happy smile made Shaun’s heart beat a little faster. As he watched Con wave and head out the side door toward Jimmy’s, he remembered Con’s kisses from the night before—and his reaction to them.
    Shaun knew he needed to come to terms with… his brain stumbled over the words, but he forced himself to think it: being gay . He knew it was true, though the way Con made him feel so thoroughly eclipsed any previous attraction—to men or women—that he wondered briefly if maybe instead of homosexual he was simply Con-sexual.
    He laughed at himself and shook his head as he turned back to the computer. Work now , he told himself. Figure out what to do about your sexuality later.
     
     
    AM I crazy for even trying this?
    It was four thirty on Monday afternoon, just after Shaun’s regular work shift, and Shaun and Con were in the pool, about to start Shaun’s first lesson.
    I’m too old for this , Shaun thought as he gripped the edge of the pool and tried to keep his breathing slow and even. He wasn’t scared, exactly. Just… uneasy.
    “All right. Here’s what we’re gonna do. I want you to take a breath, then lower your face into the water and blow it out. Not yet,” Con added when Shaun started to move, ready