Pizza for Thanksgiving Read online

  "You're too nice," Mack told him, and he realized that Enzo had more power over him than anyone who used threats or muscle ever had.

  "You deserve everything nice especially after all you've been through," Enzo told him.

  "You're going to spoil me."

  "If you let me," Enzo said, shy and hopeful.

  "Maybe we should talk about something more cheerful. How about food?" His stomach was certainly ready for that topic.

  "What food? Power hasn't come back on," Enzo said, starting to pout again.

  "Can we just eat the stuffing?" Mack asked.

  "Cold stuffing? No." Enzo was appalled. "You told me to have faith that the power was going to come back on."

  "I didn't have breakfast or lunch," Mack informed him. It was past lunchtime, but it wasn't dinnertime yet. That's when he expected Enzo to give up, but he couldn't wait.

  Enzo's eyes went wide. "Oh, my God! You're starving!"

  Mack laughed at his sudden turnaround. "I thought you wanted me starving."

  "That was before, when I had a whole turkey to feed you. I'm a terrible person."

  "Does that mean I can order us a pizza?"

  "Yes. And get any toppings you want, except anchovies, pineapple, ham or onions."

  With his phone in his hand, Mack waited to see if there was anything more to his list of forbidden toppings then he put in the order.

  Chapter 8

  "I'll go wait for the pizza downstairs. The hallway and the stairs are dark," Mack said when their food was close to being delivered. Inside the apartment, the windows were giving them decent light, but only the emergency exit light would be on in the hallway.

  "I'm coming too. Let me get a flashlight," Enzo said and ran off to get it.

  The chilly, autumn air hit them as soon as they stepped outside. They didn't dress for it, just came out of the warm apartment as they were. As they stood waiting just outside the doors to their building, Mack had the urge to put his arm around Enzo to warm him up. Almost like he knew what Mack was thinking, Enzo turned to stare at him.

  Enzo's eyes looked different in natural light, brighter, more golden. Mack forced himself to look away from him otherwise he wouldn't be able to resist him. He would lean in and kiss him right then and there.

  Then it occurred to him that there was nothing wrong with that. As long as he had the courage, he could kiss him anywhere. That's how he wanted to live, but he had learned too many wrong things and they held him back.

  With the wind blowing dry leaves around their feet, they waited in front of the building and watched people pass on the sidewalk. Some last minute shoppers hurried by. There was a stalk of celery sticking out of one woman's shopping bag. She had a phone to her ear and was assuring someone, "I got everything. You just worry about that turkey." They saw a carload of people arrive in front of the building across the street and unload a whole bunch of Tupperware.

  That reminded Mack of how much Enzo wanted to give him a real Thanksgiving, which was really for both of them. Seeing that it wasn't dark yet, Mack wondered if he had jumped the gun with the pizza. The power would probably be on soon. His stomach growled in protest. Maybe a midnight Thanksgiving wouldn't be so bad.

  A few minutes later, the pizza guy handed over the pizza and wished them a happy Thanksgiving. Mack carried it up the stairs while Enzo lighted the way with the flashlight. But he stopped Mack at the door to their apartment.

  "I'm serving it," Enzo told him, taking the box from him as they went in.

  "Serving?"

  While Mack closed the front door, Enzo opened the box and plopped it on the coffee table with absolutely no ceremony and without a plate in sight.

  "It's served," Enzo announced.

  "OK then," Mack said as he went to the kitchen and got some napkins and a beer for each of them. Only two were left from a six pack that Dave had brought over.

  Going back to the living room, Mack was happy to see that the pizza was fresh and hot. As his stomach gave one last grumble of anticipation, he spotted something in the gooey cheese. Mack looked closer. "What are these green things?"

  Enzo leaned over the pizza too. "Green peppers. Do you hate them?"

  "I can eat them, but I didn't order them."

  "It's that kind of day, I guess," Enzo said as he sat down on the couch and grabbed a slice. He looked gloomy as he bit into it.

  "Isn't it good?" Mack asked as he sat next to him.

  "It is, but I promised you a turkey."

  Mack only stared at him for a while. A turkey dinner wasn't what he'd been afraid to dream about all his life. He didn't know that he was supposed to dream about an anxious, cute guy who was obsessed with giving him the best Thanksgiving of his life. But now he was sitting next to him, feeling like he was in the middle of some weird, wonderful dream, and he was afraid to wake up.

  "The peppers aren't ruining this pizza for you, are they?" Enzo asked when he caught Mack staring off into space.

  "I never complain about pizza," Mack said as he took a bite.

  "What else do you like to eat?"

  "Why? Are you going to make it for me?" Mack challenged him.

  "Maybe," Enzo said cautiously.

  "I guess anything Italian is fine by me. And I like meatloaf and mashed potatoes."

  Enzo got out his phone and started typing. "Okay. I'm starting a list of your favorite foods."

  "I'm not picky. Anything you make is fine."

  "I just want to make you stuff you like. Not that I'm such an awesome cook or anything." Enzo looked down as he spoke. He seemed a little more serious all of a sudden. "My dad didn't like to see me cooking. Not even to help my mom. As far as he was concerned, men only cook outdoors and over a fire and only meat, no vegetable should ever touch his grill. My mom was teaching me a few things, then she saw that my dad didn't like it, and she stopped."

  "That's too bad," Mack said.

  "She was just trying to keep the peace. But there was nothing either of my parents could do to change who I am. And that was the real problem."

  "Don't put it like that. You aren't the problem, they are," Mack said gruffly.

  "When you take my side like that, I want to make up for every bad thing that ever happened to you and feed you to death," Enzo said and leaned forward for a kiss.

  His promise sounded kind of scary, but Enzo could make anything sound good, especially when he added a kiss on top of it. "This isn't such a bad Thanksgiving dinner," Mack said with his lips only inches from Enzo's. He was ready to keep kissing him, but Enzo drew back.

  "What are you talking about? This is lunch. As long as power comes back on by 6:00, the turkey will be done before midnight and that still makes it Thanksgiving," Enzo said and bit angrily into another slice of pizza.

  "Wait. We're supposed to say we're thankful for something, right?" Mack vaguely remembered that from past Thanksgiving dinners.

  Enzo glared at his slice. "For pizza. Fuck that!"

  Mack leaned away from him. "OK. Don't kill me, but I'm kind of grateful for you."

  "I'm thankful for you too," Enzo said right away. Then he just grinned at him, not saying anything else for a while.

  Mack didn't realize how long he was staring at him, not saying anything either.

  "Thank you for everything," he said to Enzo, almost choking on the words.

  "You're cute," Enzo told him to bring him out of his too serious mood. "But I'm still pissed about the turkey."

  Instead of being near tears, Mack was shaking his head and smiling. Damn that Enzo, he was something else. Mack nuzzled him and kissed his neck. "Still thinking about the turkey?"

  "Yes. You'll' need to do more than that." Enzo looked up at him with wicked eyes.

  After kissing him thoroughly, Mack pulled him closer. Enzo wrapped his arms around him and nestled against him, moaning softly against his chest.

  With his hand in Enzo's hair, Mack stopped to wonder if this was the most perfect day of his life, uncooked turkey and everything
. He had smiled more today than he ever had as far back as he could remember. The whole day was like that.

  Everything about Enzo contradicted every experience he ever had. What happened on the floor wasn't just sex. Enzo wasn't just his roommate any more, and Mack wasn't who he was either. Everything seemed more, bigger, better. He didn't even know his world was so closed until it opened up. And his heart too. With Enzo's head resting on his chest, his heart was so full. It felt like it would burst.

  "This is what everyone wants," he realized.

  Enzo turned to look up at him. "Pizza? It's in the top ten. World peace, a billion bucks, and pizza."

  "And someone really cute to help them eat it," Mack added, gazing at Enzo and reaching for another slice.

  "You're more than helping. What's that, your third slice?" Enzo accused him.

  "It's my second. The first two count as one. They were small. And the cute one is you. No one in my life was crazy enough to call me cute."

  "They didn't dare? I'm not afraid of you. I'll call you cute any time I want," Enzo said defiantly and grinned at him.

  Mack made a wish. "I hope the power doesn't come back on."

  "What? That's blasphemy! Heresy!" Enzo snapped.

  "I'd rather have more time like this than a turkey," Mack said and kissed Enzo's lips.

  It didn't make sense, but Mack was afraid that if the lights came back on, the spell might be broken. He was kind of hoping they could just stay there on the couch until they fell asleep in each other's arms, but Enzo was obsessed with that turkey.

  "I wanted to cook you the best turkey of your life."

  "You gave me a great Thanksgiving. You have nothing to feel bad about."

  Enzo still pouted though. "I was aiming for perfect."

  "I guess it's OK to aim for perfect just as long as you don't flip out when it doesn't happen. I don't care about turkey. All that matters is that I'm having Thanksgiving with you."

  "You're pretty damn perfect," Enzo said and wouldn't let him eat. He made him set aside his slice of pizza so he could kiss him.

  Chapter 9

  Abandoning half the pizza to go cold, they kissed for a while. The kiss tasted like pizza and beer, but so much better, like Enzo. Mack lost all sense of time until Enzo pulled away so they could breathe.

  Enzo took the piazza box to the kitchen, and Mack got up just to stretch his legs. When he came back, Enzo found him at the living room window. They both sat on the windowsill, across from each other with their knees bumping.

  They were looking in opposite directions, but the view was pretty much the same. Every few yards a tree grew out of the sidewalk. The treetops still had some brown leaves on them. The people who passed under them and the cars that drove by on the street came into view then disappeared.

  Mack wondered how many of the people they could see on the street were on their way to Thanksgiving dinner. Not sure what time it was, Mack looked up at a dark blue sky overlaid with thin, misty clouds. A few stars were peeking through and a pale, almost full moon had shown itself.

  They were lucky they could see it from their window on the third floor. Even if the other buildings weren't very tall, they still towered over them and blocked out most of the sky. Mack and Enzo watched as the buildings above them slowly filled up with lighted windows. In the distance, they could see even more buildings on other streets with their lights on.

  "Those lucky bastards have power," Enzo realized and ruined the quiet mood with his outburst.

  Suddenly he pulled open the window and stuck his head out. He leaned over to look down then craned his neck to look up.

  Instinctively, Mack grabbed the back of his jeans to keep him from falling. Enzo got back in and closed the window against the gust of cold air that came in. "Still no lights in our building," he said. Then he looked around the apartment. "Is it getting dark already? It sure gets dark fast these days."

  "Do we have candles?" Mack wondered.

  Enzo gave him a wry look. "By the way you ask that, I'll assume that you don't."

  "Not really a candle guy," Mack admitted.

  "I have one that Mandy gave me."

  "One?" Mack scoffed. "You're bragging about one candle?"

  "It's a big one. I'll go get it. You text the landlady about the power," Enzo instructed and went off to his room. He brought back the candle and lit it.

  Done texting the landlady, Mack sniffed. "What's that smell?"

  "It says cinnamon apple," Enzo told him after reading the label then he set the candle on the coffee table where the beer bottles were still sitting empty.

  "I guess it won't kill me," Mack said sourly as the two of them sat on the couch.

  "It's not that bad," Enzo said but put the candle a little further away.

  The two of them leaned back and Mack put his arm around Enzo's shoulders. The gesture and the cozy atmosphere made him feel giddy. It was a strange feeling to be with someone as darkness encroached and to feel good.

  "Is the dark romantic or scary to you?" Enzo asked.

  Judging by the apprehensive look in his eyes, maybe he could already guess the answer.

  "Scary, I guess," Mack told him. He didn't feel that way now, but he had never been a fan of the dark. As for romantic, he had never thought of anything as romantic. He never imagined that romance could be a part of his life. It was like believing in Santa Claus. "But feel free to try and change my mind about that," he challenged Enzo.

  Enzo looked like he was up for it. "I'll have to turn your thinking around in all sorts of ways."

  "So you think the dark is romantic?" Mack guessed.

  "Sure. It has all kinds of potential. When I was a kid, I thought the power going out was the best thing. The candles were lit and everything looked just a little bit strange. The stage was set for adventure." Enzo looked wide-eyed and dreamy, the picture of an excited kid. Then he became more serious. "But I guess it's different if monsters are lurking in the dark."

  "I think I missed out on a lot of fun stuff while I was busy being scared," Mack said.

  "I'll have to make up for that," Enzo said and smiled.

  Noticing how he was making all these plans concerning him, Mack stared at Enzo and wondered what he was thinking. Under his intense gaze, Enzo turned shy. He ducked his head and his hair fell over his eyes. Why did that stir Mack's heart to beat like crazy?

  He wanted to grab hold of Enzo, take him, own him, never let him go. He didn't do anything abrupt though. He had kind of gotten that out of his system, for today anyway.

  Moving closer to Enzo, Mack brushed his hair back. Enzo looked up at him and grinned. The candle on the coffee table still glowed. The moonlight and the streetlights shone through the window, but to Mack all the light in the world came from Enzo's eyes.

  He leaned in until their foreheads touched. Then they both tilted their heads so their mouths aligned. Their lips parted, and they melted into each other. Enzo sucked on his tongue and moaned. Mack shuddered with pleasure.

  He never knew every kiss could be better than the last. Every time they kissed, he fell more easily into the feeling of it, the heat of Enzo's body pressed against him, and all the muffled noises he made. It all added up to something Mack had never felt before.

  "You feel so good. Your whole body is like some rock-hard dream," Enzo told him, breaking the kiss only for a moment. With obvious appreciation, he groped Mack everywhere.

  Working out with all his might, Mack didn't do it to look good but to get strong so he could fight back. Now the strength of his body had a different purpose. It was for Enzo to admire and caress.

  Their tongues glided over each other. The sweet, slow intensity of the kiss was building into something stronger all the time. Enzo's hands raked over Mack's body, restless and urgent. His legs circled Mack's hips and he climbed into his lap. Rolling his hips, he kept his eyes locked on Mack.

  Then both their phones chimed with texts. That was enough of a coincidence to get their attention. Climbing off him,
Enzo reached for his phone.

  "It's a text from the landlady. You got your wish," Enzo said and glared at Mack like his wishes had any kind of power.

  "Yeah. I got the text too. It must be going out to all the tenants," Mack said after he looked at his own phone. "The power should be back on sometime tonight."

  "That's too late for my turkey," Enzo whined.

  "The fridge will stay cool for a while. It won't spoil. When the power comes back on, stick the turkey in the oven and we'll have it for breakfast."

  "You're not funny," Enzo said dropping back on the couch.

  "Who's being funny? I'm going to be hungry, you know."

  Enzo didn't look convinced. "We'll see about that. Now you need to distract me from this craziness. Get back over here," Enzo said and pushed him down on the couch.

  Within seconds Enzo was on top of him and kissing him. Mack's hands slid under his clothes. Finding his skin hot to the touch, smooth and hard, Mack pushed up into him. Cock to cock, they started grinding. He didn't mean to. It just happened. It was natural, irresistible. Then Enzo stopped suddenly.

  "You know, I always thought this couch was really uncomfortable," he said as his body was spread on top of Mack's. He shifted around a little, but not in a way that did much for Mack.

  "It is," Mack said. His back could confirm that. But was this really the time to talk about the damn, lumpy couch?

  As Mack tried to get Enzo's attention back on what mattered by groping his ass, he only looked thoughtful. "Hmm. I guess it's you. You're really comfortable to lie on," Enzo told him.

  "I have many uses," Mack said deadpan as he ran his hands up and down Enzo's back then squeezed his ass again.

  "As a boyfriend?"

  "What?" Mack said and nearly jumped up off the couch. That would have meant dislodging Enzo and dumping him on the floor, so he didn't.

  "Isn't that what we were talking about?" Enzo asked, his eyes blinking innocently.

  "We were talking about the couch," Mack said.