“What?”
“You said you had something to tell me that I might like.”
The sadness marring Jevon’s lovely face deepened. “Don’t be like that.”
“Like what?”
“Cold. It doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m not being cold, mate. I just need to hear something happy right now. Help me out... please?”
Jevon inhaled deeply, then seemed to find a smirk from somewhere and plastered it on his face. “Okay... well, while I was waiting for you, I had a rummage in your magic box. I hope you don’t mind.”
“My magic box?” It took Rhys’s brain a second to compute. “Oh.Thatbox.”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“And...” Jevon stuck his hand in his pocket and withdrew a squishy purple plug that Rhys had never used. “I found something I liked.”
Rhys took the plug from him and turned it over in his hands. “Did you try it out?”
“Yes.”
“And you liked it?”
“Yes.”
Rhys passed the plug back. “Show me.”
* * *
The sun woke Rhys the next morning. Crisp, clean winter rays streaming through the blinds he’d forgotten to close the night before. He bathed in them a moment, enjoying the warmth, but then the solid body next to him invaded his dazed consciousness.Jevon.
Rhys rolled over. Jevon was still asleep, stretched out on his stomach. Smiling, Rhys trailed his fingers down his spine, counting the vertebrae, and slid his hand under the sheets that were bunched at Jevon’s waist. Flashes of the night they’d spent together before they’d crashed out danced through his mind. They’d played around for hours, like they could use pleasure to block out the wrench of Jevon’s news, and done everything under the sun except fuck.Jevonwas ready—Rhys knew it like he knew water was wet—but every time the opportunity had arisen, he’d found himself backing away. Like fucking Jevon was the icing on a cake he didn’t want to eat yet.
Like it was their pinnacle and nothing else could come after.
“You’re gonna give yourself a migraine.”
Rhys blinked. Jevon was awake and staring at him, his arm curled beneath his chin. “What do you mean?”
Jevon stretched like a luxuriating cat, exposing more of his sinuous body. “You look lost.”
“I’m not lost. I’m right here.”
“Are you, though?” Jevon sat up slightly, just enough that he could loop an arm around Rhys’s shoulders and tug him into an embrace that felt like home. “’Cause I don’t want you to spend the next ten days feeling like I’ve already gone.”
“That makes me sound like a melodramatic bitch. Like I’m acting as though you’ve died or something.”
Jevon snorted. “I know you’re not a drama queen, son.”
“Thanks, but still.” Rhys shrugged helplessly. “It’s so hard. I don’t want you to go, but at the same time, I know it’s so right that you do. I’m confused.”
“Aren’t we all?” Jevon kissed Rhys’s forehead. His eyes were still hooded and sleepy, but empathy laced every gentle touch. “I wish you knew how much my heart is screaming at me not to go—to stay here with you—but—”
“Don’t.” Rhys stopped him with a kiss of his own. “I get it. It’s killing me, but I know how important your work is—I’ve seen it.”