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The compliment had Auggie’s chest inflating with pride. If he were a peacock, that tail would’ve been fanning. “Thank you, Luca. At least one of you appreciates me.”
“I appreciate you plenty,” I defended.
Auggie poked Luca. “You’re welcome to practice on the pole here if you don’t want to come to the studio anymore. I imagine you’ll be around a lot.”
“Actually, that would probably be way more convenient. I let practice slide too much.”
Auggie bounced excitedly in place. “Fuck yeah!”
“At what point do I get to see Luca on the pole?” I asked.
“When he’s good and ready,” Auggie replied. “I don’t want your little eyeballs to distract him while he’s learning.”
I puffed out a breath, resigned to waiting for that particular show.
“Not to interrupt, but I do have to study. We have a quiz tomorrow and I have a couple worksheets to finish.”
“Oh my god, can we quiz you?” Auggie asked. “I’m an excellent study buddy.”
“Sure, if you want to.”
Luca worked on his homework while I did up flashcards with using some of Auggie’s stationary. Auggie, unable to sit still, took it upon himself to paint my toenails hot pink while we waited, before moving on to Luca, painting his lime green. In a move of pride, he pulled off his socks and stuck his own toes out by ours, revealing the electric blue polish.
“Our toes look so cute together. Very 80s vibes.”
By the time Luca finished his homework and I finished the cards, Auggie was restless again and ready to make sure Luca knew every scrap of information contained within them.
I snuggled up against Luca’s side, half asleep, while Auggie quizzed and Luca answered. It was nice to be able to touch Luca without worrying about who was seeing it. The two of them were so cute, beaming at one another every time Luca got an answer right. It reminded me of Allie and me, and I knew Luca didn’t have much in the way of close friends, so it was especially sweet to see him and Auggie bonding. Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure what Auggie’s friend situation was either. He never talked about anyone, so maybe this would be as good for him as it was for Luca.
At some point later in the night, I woke when Luca lifted me and set me on the pullout bed.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“My fault for falling asleep on you.”
“You can’t put her to bed before she brushes her teeth. That’s nasty.”
I squinted against the dim glow of the lamps, seeing Auggie with his curls tucked into a bonnet, his face dewy from his nightly skincare routine.
“Go wash up or you’re gonna get cavities,” Auggie insisted.
“Yeah, yeah.” I peeled myself out of bed, grabbed my toiletries, and did as he commanded, Luca tucked next to me in Auggie’s bathroom. I made him leave while I brushed my teeth, and waited for him to finish his because it icked me out, but I let him stay for the rest of the routine. Once we were both fresh-faced, we emerged again, wearing our pajamas. Auggie had seen me naked plenty of times, but this wasn’t the club and I didn’t want to be presumptuous, plus he’d never seen Luca in the buff and I was happy to keep that mystery from him.
“Sweet dreams, you two.” Auggie walked away with a wave.
I lifted one arm to wave back and used it to drag Luca down with me. “Sleeping time.”
Luca chuckled and settled next to me. “Tonight was nice.”
“It was,” I agreed. “I think it’ll be good to live close to him. And we can hang out without worrying about anything.”
In front of other people I would be self-conscious, but Auggie’s friendship was different. He had known most of the secrets about me from the start because he shared them too. It seemed fitting in a way that he was the first one to know about Luca. I knew the way things were wasn’t sustainable, but I was desperate to keep this little bubble around us, to keep the eyes, the questions, and the judgments away.
Luca tucked me against him so I was his little spoon and I stole his wrist to cradle my head so I could breathe in his scent as I drifted off.
He kissed the top of my head and my purr kicked into gear.
“Sweet dreams, Sunshine.”
