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Now, they sat on one side of a gulf, their parents on the other. And there was no building a bridge between that divide.
Wren blinked when he felt a small tap on his leg, and he realized he’d entirely zoned out of the conversation. “Sorry,” he signed, forgetting for a moment to use his voice.
Percy grinned and gave him a double thumbs-up, which Wren assumed was BSL for something like, “It’s all good.” “I didn’t mean to bring up such a touchy subject.”
Wren waved him off and rolled his shoulders, trying to release some of his tension. “It’s all old trauma. When my parents found out Caleb was deaf, they immediately started the process to get him cochlear implants.”
Percy’s eyes widened. “Like…” He gestured to the side of Wren’s head.
He nodded. “Several doctors told them that my brother wasn’t a good candidate, but they pushed until they found one willing to do the surgery. Surprise, surprise,” he said. “They failed.”
“But yours didn’t,” Percy pointed out.
Wren pulled a face. “I didn’t really disappoint them until I came out of the closet.”
Percy’s face fell. “I’ve heard that story more than once.”
Letting out a soft laugh, Wren shrugged. “There are worse things. And it’s nice not having to live up to their version of the Golden Child, which was something I never wanted to be.” He went abruptly quiet and slapped a hand over his face, dragging it down. “Oh my God. I never do this.”
Percy cocked his head to the side. “Do what?”
Wren waved his hand back and forth between them. “This. Sharing. Not with a hookup—” He stopped and bit his lip.
“Right.” Percy cleared his throat. “No, I…yes. That makes sense, of course.”
“It’s nothing personal,” Wren told him. He swung his legs off the bed, letting panic drive his body. Talking to Percy had been easy. It felt good. It felt safe. And he couldn’t let this happen. “I should go.”
He turned his head, so he missed most of what Percy said next, and he didn’t ask him to repeat himself. Instead, he hunted for the rest of his things, finding his shoes and phone half tucked under the bed. His heart was racing as he put himself together, and he only just had the courage to look over.
Percy was sitting at the edge of the bed, his legs slightly parted, the robe settled between his thighs. He looked delicious, and all Wren wanted to do was crawl into his lap and be held for a bit.
“Was it me?” Percy asked when he realized he had Wren’s attention.
Wren swallowed heavily. “Yes. But not in a bad way. I really like you, and I don’t. I’ll just hurt you in the end, and that’s the last thing I want.”
Percy nodded, looking thoughtful. “I mean, we could always keep it casual?—”
“No,” Wren said sharply, signing it in front of him. He forced his hand to relax. “Sorry, but I’ve done that before, and it never ends well. You’ve been through enough.”
Something flashed over Percy’s face that was too complicated for Wren to work out, but before he could ask, it was gone, and Percy just offered a small smile. “Thank you for tonight.”
“God,” Wren groaned. “You’re not making this easy.”
At that, Percy stood and reached for him. Wren didn’t pull back, leaning into his body instead as Percy’s large arms held him. “I don’t think I want to make this easy. I think that’ll make the memory sweeter.”
Wren didn’t totally believe that, but he decided he’d already broken a few rules tonight, so what was one more. Pushing up onto his toes, he kissed Percy, soft and slow. It sent sparks into his fingers and toes, and he clung to the taller man for long, aching moments.
“I really should go.”
Percy nodded, then touched the underside of Wren’s chin, stealing one last kiss before he released him.
Wren felt the space between them like an ocean, and it was only knowing that it would end in absolute disaster that he found the strength to turn around, walk out, and let the door slam shut behind him.
The moment he walked into the café with Mouse at his side, everyone was suspicious. Mouse wasn’t an official service dog, so Wren didn’t take him everywhere. The pup had sort of stumbled into his hearing alert tasks by accident, so Wren had looked up training techniques, and being a working dog breed, he was responsive.
But he was also a hyper little shit who liked to nip him right in the center of his left ass cheek any chance he got. It wasn’t a great look when they were out in public.
But Caleb kept “just in case” dog treats in his desk drawer for the times Wren walked over with Mouse at his side because those days were his bad ones, and Caleb would never deny him. A fact he was grateful for since he was still reeling over Percy.
