“I wanted you there,” he insisted, because it was important that Bas understand. “I wanted you. Withme.”
“I know. I wanted to be with you, too,” Bas said hoarsely, sliding his fingers back into Drew’s hair. Drew arched into the touch. “But are you sure you don’t want to call thepolice?”
“No police,” Drew insisted. He shook his head again, which seemed like a massive mistake as what little he’d eaten earlier that day seemed to revolt. He’d barely had time to unbuckle his belt and push Bas back before he vomited on thepavement.
He curled around himself, chest heaving, and let Bas shift him back into the car and shut the door. He was vaguely aware of Bas starting the engine, turning the heat on high, rubbing his hand lightly over Drew’sback.
“I’m okay,” Drew whispered, not sure if he was talking to Bas or to himself. “I’mfine.”
“I should have hit him harder,” Basmumbled.
Bas’s phone chimed, a different sound than Drew had heard earlier, and he wasn’t sure why that bugged him, but itdid.
“What’s wrong with your phone?” hedemanded.
“Not my phone. Yours,” Bassaid.
“Notmine.”
Bas took the phone from his pocket and looked at the screen, then up at Drew. “Mark’s,” he whispered. “Fuck. Did I take the wrong one? It looks just likeyours.”
Drew nodded. “They looked thesame.”
Bas’s face reddened as he read whatever message had popped up on thescreen.
“Whass it say?” he forcedout.
Bas sighed, and Drew could see that he didn’t want to tell him, but he did. “It says ‘Our date should be ready for action now. Lead him out the back.’” Bas cleared histhroat.
Drew resisted the urge to vomit again, breathing shakily through his nose. Ithadbeenintentional.
“I am going to make that man’s life a fucking misery,” he vowed. “Plaster his face all over social media. He will never have another moment’s peace for the rest of hislife.”
Bas’s eyes, when he turned them toward Drew, were molten. “That won’t be very long,” he swore. “I’m going to fucking killhim.”
Drew laid his hand atop Sebastian’s, where it rested on the steering wheel, and felt the shudder that moved through Bas at the simple contact. “I’m fine,Bas.”
Bas’s nostrils flared, and he nodded once. “You will be,” he promised. He flipped his hand over and threaded his fingers withDrew’s.
For a moment, Drew wished he were a little less foggy-headed, so he could commit every second of this to memory - the warm slide of Bas’s palm against his, the way their fingers knitted together perfectly. But it wouldn’t be the last time they held hands; Drew would make sure of it. He was through resisting. If Sebastian wanted to experiment, Drew would gladly donate himself to thecause.
“Where are we going?” Drew asked, noting that they weren’t heading toward hishouse.
“That guy has your phone,” Bas said, shaking his head. “I have no idea whether he’s capable of openingit…”
“It was locked, I think,” Drew said, rubbing his free hand over hisforehead.
“It’s okay. I can wipe it remotely,” Bas told him. “But just in case, I don’t want to take you back to your place. We’ll spend the night atmine.”
Drew swallowed hard.We.
Bas squeezed his fingers. “That okay?” he asked, glancing at Drew. But it felt like he was really asking something different. Something bigger. Something like, “Do you trustme?”
And the answer to that was the same as it had alwaysbeen.
A clear and unequivocal “Yes.”
