“And after?”
Holden took a breath that lifted his shoulders, and Bryce watched him hold it. He counted to five until Holden exhaled,and they both turned a corner, the shop once again in sight. He didn’t think this was the last time he would see Holden, but he was running out of time in this specific moment and he wasn’t quite ready to let it slip away.
“Are you staying with your brother?” Holden asked.
“That was the plan.”
“Then nothing,” he said.
“Why nothing?”
“Because you have no reason to go out on your own just yet, and I have no reason to come over to his place. I don’t even know where he lives.”
“How do you…” Bryce stopped himself from finishing the thought. “Actually, never mind.”
Holden shot him an unimpressed look.
“Merrick is a lot,” Bryce said, and Holden scoffed. “It would be very reasonable for me to tell him I need a breather.”
“Not your first day here.”
“You clearly don’t know Merrick,” he shot back.
The shop was closer, close enough Bryce could read the dark black and bronze logo on the window. He took a risk and grabbed Holden’s wrist, dragging the other man to a stop. They both stared down at the way Bryce’s tattooed fingers curled around Holden’s tattooed wrist, and neither of them said a word for so long Bryce almost forgot to breathe.
“I think I like you more when you’re quiet,” Holden said, taking his hand back.
“I can be quiet,” Bryce said. “I actually…sometimes I prefer it.”
Holden swallowed, visibly and audibly, and Bryce fought the urge to lean down and see if he could taste the vinaigrette on Holden’s mouth.
“What’s on your knuckles?” Holden asked, which might have been the absolute last thing Bryce expected him to ask.
He frowned, looking down at his own hands like he’d forgotten the tattoos there. He made fists of his hands and showed the ink to Holden, who nodded approvingly.
“Stardust,” he said, tracing his finger in a straight line across the bold letters. “Why?”
“We’re made of it.”
Holden licked his lips, wetting them in a borderline indecent way before pulling them both into his mouth and biting down. God, did the man have any idea how attractive he was? He had to know, right? There was no way Holden didn’t realize the effect he had on people, or at the very least the effect he was having on Bryce.
“I wanted a reminder that I’m more than this,” he added softly. “And also less.”
Holden released his lips, teeth marks visible.
“Give me your phone,” Holden said, extending his hand.
Bryce knew a chance when he saw it, and he had his phone out of his pocket embarrassingly quickly. He dropped the device in Holden’s waiting palm, mouth twitching into a smile when Holden held it up facing him so the screen would unlock. The other man scrolled through the apps Bryce had open, which hadn’t been anything interesting. His photo gallery from the airplane ride after the Wi-Fi had cut out, a game he’d been playing while he’d waited to board, a book he’d been reading, a streaming app with a documentary he’d grown bored of. Holden flicked his stare up to Bryce and hesitated before continuing his search.
“I don’t have anything indecent, if that’s what you’re looking for,” he said. “I mean, there is an album, but it’s hidden.”
Holden chuckled and swiped through to Bryce’s text messages. He started a new thread and keyed in a phone number Bryce very much hoped was his, sent a message, then held the phone out for him to take. Bryce didn’t even look at it. Hereturned his phone to his pocket and tried to not smile at Holden like he’d just won the lottery.
“Would it be too forward if I told you I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how much I want to kiss you since the first moment you opened your mouth?” Bryce asked.
“Maybe.”
“Well, I have.”
