"I promise."
"And call me again soon. I will be waiting."
"Even at five in the morning?"
"For you, always."
They said their goodbyes—je t'aime, je t'aime aussi—and Elliot hung up.
His aunt knew him. The real him. And she loved him anyway. The only unconditional thing in his life.
"—Love you too. Yeah. Bye."Hale's voice, soft now. Elliot glanced over. Hale lowered his phone, still smiling at whatever his sister had said.
Elliot wondered what that felt like. To have a sibling you could talk to. Without treating every conversation like a tactical negotiation.
He stood and turned toward the door just as Hale did the same.
Their eyes met and they both stopped.
Hale's relaxed expression shifted. Like he suddenly remembered what had happened in the locker room earlier.
“Hey,” Elliot said.
“Hey.” Hale hesitated. "Didn't know you could laugh like that."
Elliot stiffened. "Like what?"
"Like you actually mean it."
Before Elliot could respond, Hale walked past him toward the door. Elliot stayed behind, his aunt's voice echoing in his head.Are there any cute boys there?
Yes. One. And he was becoming a problem.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
HUDSON
Hudson was losing his mind.
It had been three days since the locker room, and he had spent all of them trying to act like nothing had happened. It would have been easier if he could stop thinking about kissing Shaw again, but so far no luck.
Which is why, when Master Sergeant Chen announced strategic negotiation training and paired them, Hudson's entire body went rigid.
The training room had six tables scattered throughout the space, far enough apart that the groups were all out of earshot. The rest of the groups settled in—Reed with Novak, Briggs with Anderson, others Hudson barely registered because Shaw walked toward him and his brain went off the rails.
Shaw sat down across from him like everything was completely normal. As if Hudson hadn't had his mouth on him in more places than one.
“Hale,” Shaw said, voice perfectly neutral.
“Shaw.”
Close. Too close.
The table was smaller than he had expected, and when Shaw leaned forward to grab the folder in the center, his knee brushed Hudson’s.
Hudson jerked back like he’d been burned.
Shaw’s lips curved. “Nervous?”
