Page 69 of See My Words

Just then, a bang and a curse from the hallway, and Chris himself lurched into the kitchen. Both Scott and Minh pointed wordlessly in the direction of the coffeepot, sharing a grin as Chris made a beeline for it with a look of desperation on his face.

“He really is one of us,” Scott muttered, and Minh snorted in agreement. Chris plopped down next to them and sipped his coffee, heaving a sigh of utter contentment as the caffeine hit his system.

“Not used to all these early mornings,” he croaked. “I’m a night owl.”

Minh laughed at him. “Preaching to the choir. We keep club hours, in bed at five a.m., sleep till two or three—”

“Oh, the life of the young and beautiful.” Chris leaned over for a kiss, which Minh returned with enthusiasm.

Scott grimaced at the display and stood, moving to the stove. “Who wants an omelet?”

By the time Rylan staggered in, omelets were on the table and fresh coffee brewed. Scott smirked at his bedhead and stubble before cupping his cheeks to kiss him and wipe the sleep from his eyes with his thumbs. “Morning, hot stuff.”

Rylan grunted. “Why’re you all so fuckin’ cheerful?” He moved to the coffeepot and yanked the cabinet door above it open with an irritable motion.

“Third cup.” Minh held up his mug.

Chris hoisted his. “Second.”

Scowling, Rylan carried his coffee to the table and hunched over it like he was afraid someone would take it from him. Scott slid Rylan’s omelet onto a plate and approached him with exaggerated wariness, snickering when Chris muttered, “Careful. You wouldn’t want to lose a finger there, dude.”

Rylan growled and pretended to bite him, but a half smile quirked his lips. It wasn’t long before he perked up, and everyone ate their breakfast, the laughter and conversation lively.

“So I told that bitch, ‘Oh, shut up and paint your face.’” Minh concluded his story about an evil drag queen with a dramatic wave of his fork.

“And did she?” Chris’s voice was tight with suppressed mirth.

“Fuck yeah, she did. Went out there and killed the show, too. Didn’t matter if she hated my guts, the show must go on.”

Chris’s arm was slung along the back of Minh’s chair, and he nuzzled his cheek with his nose. “My fierce baby.”

Minh tossed his head. “Fierce and fabulous.” Grinning, he gave Chris a resounding kiss. “And on that note, we really need to get ready for the wedding.”

They both stood, and Scott did, too. Chris stuck his hand out. “If I don’t see you again before we leave, thanks, Scott, for inviting me up here this weekend.”

Scott clasped his hand, and all of a sudden, they flowed into a hug that seemed entirely natural. With a last thump to Scott’s back, Chris pulled away and said, “We should do this again sometime. The four of us taking a trip together, I mean.”

Scott pursed his lips, cutting his eyes over to Minh. “Well, that sounds great. It’ll be kind of hard to put anything together before Saturday, but—” He broke off with a yelp as Minh kicked his shin, glaring at him.

“What?” Chris looked confused, and Minh grabbed his arm to hustle him off.

“He’s just being his usual dick self. Ignore him.” Minh’s words drifted back to Scott and he cracked up, leaning against the counter. When he stopped laughing, he noticed Rylan looking at him curiously.

“What was that all about?”

Scott shook his head, still grinning. “Just that I might have a fledgling career in matchmaking. What do you think?”

Rylan snorted, gathering up all the plates and moving to the sink to wash them. “What do I think? That you got lucky, man. Things could have turned out way differently.” His voice was teasing, not chiding, but still, his words hit Scott square in the gut. He’d invited Chris up here as a tool to push Rylan away, and thank fuck it hadn’t worked out.

Scott wrapped his arms around Rylan’s waist from behind and kissed his nape. “I’m so glad you’re smarter than me. So glad.”

Rylan flicked some soapsuds over his shoulder into Scott’s face. “Not smarter, just in love.”

Scott smiled against Rylan’s skin, and he bit the tendon in his neck gently. “Mmmm. So glad of that, too. How else could you put up with me?”

“Indeed.”

Rylan tried his best to put the kitchen to rights, but Scott proceeded to make a huge nuisance of himself, roaming his hands everywhere, getting in the way. When Rylan grabbed Scott’s fingers and dragged them up and out of his pants for the third time, he burst out, “Jesus, Scott. Go pack our shit up in the bedroom. Go. You’re banished!”