Page 55 of Lifeline

Like he wasn’t enough.

“You’re tired, I’m tired, let’s be tired together and sleep,” I told him, nuzzling his hair. “Because, really, I don’t want to have sex right now. I’m fucking exhausted.”

“All that opening up, spilling my guts and boom, you come down to that?” he asked with a laugh, the sound warming me as he kissed my chest. “You’re a dork.”

‘Your dork’ hung right there in the air, but I smiled and nodded. “Occasionally.”

“Shut up and go to sleep,” he muttered.

And I did, but only after I felt his breathing even out and the faint sound of his snoring could be heard.

9

AIDAN

Warmth.

The kind of warmth that made it impossible to think, or at least, think too hard. Well, I guess it wasn’t that I couldn’t think…I just didn’t want to.

I wanted to nuzzle closer to the warmth, which was easy since the source wasn’t moving and my arms were around it, holding it close. I didn’t believe in some deity or afterlife, but if there was a heaven, it would feel like that. Not really bliss so much as a contentment that found a way gently under your skin, down into your bones. It was comfortable; it was beyond words, and I felt like I could float in that nest of warmth and comfort for the remainder of my life.

Fuck, I had to pee.

Opening my eyes with a sigh, I peeked up and found that I hadn’t moved much during the night, because I was still pressed up against Mika. He had rolled onto his side at some point, and I had ended up with my arm around his waist, holding him tight to me as we’d slept more peacefully together than I could remember sleeping in a long time. Then again, we had spent the past few days working our fingers to the bone, so I was sure exhaustion, along with the exhaustion of talking to him so openly, played a part.

At least it made it easier for me to slip away without disturbing him. He breathed deeply as I pulled my arm away from his waist and got up from the bed. Being just a covered mattress, I didn’t have to worry about jostling him as I got to my feet. I was still in my underwear, but that was fine because it was still morning, and I made my way downstairs to the bathroom to pee.

When I emerged, drying my hand on my underwear, I froze when I came face to face with a familiar yet foreign face.

“Uh,” Reno began slowly, eyes wide as he looked me over. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” I said with a sigh. There was no point in trying to dart out of sight or cover myself up. I was clearly busted, and it wasn’t like Reno hadn’t seen me naked in the locker room or while sharing the open showers with me. The urge came from the fact that I was busted. Well, I suppose it was more accurate to say that we were busted because it wasn’t like I’d be hanging out in this building in my underwear if I was waiting for Reno.

“So…you two worked things out, I take it?” Reno asked slowly, and I could see he had a tablet in his hand, one that I had seen sitting on the large table in the center of the room last night.

“Working,” I corrected slightly. “We’re not like…settled on anything or⁠—”

“But you’re definitely spending the night together.”

“First time.”

“First time fucking or⁠—?”

“Wow, just going to put it out there, huh?”

“Look,” Reno said, holding the tablet against his head. “My brother’s an adult, and so are you, and I like you. I really do. I also like having you around and I want you to stay around if it can be helped.”

“But don’t break your brother’s heart again?” I asked with a sigh. “You don’t have to give me the speech, Reno. I’m not trying to do anything like that.”

“We never mean to hurt someone else,” he said, looking away for a moment before apparently recovering and meeting my gaze. “And I wasn’t going to say that. I got the feeling that he was just as responsible for what happened to you guys as you were. I know he’s no saint; he’s…difficult.”

“He can be,” I admitted, leaning on the table and taking a deep breath. “But I can be too.”

“Which makes you a pretty good match for him,” he said with a snort. “I just…whatever happened in the past, don’t…don’t let it repeat itself, okay? I’ll tell him the same thing since it’s blatantly obvious you two are…something again.”

“I wondered if someone other than Colin had guessed,” I said with a shake of my head.

“Yeah, well, I’m his brother. I was with him before we even came into the world, of course I know him,” Reno said with a little smile. “And it’s not just Colin. I think even Xander is wondering what’s going on with you two, but, uh…I wouldn’t let him know outright for a little while.”