Page 72 of Love Limits

It was so much more than that, though. They were joyful. Exuberant. Every single time they claimed a route, they had a little celebration. Sometimes even when they drew a card and it matched one they already had. Since there were only six colors and they got to draw two new cards each time, that was almost literally every round.

Zhong had been terrified that he would screw this up, but instead, it had been ridiculously easy. He just followed Ash’s lead. Otherwise, it was surprisingly similar to everything else they did together, only Ash was a goofy little chatterbox who made hilariously cute decisions and needed to be reminded not to pour sauce on the counter.

What had most impressed him, though, was the way Ash had woven through all of the different stories while they ate their dinner. Zhong’s mind just didn’t work that way. He was measured and analytical. He’d never thought of it as a bad thing, but getting a glimpse into the creative frontier of Ash’s brain just left him awed.

His other worry had been that age play would be completely boring, and that was clearly incorrect. He hadn’t been bored for an instant.

He suspected that even years later, he would still be just as entertained.

It wasn’t that Zhong had found his kink, though. That he was sure about. With anyone but Ash, the idea of age play only invoked a sense of mild curiosity and a pretty strong conviction that he would find it tedious.

This was just Ash’s magic.

Eventually they ran out of pieces, ending the game. Zhong suspected he’d won, though he really had no idea. Once he realized that Ash wasn’t playing a competitive game, he’d gotten lackadaisical about his own plays and even passed up routes when Ash was poised to claim them instead. He had more than enough to think about anyway.

Ash was counting up something on the game board, but clearly not by the rules of the game and a bit haphazardly.

Who won? he asked.

We tied.

Good game. Zhong reached out his hand for a shake, which Ash seemed to find hilarious. I think it’s time for bed now.

Ash looked at him like he was crazy. What about ice cream?

That was a good point. Of course. How could I forget the ice cream? You clean up the game and I’ll get it.

He knew exactly what to grab out of the freezer. He’d gotten the idea from the back of the package a few weeks ago and set it up, and this was the perfect time to reveal it.

He sliced an orange for himself and put the foil-wrapped package for Ash on a small plate with one of the orange sections. He set them both on the coffee table just as Ash was putting the last few pieces away.

Square ice cream! Ash exclaimed. Apparently they were too little to spell “Klondike bars.” Can I have it now?

Of course. Go ahead and open it.

Ash quickly flipped over the silver packaging and lifted the corner, surprised when it broke off into a smaller square. They investigated, separating out the other three pieces for excited inspection.

They tugged at his sleeve. Look! There’s four different types in here.

Zhong chuckled. I know. He’d carefully cut each square into fourths, repeated with three other flavors, and then repackaged them into little multi-packs.

It has all the ice cream inside! Not just one!

I know.

It has chocolate and peanut butter and vanilla and cookies!

Yep. I know.

Look!

Apparently Zhong wasn’t being enthusiastic enough. He leaned over to inspect the plate. That looks good. All four types!

Thank you, thank you, so much! Ash jumped and dove into his arms for a hug and kind of ended up cuddled up next to him on the couch. They reached back over for their plate and he handed it to them.

Zhong got his own orange and they ate snuggled up together.

Eat the orange, he reminded.