Page 43 of Love Unlimited

Ash cracked up. OK, what are Dustin’s hobbies?

Dustin was curious to know, too. He didn’t feel like he really had any, or at least not like he had as a teenager.

Running, Landon supplied. Reading.

Cooking, Zhong added. Crossword puzzles. Systems design.

Dustin shook his head. Yeah, but Ash doesn’t run or cook, reading is a solitary thing, and systems design is my job. Crossword puzzles are, like, nice to do before I fall asleep. None of those are hobbies.

Zhong rolled his eyes. What about music? Your guitar?

Dustin looked at him skeptically. Ash can’t hear it.

Wrong. Zhong corrected him gleefully. Ash loves music. They have a playlist on their phone that works with their hearing aids and they sing all the time.

OK, well, I’m also really sucky at it. I haven’t played in years. He enjoyed it, though. His ex, Alan, had found it annoying to listen to him practice, but he’d missed it.

We’re going to have a band! Ash cheered. We’ll be terrible and it’ll be the best thing ever! You can teach me to play guitar, right? And I’ll sing.

Dustin found himself smiling despite himself. Are you sure? I have no rhythm. His APD made his sense of tempo shitty, but since he couldn’t tell the difference it never bothered him. It might bother someone else, though.

Doesn’t matter. This is going to be so much fun! Ash looked positively elated. I’m gonna buy a guitar. You have to take me guitar shopping.

Dustin found himself getting caught up in the idea. He was pretty sure that Ash was being honest that the tempo issue wouldn’t bother them, or at least if it did, the idea of playing music together would overcome that.

OK, he found himself agreeing. OK, we can do it.

Landon and Ash cheered together, outstretched fingers sparkling over their heads, and then Zhong joined in.

Feeling only somewhat silly, Dustin repeated the gesture.

The mood felt celebratory. This wasn’t the tumultuous passion that had sparked his relationship with Landon. It was a quiet excitement. A warm joy.

A sense that everything was coming together, and that he could have the two most important people in his life, and maybe, someday, something more with Ash if it felt right.

Somehow, Dustin’s crappy week had turned into the most wonderful evening as he got himself a second helping of curry and eventually got suckered into losing a game of Bananagrams.

* * *

That floating feeling continued through the next day. The clients were still being difficult, of course, but he bit the bullet and called an all-in meeting over video chat. He set some quick expectations, then observed while Nitya walked the clients through the most recent round of development to get their feedback.

It quickly became apparent that there were two problems: Nitya wasn’t pushing back hard enough and the clients had one stick-in-the-mud on the team who refused to accept anything but his way. Something that Nitya should have told him.

So he reviewed the budget with everyone, let them know how far they were already projected to go over, and told them that his team would be happy to continue making changes… but that each one was costing them. That led to some grumbling, but sorting that out was going to be an internal problem for them that he didn’t need to be involved in.

It would have been a frustrating day, except that every time Dustin looked out his window, he could see Zhong and Ash in the backyard. He thought their plan had been to work upstairs, but it was a relatively cool day for July and they’d moved outside.

Ash seemed to be doing a combination of photos and sketches while Zhong posed. Right now, Zhong was laid out over the picnic table, elbows beneath his shoulders and golden chest arched upward toward the endless sky. His head was bent back until his thick, black hair touched the table top, exposing the long column of his throat and the serene expression on his rugged features. He wore loose jeans but his feet were bare.

He looked like a virile god absorbing the energy of the sun.

Just watching him made Dustin feel warm inside, like he was catching the rays of light that danced with Zhong’s tawny skin as they reflected back to him.

Having Zhong here felt like a second chance. Maybe a better chance.

Ash apparently finished their sketch because they hopped off their chair and ran over to Zhong. They stroked his face to get his attention, and then sat astride him when he gave them a smile.

They were close enough that Dustin could read their conversation, and it didn’t seem to be anything personal, so he let himself watch. Ash was checking in with Zhong about whether he was getting sore or too hot from posing, and Zhong, of course, was trying to make sure Ash had enough sunscreen and water.