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“Yeah, just—just a minute.”
“Mmm, ’kay.”
He had absolutely nothing in his nightstand, and so he dragged himself out of bed and to his clothes hamper, where he grabbed a towel and wiped his hand and stomach off as much as he could for now. Then he pulled up his boxers, returned to bed, and picked his phone back up.
“Sorry about that, uh, I—” He cut himself off, all the air leaving his lungs the second he saw Ash. He shook his head, and a small, tired smile grew on his lips. “God, you’re beautiful.”
Ash blinked slowly and seemed to huff a laugh, though it wasn’t quite audible through the phone. “I’m comfortable is what I am,” Ash said, his voice thick and relaxed.
“You look beautiful to me,” Cass repeated. He wanted to say more, to tell Ash how much he’d enjoyed all of that, how much he’d loved seeing Ash like that—happy and free and playfully sexy. And he wanted to thank Ash for sharing that with him and sharing that side of himself. But everything still felt so overwhelming, in the best possible way, and he couldn’t find any more words.
It seemed maybe Ash couldn’t, either, because neither of them spoke for another minute or two. Then, finally, Ash shifted onto his side and grinned. “That was pretty amazing. I’ve, um, obviously never done anything like that before, but it was . . .” He trailed off and shook his head. “I hope it wasn’t weird or anything?”
“Weird?” Cass narrowed his eyes, confused.
“That I, uh . . . enjoyed having you watch me?” For the first time on their entire phone call, Ash seemed unsure of himself, and Cass immediately shook his head.
“Oh, no, no, not weird at all. I loved it. A lot. It was perfect. You were amazing, and I—” He laughed nervously. “I hope we get to do it again sometime. And then, uh, in person, too?”
Ash’s smile turned bright, and a soft glow seemed to surround him, making Cass’s heart flutter. “Yeah, for sure,” he said. “I look forward to it.”
Cass closed his eyes with a quiet hum, basking in the warmth of Ash’s words and the lingering pleasure of their mutual orgasms. He had a sudden urge to gather Ash up in his arms and kiss him, but he knew that would have to wait.
How long, he wasn’t sure. But he didn’t want that uncertainty to ruin the moment, either, and so he breathed deeply and opened his eyes again. Ash was watching him with that same soft contentedness, and it tugged at his heart.
“Soon,” he said, without really thinking it through. “I’ll come up to see you soon.”
“I would really like that. A lot.”
Cass held Ash’s gaze through the phone screen, his heart tumbling as he lost himself in the deep blue of Ash’s eyes. Oh, how he wished the future could come faster. He wished soon could be now and Ash could be in his arms, curled up against his chest. He wanted that more than anything.
He just needed to figure out how to make it happen.
“I should probably go clean up,” Ash said quietly, dipping his chin. “Call me back in fifteen?”
“Me too, yeah,” Cass agreed. He still held Ash’s gaze, watching as his cheeks turned pink again. It was beyond adorable. “Fifteen minutes?”
Ash nodded.
“Perfect. Okay,” Cass said.
They both lingered there for another few seconds, neither of them really wanting to hang up. Finally, Ash tore his eyes away and laughed lightly.
“Fifteen minutes,” he said.
“Fifteen minutes,” Cass repeated. With a nod, he sighed and then pressed the button to end the call. The screen went black.
He dropped his phone onto the bed next to him, blew out a long breath, and then forced himself out of bed to go shower and change his clothes.
Cass (Saturday, December 24, 2022 – 12:33 a.m.): Two hours earlier than last night at least?
Cass (12:34 a.m.): Good night, talk to you in the morning <3
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ash
Ash woke up to the sound of heavy rain and the distant rumble of thunder. He didn’t bother opening his eyes; he just lay there and listened to the raindrops hitting his bedroom window.
