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He had freaking kissed him.

Sure, it was only his cheek, and it was probably because he thought Jimmy was asleep—

“Good night, Mr. Poe,” Cold said, ever so smug.

Jimmy could hear him smirking.

He knew.

“U-uh… Good night.” Jimmy’s face flushed, and his heart hammered in his chest.

“Get some sleep.” Cold chuckled as he rolled away from Jimmy to get settled. “You’ve more than earned it.”

Jimmy was beaming, grinning like an absolute fool. Cold did care about him. It wasn’t the arrangement he was so concerned with. It was Jimmy that he wanted to hold on to. After all, why else cut his nightly payments except to extend their time together? Why take such good care of him?

Why kiss him?

Jimmy didn’t know how long it took him to doze off after that, but he dreamed of snuggles and a firm hand resting on his arm. When he woke up, groggy and confused, there was indeed something warm next to him.

It was Cold.

At some point in the night, Jimmy had cuddled up against him. Their legs were tangled together and Jimmy’s arm was thrown over Cold’s chest, fingers curled in the fabric of his pajamas. Cold was stretched out on his back, his hand resting on Jimmy’s forearm. Cold had made no effort to move him, letting him snuggle all he wanted.

Jimmy smiled, nuzzling his cheek against Cold’s shoulder and falling right back asleep.

When he woke up again, Cold was gone and sunlight peeked in through a part in the heavy curtains. Jimmy flailed for a few more minutes, yawning as he made himself sit up. There was no sign of Cold, but there was a box and a note sitting on the bedside table.

He picked up the note first, smiling when he saw Cold’s familiar handwriting.

You start your new job today. Rowena will drive you.

Be at work by 12:00. Do not be late.

Be back here tonight at midnight.

-RL

Jimmy popped open the box to find a brand-new smartphone inside. It had a shiny red case, and there was a sticky note with the password stuck on the back. He fiddled with the phone and saw there was already one entry listed under the contacts section. It didn’t have a name, only a snowflake emoji.

Cute.

He already knew the first person he was going to call.

“Martine’s Pawn, whadya fuckin’ want?” a gruff voice demanded.

“Maury! It’s me! Jimmy!”

“Jimmy! Hey! How the fuck are ya?” Maury’s tone instantly softened. “Where ya been? Stopped by your place last night, ya wasn’t there.”

“Hi, Maury.” Jimmy sighed, chuckling as he raked a hand through his hair. “You are never going to believe where I am right now.”

Chapter eleven

“Why wouldn’t I fuckin’ believe you? You ain’t never lied to me, kid,” Maury said, his voice sounding incredibly distressed. “Come on.”

“No! I just mean, it’s so crazy.” Jimmy laughed. “I’m at Cold’s ridiculous freakin’ mansion. I think he likes me? Like, like likes me? I mean, he cut someone’s finger off for touching me, which is super sick, but I guess he meant it, well, in a nice gangster way—”

“Huh?” Maury was stunned.