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“We spent a lot of years being friends, pretending there was nothing else between us,” Evan said, watching Colin’s face carefully to gauge his reaction. That aching vulnerability was back in his eyes, rousing all of Evan’s protective instincts. “It’s going to take time to adjust.”
Colin nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“So, we do what we always did,” Evan continued. “Hang out, watch movies, a ball game.”
Colin smiled, a quick flash of shy delight. “Have snowball fights with the neighborhood kids.”
There was an odd sensation in Evan’s chest, an odd sort of fizzy, tingling ache reminiscent of the feeling he got when champagne bubbles accidentally went up his nose. But it didn’t hurt. It didn’t hurt at all. “Definitely.”
“Too late for a snow battle now,” Colin said, nodding at the dark sky outside the kitchen window. “But we could watch a movie. And you could stay, if you want.”
“I want,” Evan said. “I have to leave by eight for the store, though.”
“You can make breakfast, then,” Colin decided, and after a moment’s hesitation, reached out to take Evan’s hand.
Almost giddy with relief, Evan gave it a squeeze. “I can do that. You have Pop-Tarts, right?”
“Maybe I’ll make breakfast,” Colin said and led the way to the living room.
6
They watched the first John Wick movie, snuggled up together on the couch. It wasn’t much different from the last time they’d watched a movie together, Colin thought, except for the snuggling. And when Colin nodded off halfway through, he did it with his head on Evan’s shoulder.
And when Evan woke him up after the movie was over, it was with a kiss.
They shut down the house together, checking the locks and shutting off the lights, then trooped down the hall to the bedroom. Colin dug out an extra toothbrush for Evan, and they brushed their teeth at the wide double sinks, side by side. In the bedroom, Evan shucked out of his jeans and started to crawl into bed naked, then paused.
“I don’t usually wear pajamas,” he said, blinking sleepily across the expanse of the California King. “Is that okay?”
Colin tried not to ogle. The late hour, combined with the anxiety he’d battled all day had left him dragging, fatigue a heavy weight. “Sure,” he said, and to keep from staring, crossed to the bureau to pull out the shorts and t-shirt he wore to bed. By the time he got changed, Evan was curled on his side, eyes closed, his breathing already deepening in the rhythm of sleep. He was almost in the center of the big bed, but Colin didn’t mind.
Careful not to disturb him, Colin turned out the light and slid silently under the covers.
“Sorry.”
Colin paused in adjusting his pillow to look at Evan. His eyes had adjusted to the dark, so he saw that Evan had opened his. “Sorry for what?” he asked in a whisper.
“Too tired to fuck,” Evan replied, his voice soft and blurred with fatigue.
“That’s okay.” Colin snuggled into his pillow. They lay on their sides, facing each other in the dark. “I’m too tired to fuck, too.”
“Wish I wasn’t,” Evan said with a sigh. “Love touching you.”
Warmth bloomed in his belly. “You can still touch me.”
“Yeah?”
The sleepy eagerness in his voice had the warmth spreading into Colin’s chest. “Yeah,” he replied, and reaching for Evan’s hand, drew it across the sliver of space between them. “How’s that?”
His hand flexed once, then lay still on Colin’s hip, a warm and welcome weight. “S’good,” Evan said and closed his eyes on a sigh. “Night, Colin.”
“Good night, Evan,” Colin whispered and watched his lover sleep until he couldn’t stay awake any longer.
Colin woke early, feeling surprisingly rested despite the late night, and wasn’t surprised to see Evan still asleep beside him. They’d shifted during sleep, turning loose of each other at some point, and now Evan lay sprawled on his belly, his face turned away, covered to the top of his head by the comforter. He didn’t stir when Colin slipped out of bed and dressed, or when he used the bathroom, so Colin left him sleeping and went to make coffee.
With the first cup in hand, he went into his home office and powered up his computer. He skimmed through his email and double-checked his calendar, mentally mapping out his day. His first client meeting wasn’t until nine, and he was well prepared for it, so he went back to the kitchen to see what he had for breakfast.
He was whisking eggs and cream in a bowl when Evan wandered in.
