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He could hear Dmitri’s grin in his voice when he rolled a little closer to him, and his breath was hot against the side of his face. “How do you say thank you in German?”
Raphael’s grin ached, and he felt something inside him alight, content in ways he never expected. “Danke.”
Dmitri repeated it, his tongue curling wrongly around the accent. “Was that right?”
Raphael closed his eyes, then nodded. “It was perfect.”
4
Dmitri always liked the lake.It was kind of his safe space away from town—from the judgmental whispers and prying eyes just waiting for his next fuck-up. It didn’t matter that he’d kept his head down and hands busy. Since Owen took off, they didn’t want to forgive. They especially didn’t want to forget.
Making the trek out to the lake was something he’d done as a kid, when his parents would start to fight, and his dad would start to drink. He’d burrow in the bushes that were thick enough to create a small canopy over him, and he’d pretend he was an animal settling in for the night.
The lake wasn’t the same as it had been then, though. The serenity of endless trees mirrored across the water was now marred by the buildings stretching across the far shore. A road connected them that had destroyed the feeling of seclusion, but he understood why it existed. He understood that people had invested in Savannah and that increased tourism saved relics from being repurposed into Starbucks and CVS Pharmacies.
There were new restaurants, which had out of town appeal thanks to the waterfront views. He knew that people’s lives were more secure than before, but he missed when Savannah had been…different.
It was quiet in the mornings though, and he took comfort in that. He parked a few spaces away fromL’Chaim, the newest restaurant owned by Adam who had expanded from his food truck, then walked around the side of the building and sat on the edge of the new dock with his feet hanging above the water. A murder of crows sat along the bank, picking at something he didn’t look at too closely, and he rested his head against the support beam and closed his eyes.
Another birthday come and gone, but this one had shaken him harder than last year with Felix. He didn’t have a lot of expectations for twenty-one. His only task was to avoid pretty tourists with silver tongues, but his entire night had been turned upside down when he slipped into the salon and set eyes on Raphael.
Dmitri had crushed on him for years, of course. After meeting Raphael, it was impossible not to. Jayden introduced them when Dmitri first got back to Savannah, and he was immediately taken by his dimpled smile and the soft, round accent that made all his words sound like a mouthful. And although Raphael’s legs needed five times more effort to move across the floor than his own, everything about him held such a quiet, soft grace that Dmitri couldn’t ever hope to have.
But he didn’t see him often. Jayden kept Dmitri away from the salon. He kept him away from everything that wasn’t school, and then his eventual part time job, but that was washing dishes at the Tavern, so out of sight, out of mind.
Dmitri figured it was by request—he knew how most of the people felt about him, especially after news of Antoine’s near drowning spread across the town.
Owen had never come to his defense, and Dmitri had retreated into himself because it was a lot easier than the whispered emotional beatings he had to endure from total strangers. Raphael was always kind though, whenever Dmitri did see him. He always had a smile for him and always asked him about his day.
Dmitri hadn’t expected much when he walked into the salon, but it ended up being one of the best nights he’d ever had, and he wasn’t sure what to do with it. His heart was fragile, but it was also starving. He knew the way it thrashed against his chest was nothing more than a childish crush, but he let himself replay every single moment Raphael had looked at him with soft eyes, laughed at his attempts at jokes, and brushed their hands together.
Closing his eyes, Dmitri turned his head and pressed his forehead to the cool wood. The silence was comforting, then violently interrupted by the sound of metal clanging and a voice unleashing a litany of swears. Dmitri knew better than to involve himself in town business, but the tone was more distressed than angry, and his feet were moving before he was consciously aware of it.
Around the back ofL’Chaim, he caught sight of Adam’s partner, Talia, who was mid-kick at what looked like a shredded black trash bag. The contents were spread across the lot, heading toward the woods, and Dmitri knew exactly what it was about. “Trash pandas.”
Talia whirled around, and her eyes narrowed before her shoulders sagged. “I wasjustout here too. Little fucker.”
Dmitri nodded to his car. “Me too. It was probably lying in wait until I headed for the dock.”
Talia dragged a hand down her face. “Tiny little garbage terrorists. It killed a bird.”
“Eurgh. My aunts’ caught a couple of them burrowing into the Tavern vents, but they only went after the trash cans,” Dmitri said.
Talia snorted a soft laugh, but her face was still grim as she waved Dmitri over. She glanced over at the pile of trash, then swiped her hands on her jeans before marching over to gather what she could.
Dmitri watched for only a second before he moved into action, but Talia grabbed the side of his sleeve before he could get started helping her. “You don’t need to.”
Dmitri laughed. “I know. But this is gross.”
“I can’t hire you, if that’s what you’re looking for.”
At that, Dmitri rolled his eyes. “I have a job. I work atWilder’s. I’m just being nice.”
Talia’s look was one of subtle suspicion, but she let Dmitri go, and the pair worked in silence for the next ten minutes. The trash was gross, but not the worst Dmitri had dealt with, and he watched as Talia weighted the bins down with a couple of bricks Dmitri knew wouldn’t keep the little beasts out.
“We should bury the bird,” Dmitri said when Talia turned back to him.
“Uh. What?”
