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“Yeah.”
“Let’s get some food in you and then we can go to bed.”
I stand, pulling him to his feet. Before I can head toward the kitchen, he leans in and kisses me, mouth warm on mine and fingers cupping the back of my neck. Where he means to keep it short and sweet, I pull him back in, deepening the kiss until I feel his fingers tighten on my nape.It’s been a long damn week.
When I finally let him up for air, he grins crookedly at me. “What was that for?”
“I missed you.”
“I can see why. After all, we’ve only seen each other every day this week.”
I kiss him again, before tugging him toward the kitchen. “You know what I mean, smartass.”
We break into the food, and Corwin surprises me again by not getting out plates. We eat standing up at the island, sharing salad and pasta dishes out of aluminum to-go containers. He’s leaned against the counter in a pseudo yoga pose, one foot resting on his upper thigh so his knee is outstretched. I catch him yawning three times as we eat.
He sees me watching him and reaches for the other half of a breadstick I had started. “I never sleep good in hotel rooms.”
If only I could sneak into his room on away games. “It’ll be nice to have the weekend home. How late are you planning on staying tomorrow night?”
He frowns, stabbing his fork into a container and swirling the pasta around it a tad aggressively. “I’ll leave as soon as I can without offending anyone.”
I take a deep breath,now or never. “I’ll leave when you do, then.”
He stares at me. “What do you mean?”
“I got added to the list, traded spots with Bernard. He’s got a wife and kids, so he wasn’t exactly thrilled to have to give up a night at home.” He’s still staring at me, chewing slowly. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. “I know we can’t go as a couple, but the least I can do is be there for you in some capacity while you see your family.”
He sets his fork down on the countertop, resting his hand over it. I’m mentally preparing counterarguments to whatever he’s about to say; I wonder if this is about to be our first fight.
“You volunteered to give up your Saturday night to go to a black-tie event I know you’ll hate, just because I’ll be seeing my dad and I told you I don’t get along with him?”
He doesn’t sound mad, more incredulous than anything. Which, in turn, makesmea little bit mad. Only Corwin fucking Sanhover would be surprised when someone cares about him.
“I don’t give a shit what I do on Saturday nights, or if I have to wear a bow tie doing it. What I care about is my boyfriend being uncomfortable, and I realize I can’t do much because we’ll be in fucking public where I can’t even touch you, but at least I canbethere.”
He drops his leg so he’s standing on two feet, and he’s staring at me with wide, bright blue eyes. “Boyfriend?”
“Oh my god, what did you think was happening here?” I hold my arms out expansively, trying to indicate the house and everything we’ve been doing in it these past months. I want to take him by the shoulders and shake him.
“I didn’t want to assume.”
I take a moment to remind myself that’s he’s new to all of this, and that yelling at him probably won’t help. “Corwin, we talked about dating other people months ago and said we would only see each other. Usually, when people decide to be exclusive that means they’retogether. Unless I’m the one out of line here, and I’ve completely misread the situation.”
“No! No, of course not. I just…I don’t know, I’m sorry.” He rubs a hand idly over his chest, eyes flickering back and forth between my own. “Seems stupid, but I wasn’t sure if I could call you that or not, since we are…private.”
“You’re right, that is stupid. But yes, you can call me your boyfriend in private all you want, and if you ever get the urge to say it in public, that’s fine too.”
Corwin steps around the corner of the island and slides an arm around my waist. Without thought, I return the gesture, leaning into him and pressing my face into the crook of his neck. He places a hand on my neck, fingers gentle in my hair; I can feel the expansion of his ribcage against my own.
“You’re sure about tomorrow?” He asks, quietly, breath teasing my hair.
“I’m sure.”
“Thank you.” He inches closer, one foot sliding between mine to bring our bodies more flush together. “I’m glad you’ll be there. And you’ll…you’ll come back here afterwards, right? I was going to see if you wanted to stay all weekend.”
“I packed enough stuff to hold me over for a week. I was hoping you’d keep me around.”
When he laughs, I feel it in my chest. He tightens his arm and tucks his face into my neck, mirroring my own stance. “My dad is such a dick, Nigel.”
