AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Could be a long list,” Adrian said, expression much lighter than a moment ago.
Eric felt the corners of his mouth tug up. “Is that a threat?”
“It’s a promise,” Adrian corrected, the statement punctuated by a quick press of his lips to Eric’s cheek. “Let’s start with a day on the slopes.”
Not a date, Eric told himself even though his treacherous heart insisted on performing a cheerful twist in his chest.
He ignored it.
After five hourson the slopes, Adrian’s muscles ached pleasantly, skin tingling from too much sun and the crisp mountain air. They found a couple of free sun loungers on the terrace of a mountain bar and ordered beers and a plate of nachos they shared, greasy fingers brushing now and then.
Daylight was fading fast by the time they arrived at the cable car that would take them back down to the valley. They were alone in the cabin, and Adrian considered inviting Eric to see what they could get away with on the ten-minute ride—pick up where they’d left off this morning, with Eric coming apart under Adrian’s touch. God, it had been hot. Addictive, and even the memory had distant heat unfurl in Adrian’s belly.
But he also felt happily lethargic. So instead, he slid closer on the bench they shared and leaned against Eric, resting one gloved hand on his knee.
Eric shifted to angle himself further into Adrian, his voice barely carrying over the low hum of the cable car’s mechanics and the faint whistle of wind outside. “I’m glad Kojo pushed me to come here.”
Adrian smiled against Eric’s shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Eric didn’t immediately continue. “I’m not.… I wasn’t unhappy in London. But I needed to get out of my head.”
“Mission accomplished?” Adrian asked.
“Yes. It’s been brilliant.” Again, Eric paused. “Thank you for … being part of that, I guess.”
“You’re welcome,” Adrian said softly. It didn’t quite cover it, but it was the best he could think of, his chest oddly tight even as his mind felt wide open. By the time they were back at the hotel, it had faded to a distant buzz under his skin, a background hum as he revised the bar menu while Eric read a book.
At some point, Adrian glanced up, attention briefly stuck on the glow of firelight dancing over Eric’s face. And it was… Christ, Adrian didn’tdothis. He didn’t get fixated on guys, his default mode set to keeping it light and simple.
This didn’t feel light and simple.
‘What do I do if I’m catching feelings?’he texted Martin. With noguests around and his parents already in bed, he figured the no-phones-in-the-common-area rule didn’t apply. Also, he made the rules now.
He was about to turn back to the bar menu when Martin’s response came in.‘FUCK YES FINALLY!!’
Of course that would be the reaction. When Adrian had suggested he and Eric keep this thing between them a secret, it had been largely because Martin would ride the joke, any joke, until it broke down with him still in the saddle. Adrian could handle it, but he wasn’t sure Eric would be quite so comfortable with around-the-clock innuendo.
Then again, Martin was Martin, and Adrian didn’t keep secrets from him.
‘Not the response I was looking for,’he wrote back.
Martin’s ‘HAHAHAHA’ was followed by several emojis that cried tears of laughter.
‘You’re being supremely unhelpful.’
‘Tell Eric I said hi,’Martin replied, with another collection of emojis tagged onto the message—peaches and eggplants and mouths, along with heart eyes.Nothelpful. But somehow, it still made Adrian smile because it was exactly what he’d expected from Martin. The predictability was comforting.
Eric went to bed before Adrian did. After they said goodnight, there was this strange, thick pause that neither of them filled until Eric smiled, nodded, and left. Adrian sat staring after him, wondering if he should follow, wondering if he should have invited Eric into his bed again, to maybe even stay the night.
But Eric hadn’t asked. And Adrian didn’t always want to be the one offering.
They just needed a little time to find a balance.
9
The problem… Okay, it wasn’t a problem as such. But really, the problem was that Kojo knew Eric. Knew him well.
Or, no. As a matter of fact, the problem was that Kojo had no filter.
