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“No. You misunderstand me.” Theo lightly tugged a strand of Daniel’s hair, before sliding his palm along Daniel’s spine. “I’m going with you.”
Daniel sighed. He rolled off Theo and scooted up the bed to lean against the pillows and backboard. Theo rolled onto his side and braced on an elbow, keeping Daniel in his sights. He placed his free hand on Daniel’s leg, maintaining contact for which Daniel was grateful. He wasn’t ready to be parted from Theo yet.
“You can’t go. You’re supposed to hurt and taking the day to recover. If you show up today, he might decide to make you fight tonight.”
Again, Daniel’s phone dinged, though this time the sound was like the lovely chime of a bell versus the low dirge of Troy’s notification. “That’s weird. I don’t think any of my notifications have that tone. Not that I get many…” He scooped up the phone and laughed. “I don’t know who hacked my phone, but I’m gonna go with one of your friends.”
Reminder: Temple tonight. Shabbat services begin at 7 PM.
Theo chuckled. “Looks like we’ve got somewhere to be tonight, so we’ll go with your plan. I don’t like it, but you’re probably right about Troy seeing me. We don’t want to reveal our hand just yet.” His fingers twitched on Daniel’s leg. “In the meantime, what should we do?”
The image that flashed through Daniel’s head of a hot shower and a gorgeous blond man on his knees had his cock twitching back to life. He grabbed Theo’s hand, kissed the palm, and then urged him up and off the bed. Standing naked, he slid a hand from his chest to stomach, drawing Theo’s gaze. “I’m thinking a nice steamy shower would be good right about now.”
Theo swallowed and nodded. “After you,” he whispered, and Daniel laughed as he urged Theo on.
????
Hours later, Daniel finally dragged himself away from the apartment and the angel he’d fallen for. Not that it mattered. He berated his heart and himself. “Stop doing this to yourself. Sure, he’s fucking gorgeous. He’s like your every dream guy rolled into one hot package, but he’s got wings so you know he’ll fly away. He’s not yours, Daniel.”
“Are you sure?” a man said to his friend as they strode past him on the sidewalk.
“Of course, I’m sure,” he muttered, realizing if he kept talking aloud, someone might call the police on the crazy person. But not talking it out didn’t seem like a good idea either. “He doesn’t belong here. He’s not mine to keep.”
“He could be,” an older lady wrapped in a woolen scarf commented to younger women. “Might be worth taking a chance.”
They moved on, continuing their discussion. Daniel stared after them, shaking his head. “Well, even if I could take a chance, it’s not like God is just going to let him go.”
“Hold up. Are you serious?” A teen spun in a circle and pointed at another youth. “I absolutely think they will. You gotta go for it. I bet they’ll say yes.” The other boy smiled, throwing an arm around the first as they headed into a sneaker store.
Daniel tilted his head to the side and peered up at the clouds drifting by through the clear blue December sky.
“Time’s a’wasting,” a grizzled senior citizen quipped to a tiny girl at her side.
“Grandpa,” she whined, lightly batting his arm. “You’re so silly.”
Yeah… That. Daniel hurried on, pondering his sanity. Inside the elevator, he steeled his spine.
“Oh good, you’re here,” Ginny said, exasperation dripping with every syllable. “Go right in. He’s been waiting.”
“Thanks,” he said with a small wave.
“Good luck,” she said, more whisper than words.
Daniel paused with his hand on the doorknob.Shit. Just another day or two, Daniel. Come on. You can do this.The pep talk didn’t help, but he still twisted the knob and entered. “Sorry, it took me so long, Mr. Troy. I overslept.”
“Ah, Dan. Finally. Skull here was getting ready to leave.” He gestured toward the corner of the room, the part that had been blocked by the door when Daniel opened it.
Skull?Daniel turned and then took a step back. Skull was ginormous. Easily close to seven feet tall and twice as wide as Theo, the man’s—if that’s what he was—glare sent a slither of dread down Daniel’s spine and settled in his gut with a painful twist. With his blood thrumming loudly in his ears, he barely heard Troy say, “He’ll be fighting Theo tomorrow.”
Daniel’s arm shot out to hold on to the door. If not for that, the wave of dizziness coupled with his weakened knees might have had him hitting the floor. “Theo’s fighting him?” he clarified, just in case he’d heard wrong, and fuck, he sure hoped he’s heard wrong.
“Yes.” Troy clapped his hands together, the sound like thunder ricocheting into Daniel’s ears.
Skull’s eyes narrowed, and he bent his bald head, showing off the tattooed skulls that covered every inch of exposed skin. His menacing smirk didn’t help, nor did, when he turned around, the huge skull with glowing red eyes tatted on the back of his head… Eyes that seemed to stare past Daniel’s defenses.
“We’ll see you tomorrow night!” Troy called out gleefully as Daniel booked it from the room.
He didn’t wait for the elevator. Instead, he slammed through the fire door leading to the stairs, needing to put as much space between him and Skull as possible. After almost taking a header down the stairs because of his headlong rush, Daniel slowed and exited onto another floor, then rode the elevator the rest of the way.
