“Yes, I remember. How many times do I have to tell you, the possessive dead pirate is not a role-model, Sebastian?” Drew said severely, but he shook his head in exasperation, and for the first time in a while - a month, at least - Bas felt like maybe everything was gonna be okay. Maybe they could get back tonormal.
“You came to shut off my rock music and replace it with this piano bullshit,” Bas said, rolling his eyes as the concerto coming through the sound system swelled to a crescendo. “Hoping I’d fall asleep? Or just being a control freak, perusual?”
“Right. You caught me. This was all part of my cunning plan to keep your ears functional and your brain from melting. Truly, I’mevil.”
Bas laughed, and Drew continued, “I came to tell you that we are having a meeting on Saturday at my place. I’m not sure on the timing yet, but Cam, Cort, Damon, and Cain are coming. It’s non-negotiable,” he said severely, when Bas opened hismouth.
“I wasn’t going to negotiate, counselor,” Bas said, hands in the air. “That’s your line. I was going to ask if I could bringanything.”
“Bringanything?”
“Like… a cake, orsomething.”
Drew hooted. “Wouldyoube making the cake?” The tease in Drew’s voice made Bas feel lighter than he had in awhile.
“Hey!Rude. I can make cake. How hard is it? Crack eggs, stirshit?”
“Bas, you don’t do well with anything that requires you to follow a plan, and baking a cake is just the smallest example of that,” Drewchuckled.
Once again, Bas had no retort, because Drew wasn’t wrong. It was annoying to have somebody know you thatwell.
Annoying and kind ofawesome.
And it made him want, very badly, to wrap his arms around Drew, to lock them together so that neither of them could ever fuck things upagain.
“Seriously, man, don’t work too late, okay?” Drew said, pushing to his feet. “We will talk about it all this weekend. Ipromise.”
Bas nodded. “I’m going to head out in a few. I’m… actually pretty exhausted.” He hadn’t realized just how true it was until he said it. “I put in a long day.” It had been a long fuckingmonth,missing his best friend like his lungs would missair.
“And a night. And another day,” Drew corrected. “I checked your key card log earlier. I know exactly how long you’ve been here.” He stood to leave, grabbing his long wool coat from the chair and wrapping it around himself. “Oh, hey!” He reached into the pocket and pulled out a candy bar - the kind with the caramel center that was Bas’s absolute favorite - and laid it in the middle of his desk. “Forgot I, ah…got youthis.”
“You brought medessert?”
“Yep. It’s almost like I know you orsomething.”
Bas blinked, staring up at Drew - at the dark stubble on his jaw, the flush that tinged his cheeks, the light in his eyes that Bas could read like a freakin’ road map, the way his bottom lip was just a tiny bit bigger than the top, that impending sense ofsomethingthat hung like ozone in the air before a lightning strike. “Thanks,” he said, his voiceraspy.
Drew shrugged. “Of course. And I’m not kidding about Saturday. I will hunt your ass down if you don’t show.” He pointed a threatening finger in Bas’s direction, and Bas nodded woodenly as he watched him walk out thedoor.
Bas sucked in a breath, filling his lungs more deeply than he had in weeks, like Drew was oxygen and his brain had been half-starved. Whatever that meant for their future, whatever doubts were fucking with his head, however freaked out he was by the changes he couldn’t seem to stop in their relationship, Bas knew for certain he couldn’t stay away from Drewagain.
