“You could just give that to me and go pack,” Qylar said, holding out his hand.
“I want to make sure you don’t have any more glass in your hand,” Kenji said.
Qylar held his gaze a second before lowering his hand and sitting down on the very short couch. Kenji sat beside him and took his hand, palm up, and placed it on his thigh. He used the light on his phone to inspect the wound. After searching for a pair of tweezers and then sanitizing them, he withdrew a tiny speck of ceramic.
“That could’ve caused an infection,” Kenji said, matter-of-factly, while searching the wound again with the light. “Good that I checked. I don’t see anymore. Hopefully that’s all.”
Qylar watched Kenji spread antibacterial salve on the small cut and wrap it with a Band-Aid, his light touch enjoyable. When he was done, he put everything back in the kit, turned off his light, and then lifted his gaze to Qylar. “Now we’re going to talk.”
Qylar sighed.
“I’m not ready to be a father.”
Qylar nodded. “Which you’ve already said—and I won’t pressure you into having them.”
“It’s clear you want me to.”
“No,” Qylar said, staring down at his hand. “You’re not ready. I respect that.”
“Shattering a cup in your hand, though?”
“I thought after last night, things might’ve changed,” Qylar said. “I shouldn’t have assumed. That’s on me, not you.” He drew in a ragged breath. “I just need a minute to get my head straight and then we’ll be fine.”
“Just because I’m not ready now doesn’t mean I won’t be someday.”
Qylar’s chest tightened. He met Kenji’s gaze and saw sorrow in it.
“I wish I was ready and could give you what you want—but I need more time.”
“Okay,” Qylar whispered.
“Idofeel the connection you’ve talked about,” Kenji said. “I don’t want this choice to destroy that.”
“It won’t,” Qylar said. He reached out and caressed Kenji’s cheek. “I promise.”
“I care about you, Qylar. I want to spend more time getting to know you and seeing where this leads.”
Qylar smiled, rubbing his thumb along Kenji’s jawbone. “That helps.”
“Does it?”
“Knowing you’re willing to give us a shot means thereisa chance for a family someday. When we’rebothready.” Qylar drew in another breath and let it go. “Before telling me that, this pregnancy felt like a potential last-chance kind of situation. One that was slipping through my fingers.”
Kenji leaned closer and pressed a kiss to Qylar’s lips. “I’m not slipping through your fingers… But if you squeeze too tight, who knows.”
“Understood,” Qylar said, a hint of a smile on his lips.
“Now, let me go pack a bag.”
“I still think you should pack it all,” Qylar said as Kenji rose and walked toward his bedroom.
“As tempting as that is, I don’t know if we’re ready for that,” Kenji yelled from the other room.
“I’ve offered you the upstairs bedroom,” Qylar yelled. “You can have your own space away from me.”
“Like we wouldn’t end up sleeping in one bed.”
Qylar grinned. “Probably, but you’d have somewhere to go and slam the door when I piss you off.”
