Ever shook his head.
“Are you hungry?”
Ever shook his head.
“Do you want to stay down here with me?”
Ever nodded.
Warmth bled through Arsen’s whole body. Ever just wanted to be near him. He trusted Arsen to keep him safe. That shouldn’t have been the high it was. Arsen shouldn’t feel drugged from it. But he did.
“Don’t move, okay?”
Ever began to gnaw on his bottom lip but nodded. Arsen took the small victory. He grabbed a stool from the counter and placed it where Ever would be safe but could still see Arsen. “Sit. I don’t want you stepping on anything sharp. It is very dangerous to be down here without shoes on.”
Ever flushed to the tips of his ears. Did that sound harsh? Was it too mean? It was hard enough thinking in Russian and speaking in English without this emotional minefield. But he would figure it out. He’d get it right. Somehow.
Ever sat on the stool, then pulled his legs to his chest, his heels resting on the stool’s edge. Arsen could never have sat that way, but Ever did it with ease, perched like the world’s cutest gargoyle, chin resting on his knees, watching Arsen as if waiting for his next instructions.
“Are you hungry?”
Ever shook his head.
“Are you thirsty?”
Ever shook his head.
Arsen grinned. “Okay. I’m going to get back to work but you tell me if you need anything. Okay?”
Ever nodded then made the okay symbol.
Arsen’s heart skipped like he’d been shocked. Fuck, Ever was cute.
He finished the oil change he was working on, but when he went to do a quick tire change, he noticed Ever was not okay. Every time Arsen fired the impact wrench, Ever would flinch, then jump, slapping his hands over his ears. Shit. He set the drill down, racking his brain. Ever wouldn’t go back upstairs without Arsen, but he had to keep working, at least until Jericho got there.
He snapped his fingers, then ran to the office, fishing through the box they kept next to Jericho’s sofa. It was called the lost and found box, but it was more a shit-people-left-in-cars-they-never-picked-up box. And Arsen had noticed something there a few weeks ago that might work for Ever.
He gave a small shout when he realized what he sought was still there. A pink pair of kid’s headphones with light-up cat ears. That would work. He grabbed his phone and synced them to his device, grateful when it showed there was still a sixty percent battery life.
He brought them to Ever and gently placed them over his ears. He then brought up Spotify. He clicked on a channel that played lo-fi music, unsure what Ever would even like. As soon as it turned on, his eyes went wide and he slapped his hands over the headphones, pressing them harder into his ears.
Arsen handed him his phone, quickly showing him how to look for music, then returning back to work. This time, when he discharged the impact wrench, Ever didn’t even notice, engrossed in his music and whatever it was he did on Arsen’s phone. Had he ever let another soul hold his cell phone? Even for a moment? No. Definitely not.
Arsen and Ever existed in the space comfortably for another hour or so, Arsen sometimes forgetting himself when he would glance at Ever. Usually, his eyes were closed and he was swaying to some song, but every once in a while, Arsen would find him attempting a new song, a new genre, a new playlist, and his facial expressions ran the gamut from confused to horrified. Arsen could spend a day just watching Ever play music.
It was almost noon when Levi walked in, stealing Ever’s attention from Arsen’s phone. He studied Levi suspiciously, his gaze tracking back to Arsen like he wanted to make sure he was close by.
Arsen didn’t blame Ever for his trepidation. Levi looked like the bad boy in a movie for teens who make poor life choices. His inky black hair was a permanent mess, he had tattoos from his jaw to his fingertips and everywhere in-between. He had several piercings along both ears, as well as a ring through his lip and another through his right brow. He wore ripped jeans, a black t-shirt, and a permanent scowl on his way-too-pretty face.
He frowned when he saw Ever. “Who’s that?”
“That’s Ever.”
Levi tilted his head. “What’s Ever?”
Arsen rolled his eyes, pointing to the boy and his cat ears. “That is. He is,” Arsen corrected.
Levi snickered. “That’s his name? Ever?”
