Gift’s head jolted upwards. “You called me Gift.”
Park stared at him with an unreadable expression that made Gift feel like he had bubbles in his stomach. “Didn’t you want me to?”
Gift nodded slowly, not even recognizing his own voice as he said, “Yeah, but I want you to do a lot of things you won’t do.”
Park blinked at him for what felt like a solid minute before he bolted to his feet. “I think we’ve gotten wildly off-track here,” he said. “It’s late, and we’re both tired. Tomorrow, you’ll feel differently. Let me walk you out.”
Gift sighed internally, then rose, following Park to his door, turning abruptly to lean on it. Looking up at Park from barely six inches away was much different than from across a table.
Gift could see the flecks of gold in his eyes, could see his lips were just slightly chapped. His fingers itched to touch them, to touchhim, to trace those lips, that jaw, the veins that ran along his muscular forearms. He wanted to hold his hand.
He leaned against the door so Park couldn’t open it. “Park?”
Park’s hand braced against the door frame, and he leaned in, crowding Gift against the door, now close enough for him to feel his breath on his cheek as he said, “I called you Gift. The least you could do is be respectful.”
Gift prayed his sweater was long enough to cover what was probably a very obvious erection. “Sorry.” Gift tried again, breathless. “Hia?”
“Mm?” he murmured, studying Gift’s face from way too close.
“I’m not giving up.”
“Then prepare to be disappointed,ouen.”
Chubby. He’d called him chubby. Not in a negative way, but in a term-of-endearment kind of way. He was talking about Gift’s cheeks. He could work with that.
He raised his hands to his own face, puffing out his cheeks, then poking them with his fingers. “You mean these?”
“Mm.”
“Hia,” Gift whispered, daring to settle his hands on Park’s shoulders. He was so warm. “Nobody says no to this face.”
Park’s expression was pained, but his voice was gentle. “I’m saying no.”
“But I’m saying yes,” Gift said, hearing the whine creeping into his tone.
“I’m not going to kiss you,ouen,” Park said softly.
Gift licked his bottom lip. “What if I kiss you?”
Park made a sound that Gift couldn’t put a name to, then said, “That…would be a very bad idea.”
Gift deflated back against the door, dropping his hands to his side. “Fine. I have to go. I’m going to the gym. I need to beat on something.”
Spell broken, Park took a step back, clearing his throat. “The gym? It’s late.”
“We’re on a military base? What’s the worst that can happen?” Gift reasoned.
“But it’s almost curfew,” Park said.
Gift rolled his eyes. “It won’t be curfew for a few hours. Besides, I have to do something with all this pent-up sexual tension or I’ll explode into a pile of fluff like the Stay Puft marshmallow man.”
“Was that aGhostbustersreference?”
Gift shrugged, feeling sulky. “You made me watch it.”
“But I didn’t think you were actually paying attention. You were on your phone the whole time.”
“I see more than you think,” Gift said, stepping away from the door so Park could open it.
