He sounds choked up, and it’s no wonder why.
“You’re welcome, baby.”
He can barely contain his excitement as he powers it on and gets settled on the couch. His grin grows when it boots up but falls away quickly. He swallows hard and looks up at me. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”
I sit down beside him, taking one of his hands in mine. “Not only do I not mind, Iwantyou to write. This is who you are, baby. I would never keep you from being your true self.”
Tears well in his eyes, but they don’t spill. They cling to his lower lashes, making his eyes glisten and shine. “Thank you,” he says again, smiling gently at me.
“You’re welcome,” I repeat before leaning in to steal a quick kiss. “Now, I’m gonna turn something on on TV, and I want you to write.”
Luca nods solemnly, then glances back to the laptop. The awe in his expression has my heart aching. Such a simple fucking thing, and yet, something he didn’t expect or even dare hope for.
I lean against the couch, turning on the TV as he opens a blank document.
The typing starts slow—just a couple of words every few minutes, but as I watch TV, it picks up speed until his fingers are moving at a rapid pace and his eyes are fully focused on what he’s doing.
He doesn’t even notice me staring at him.
He’s making the most adorable facial expressions, his eyes lighting up as he brings the world inside his mind to life. With each word he types, his expression shifts more and more, euphoria and excitement taking over each inch of his face.
I finally manage to drag my attention away from him and focus on the TV. Between it, the clack-clack-clack of his keyboard, and the crackling of the fire, my eyes start growing heavy.
Letting them fall shut, I rest my head on the back of the couch. Growing up, Luca was a constant presence in my life, and it almost killed me when he moved away. I wasn’t just losing my best friend; I was losing part of my soul, a piece of the very thing that made me who I am.
There is no Austin Lawson without Luca Pierce.
And now, with him sitting beside me in our warm, cozy living room, and the memory of his face as he loses himself in something he loves flashing behind my closed eyelids, I think I know what true happiness feels like.
I’m dozing off, but I still notice when the clicking stops, and I jolt fully awake and sit up straight.
Luca’s staring at me, a soft smile on his lips. “Wow. It’s been so long since I’ve done that.”
I rub the sleep from my eyes and scoot closer to him. “How much did you write, baby?”
He hums, glancing down at the laptop. “Almost five thousand words.”
I blink a couple of times, unsure if I heard him right. “That’s a lot, right? How long have I been asleep?”
The giggle he lets out makes me smile. “I mean, it might be. I don’t really have anything to compare it to. I want to keep going, but I’m making a bunch of typos because I’m getting sleepy.”
“Are you ready for bed?” I ask, searching his eyes.
With another glance and smile at the laptop, he closes it. “Yeah, I think I am. Thank you again.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Luc. It’s a pleasure to makesure you have what you need and want.” He nibbles his lower lip, watching me through sleepy eyes. “Are you okay?” I ask.
“I’m perfect,” he says, another bright smile spreading across his face.
He carefully sets the laptop on the arm of the couch, then climbs off the couch to stoke the fire. It’s too cold at night to really go without adding wood to it, but thankfully, if we build it up really well, it keeps the house warm all night long.
There’s nothing worse than waking up at three in the morning freezing your ass off because you haven’t built the fire all night.
I watch him as he does it, carefully adding logs until the flames are huge and the fireplace is full, then he turns the airflow down so it’ll burn slowly all night and sits back on his heels. “You ready for bed?” he asks, looking at me over his shoulder, and then he chuckles. “Nevermind, of course you are. You were falling asleep while I was writing.”
“I was,” I say with a shrug. “I was relaxed and enjoying listening to you type.”
He stands up, holding a hand out to me, and when I take it, he pulls me to my feet and leads me into our bedroom.
