“Did you want your usual, Little Red?” Gabriel asked, and Joel nodded, leaving a soft kiss against Gabriel’s spine before walking into the kitchen. Gabriel set two glasses of water down on the table as Athena brought the sandwiches around.
There was casual chatter, and Donny picked at his sandwich, just waiting for Athena to start her twenty questions routing. Roland was nearly halfway done with his sandwich when she finally opened her mouth.
“So, if you’re not an artist, Roland, even though my brother says you are, what do you do for work?” Athena asked. Roland chewed thoughtfully, Donny assumed it was in an attempt to keep his mouth full of food for as long as possible before he answered her.
“Well, when I was an artist, it paid really well,” Roland confided, shoving another bite of sandwich into his mouth. Donny nibbled at his own, cautiously.
“Ah, so living in the lap of luxury,” she chuckled.
“That’s rude, Theenie,” Joel chimed in. She turned her attention to him and raised an eyebrow. “It is. You wouldn’t say something like that to Gabriel.”
“He has a point,” Gabriel added.
“Shut up, you two. You’re looking a lot less handsome today, questionable boyfriend.” Athena wagged her finger across the table.
Roland finished his sandwich and pushed back from the table. “Can you point me to your restroom?” he asked Gabriel, who pointed down the hallway. “Thanks.”
“He’s cute,” Athena whispered once Roland was out of the room.
“I know,” Donny said, nodding. “I wouldn’t be with him if he wasn’t.” Donny hadn’t been on this end of Athena’s inquisition before. He’d never dated anyone seriously enough to bring around. He looked down at the remaining half of his sandwich and used his tongue to pick bread out of his teeth.
“So, is he your boyfriend?” Joel asked.
“What? No. Boyfriend? No. I mean, we haven’t talked about it. But, no,” Donny stumbled over his words and made the decision to clamp his mouth shut before he said something stupid while Roland was in earshot.
“Right.” Athena smiled and shoved the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth.
“I need to piss.” Donny stood up and glared at his sister before turning to go down the hallway toward the bathroom. He was staring at the carpet, mumbling to himself, trying to decide at what point Roland would qualify as being his boyfriend and if that was something they should discuss at some point. Donny assumed that even if they didn’t have a title, they were exclusive. He was over at Roland’s frequently and he hadn’t seen any signs of another person. He’d have to ask and not sound jealous— just be safe.
His thoughts were interrupted as he walked into something and looked up to find it was Roland who was standing deathly still in the middle of the hallway.
“Hey, are you okay?” He slid his arms around Roland’s waist and rested his head against his arm. Roland didn’t reply. He just stood, staring straight ahead. Donny followed his stare and ended up looking at the winter sunset painting. "Oh, yeah. Look, I’ve been inside the guy who painted that,” Donny chuckled and pressed a kiss to Roland’s shoulder.
Roland didn’t respond, just reached out a hand towards the painting and pulled it back quickly, then curled his fingers tightly around Donny’s shoulder. He stepped back and looked down at Donny, still silent, but his face lookeddifferentsomehow. Donny couldn’t place the change though. He squinted and cocked his head up at Roland.
“Can we go?” Roland whispered.
Donny was overtaken by worry. “Are you okay, Roland?”
He nodded. “I need to go home and paint.”
Chapter 21
Now You're Not Blue Anymore
As soon asDonny parked the car, Roland was out and nearly sprinted to the elevators. He held the door for Donny and slammed him up against the wall of the car as it ascended.
“Thank you,” he breathed into Donny’s mouth, releasing him as soon as the door opened on his floor. Donny, for his part, seemed a little stunned and lingered in the elevator, raising a hand to his lips.
“What for?” He stepped out and trailed Roland down the hall.
“The reminder.”
Donny stood still, slightly shocked once they’d made it inside, his weight propped on the kitchen counter. He scrunched his eyebrows.
“I’m going to go paint,” Roland said and Donny smiled at him. “Don’t leave?”
Donny blinked slowly and his smile softened before he answered, “I’ll be here.”
