“So long?” Leonidas held him tighter. “I haven’t come since you left.”
“Mmmn, I do have a few up on you then.”
Leonidas shoved the bandana off his head and dropped it on the floor, then rolled onto his side and situated himself so he could see Andy. He reached up and pushed the overgrown strands of hair away from Andy’s face.
“Tell me about Hawaii.”
Andy smiled, closing his eyes and appreciating the feel of Leonidas’s fingertips on his skin.
“It was warm,” he said.
“I bet.” Leonidas pressed closer. “It was not warm here.”
“The drinks were weak, but the sand was warm.”
“What else?”
“The chicken.” Andy licked his lips. “The chicken was fucking delicious.”
Leonidas smiled and laughed softly. “What else?”
“There was a tour guide who took us to these waterfalls up in the mountains. It was so lush and green. It was so humid you could feel the air with your fingers. And the waterfalls just like…the spray was everywhere. It was beautiful.”
“It sounds like it.” Leonidas traced the angle of his cheekbone. “I can see it in your face when you describe it.”
“There’s a lot of people there, though. It was crowded.”
“Most places are.”
“It was nice.” Andy’s eyes were heavy, the jet lag finally catching up to him. “But it’s nice to be here, too.”
“It is,” Leonidas agreed.
“Let’s rest now,” Andy said, yawning.
Leonidas’s arms came around him again and, before his next breath, he was asleep.
* * *
Andy didn’t know how long he slept for, but when he woke up, the sky outside the window was so blue, it almost hurt to look at it. He reached over and found the other side of the bed empty and the sheets cool, so he rolled and stretched there. His muscles ached from the long flight back, and he shifted onto his hands and knees, bowing his back and arching it to stretch before he climbed out of bed. He found his underwear on the floor, and he stepped into them before heading out of the bedroom.
The cabin smelled like heaven, warm bread and cooked, greasy meat, and a little bit like sweat, which had his cock throbbing as he walked down the hallway. He found Leonidas in the kitchen, bent over a cutting board, humming something under his breath.
“There you are,” he said, scratching his scalp as he pushed his hair out of his face.
Leonidas looked over his shoulder and stepped to the right, making room for Andy to reach the coffee maker. Something buzzed inside of Andy’s chest at the gesture, the idea that Leonidas knew or remembered that Andy always made coffee first thing after waking up. It was a small thing, but it was also…everything.
Andy dropped a pod into the machine and pushed the lever down, then wrapped his arm around Leonidas’s waist and leaned against him, looking down at the cutting board.
“That smells delicious. What is it? And please tell me I can eat it.”
Leonidas sliced into the rare cooked steak, then scooped the pieces he’d already cut into his hand and dropped them onto a plate already filled with sliced bread and chunks of cheese.
“You can,” Leonidas said, kissing the top of his head. “Get your coffee, then come out to the living room.”
Andy nodded and Leonidas took the delicious smelling plate of food out of the kitchen. After his mug had filled, Andy cradled it in his hands and padded out into the living room. He found Leonidas on his knees, the plate of food on the table beside him.
He set his coffee down, took a seat on the couch, and reached forward, carding his fingers through Leonidas’s wild curls.
