“What’s it look like?” Nate took a bite and chewed. “It’s so drinks don’t make rings on the table.”
“Yes, I know the purpose of a coaster, thank you. I mean why do they all have the Vail crest on them?”
“Because I stole them from the Velvet Brew I used to work at,” he explained. “The one on the same street as campus? They had a bunch and I managed to take the extra home. Saved some money that way.”
“Have you always been this…poor?”
“I’m not poor.” He snatched the coaster out of his hand but discarded it back onto the table. “There’s just no reason to toss out items that are perfectly useful, or waste money on things I don’t need.”
“You’re mindful of your spending,” Kaz said. “So…poor. What if I offered you a raise?”
“What?”
“Would you come back to work then? I have no use for Quartet Air, Narek. I only purchased it to get close to you. Kind of doesn’t play out the way I’d hoped if you’re not there, don’t you agree?”
“That isn’t my problem.” He took a sip of the soda Kaz had ordered for him, seemingly liking the flavor.
Kazimir had taken a guess since he didn’t know what was and wasn’t to Nate’s tastes. Now that he was considering things, there was actually a lot he didn’t know about the pretty racer. Being in the dark irritated him, but he contained his emotions so as not to cause another argument. As much as he enjoyed their banter and the wild way Nate fought him, he was starting to see he also liked when he was amicable.
“Let’s talk about this later,” Narek ended up saying.
Was there a chance he also liked it when they got along?
Kaz set his elbows on the edge of the table and watched him, and when Nate didn’t glare or tell him to stop, he felt something odd bloom in the center of his chest.
Something a lot like contentment.
People were kept around as entertainment or out of duty and convenience. He couldn’t recall the last time being in someone’s presence had actually put him at ease. Couldn’t recall the last time someone had made him feel comfortable.
Made him feel like…he was home.
“Things just got serious,” he mumbled to himself, shaking his head with a smile when Nate sent him a questioning look, having clearly not heard him.
That was for the best. It was too soon for his pretty racer to come to the conclusion Kaz just had.
How long did he want them to date?
For-fucking-ever with a dash of eternity.
He’d pick apart the reasoning and how it’d happened later, but for now, it was easier to accept the truth when it was right in front of his face. This may have started off with a random selection, a means to prove himself to his cousin—a childish means,his boyfriendwould say—but it was so much more than that now.
Nate Narek wasn’t a means to an end like Kaz had originally believed.
Nate Narek washis.
And he was going to stay that way.
Whether he agreed to it or not.
Chapter 19:
Nate arrived at the movie theater a bit late and with a stained shirt. A customer had spilled their entire red velvet latte over the counter when he’d been handing it to them, and the contents had splashed over his pressed white shirt, despite the apron over it. Part of him wanted to blame Kaz, since the whole reason he’d had to wear white in the first place was because the guy was a total liar.
Even though it’d been two days since their agreement, Kazimir had yet to return all of Nate’s clothes. Instead, he’d lay out an outfit for the next day—complete with socks and underwear.
Like Nate was a three-year-old child.
Every time he attempted to bring it up, Kaz would kiss him until his toes curled and he was rock-hard. How the guy had managed to program his body to be so damn responsive to him already was beyond him, but that was the case. He even found himself wondering when he’d see the Devil next, since they’d both had busy schedules between school, work, and whatever the hell the Brumal was getting themselves up to.
