As soon as Jesse climbed in, Patrick shut the door. Arthur began piling blankets on their laps and then threw the thickest one over Jesse’s shoulders.
“I won’t kiss you, butoh God, Jesse, I want to,” he said, tugging the edges of the blanket toward the center of Jesse’s chest so that he would hopefully be warm.
Jesse smiled a little—the tiniest, sweetest smile that made Arthur’s heart soar.
“I missed you so much,” Arthur said as he tucked his hands underneath his own blanket. “I know I already told you that, but I needed to say it one more time. Or maybe ten more times. Because I really, truly missed you. Honestly, I think Istillmiss you. Even though you’re right here. Even though our legs are touching. Because I can’t kiss you or hold you or—”
Jesse’s hand found Arthur’s beneath the blankets and he interlaced their fingers together.
“I missed you, too, Arthur,” he said softly as the carriage began to roll forward. Arthur’s eyes prickled with tears, and Jesse shook his head. “Silly man. Why’d you stay away for so long if you miss me so much?”
“I couldn’t figure out a way to see you without anyone around,” Arthur said, barely holding back tears. “Sorry. I’m not sure why I’m becoming so emotional.” He paused to blink a few times and then took a breath. “Anyway, I’ve been busy in the evenings. On Sundays, my parents come for dinner. On Mondays and Thursdays, I meet with a man named Mr. Bishop who helps me with some of my other investments and businesses. On Tuesdays and Fridays, we host friends for a while. Evenings, I try to be home for Emma. Last Saturday, I had to take Emma to shop for a new hat. There are so many little obligations I have. Events I’m expected to attend. Balls and parties and charity events. And, of course, I knew you would be working every weekday so I thought it best not to bother you. Except, well, I had to bother you this morning, obviously, but only because I couldn’t restrain myself anymore. I began worrying that it could beweeksbefore we found another opportunity to see each other. Actually, it was Charlotte—Emma’s tutor and my, ehm, my friend—who suggested that I comehere now so that we could have lunch together. I think she was tired of seeing me mope.”
“We’ll figure out a way to see each other more often,” Jesse promised. “Can you come to my place some evenings? After you spend time with your family? Or on Saturday afternoons?”
“Saturday afternoons, yes. Thursday nights, too. I have prior engagements on a lot of the other nights or have otherwise promised Emma that I’d be around.”
Arthur shifted to face Jesse. He found Jesse’s other hand beneath the blanket and began to rub both of them with his own.
“Did you warm up a little?” he asked.
Jesse nodded.
“Good,” Arthur said through an exhale.
Arthur began to pull away so that he could unpack their lunch, but Jesse stopped him, reseizing both of Arthur’s hands the moment he let go.
“On second thought, I believe I need a few more minutes.”
“Oh, you’re too sweet,” Arthur said.
Once again, tears sprang to Arthur’s eyes. He closed them, feeling like a fool.
“Sorry. But this is... Jesse, it’s been sixteen years since I’ve felt anything even close to this. And I’m enamored with you. Completely, wonderfully enamored.”
“Enamored,” Jesse said through a playful-sounding scoff. “We’ve only spent, what, seven hours together?”
“Oh, it must be more than that. Eight, perhaps. Or even nine,” Arthur teased, and Jesse shook his head. “I know it’s fast, but once I knew that you liked me, I couldn’tstandthe thought of not being with you. God, the moment you let out that breathy obscenity—”
“Excuse me?”
Arthur began to laugh. “I’m referring to the sound that you made when I had you pinned to the Grasshopper press,” he said,matter-of-factly. Jesse’s eyes widened. “You hadn’t meant to make it, had you? Did you even realize that you had?”
“I-it was as though everything went white for a few seconds when you... when you came close to me like that,” Jesse said, obviously reeling from this information.
Arthur shrugged. “Well, I knew that you must have liked me pressing against you like that. Or likedmeoverall. Of course, I hadn’t known for certain whether you’d want to be with me, seeing how things are in the world and therefore, how risky a relationship like ours would be, but I knew that I had to try to woo you somehow, regardless of the potential consequences.”
“It was bold of you to be so blatantly charming like that.”
“Yes, well, that’s me. Bold to the point of being foolish.”
Jesse’s lovely smile returned. “I’m really happy you came to see me today.” He huffed an uneasy laugh, and his eyes flitted forward to the front of the carriage. “I feel bad for your coachman, though.”
“I promised him a substantial increase in pay for the week,” Arthur said. “If that makes you feel better.”
Wind rattled the carriage windows, and both of them winced.
“Perhaps you ought to throw in another one of those sofas as well,” Jesse suggested.
