“Meaning?”
Cree crushed Jordan against him, in order to use both the hand holding the phone and the one around Jordan, making a show of crushing him as close as possible until Jordan giggled. He navigated to some movie website where he chose Christmas movies as the category. A wheel appeared with a spin button in the center. “Push it.”
Jordan grinned, hitting the button, watching the red white and green wheel spin, the little ticker hitting each piece of the pie again and again until it came to a stop. There was an explosion of snowflakes and holly and then a movie name appeared.
Love Actually.
“Have you seen this before?” Cree asked.
Jordan nodded, tipping his chin to look up at him. “Yeah, have you?”
“Only about a hundred times. Does this work for you?” Cree asked.
“Depends,” Jordan asked.
Cree smiled. “On?”
“Whether you mind me ranting about what a douchenozzle Alan Rickman’s character is for what he does to Emma Thompson.”
“I would expect nothing less. Douchenozzle is actually a much nicer word than I’d use,” Cree said.
Jordan’s chest felt light, like his heart was sort of floating in his chest cavity untethered. He burrowed closer to Cree, his hand landing on his stomach over his clothes but under the blanket. “Is this okay?”
“Mm,” Cree said, hitting play.
Jordan kept a running commentary throughout the movie, Cree occasionally joining in. Jordan would look up every now and again to make sure he wasn’t annoying Cree, and Cree would just look down and smile. By the end of the two hour film, Jordan’s hand had found its way up under Cree’s shirt, his hand pressed flat to his warm skin. Cree didn’t seem to mind, his fingers petting through Jordan’s hair the whole time, making him feel sleepy and sated.
“Do you want to go join the others?” Cree asked when the movie ended, making no move to get up.
Jordan didn’t hesitate. “No.”
Cree smiled down at him, his knuckles brushing Jordan’s cheek. “Do you want to watch another movie?”
Jordan shook his head. “No.”
“What do you want to do then?”
Jordan’s hand contracted against Cree’s ribs, hiking his leg a little higher over his. “This is good.”
Cree sounded surprised when he said, “You want to just lay here and do nothing?”
Jordan shrugged. “You could read to me.”
“I think you should read to me,” Cree said, rubbing Jordan’s ear between his thumb and forefinger in a way that felt weirdly comforting and wildly sexy at the same time.
“Fine,” Jordan said, rolling over and tugging two booksfrom the shelf at random before returning to his previous spot.
He glanced at the two books, laughing.
“Oh, tough choice,” he said, laughing. “We haveSoil Science: Foundations of Sustainable GrowthorPride and Prejudice?”
Cree smiled. “While I do have a secret soil fetish, I think I’ll choosePride and Prejudice.”
“Not a soil fetish,” Jordan gasped. “Though it does dovetail nicely with my earth worm obsession.”
“Look at us,” Cree teased lightly. “Perfect for each other.”
Jordan laughed but his stomach dipped. He forced himself to concentrate, opening up the book and reading aloud, “‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’”
