He breathed another deep sigh and let his hand fall to Jake’s thigh.
“I love... this,” he said, his voice catching. God, he’d almost said something different. Something different by just one word but equally as true.
“Mmm, yeah, me too,” Jake murmured, his breath warm against the top of Rye’s head. Jake’s arm tightened around him, the embrace warm, soothing, and so beautiful.
Rye closed his eyes, letting himself relax into Jake as he tried to gather his courage. Three words. He could say the three words. They were right there, and hefeltthem. He knew they were true with all of his heart, and he didn’t need anyone to explain this feeling to him.
He was in love with Jacob Wright.
He was, and he had been for a while now, and he always, always would be.
The moment was perfect, too—out here on the patio, just the two of them, the beautiful sunset and quiet sounds of the waves on the beach below.
He opened his eyes again.
The sun was lower now, about halfway below the horizon. Light rippled across the ocean’s surface, a stark contrast with the ever-growing blackness of the water.
It couldn’t be a more perfect moment, really. Unless...
Rye pressed his hand into Jake’s thigh as he tilted his head back. Dark-brown eyes, kind and hopeful, stared back at him, and he smiled, then lifted his hand to cup Jake’s cheek and stretched up for a gentle kiss.
Their lips touched, and it was all warmth and softness and love. Rye stayed there, deepening the kiss just slightly, and he let his hand slip down, running his fingertips along the bare skin of Jake’s neck and then over the collar of Jake’s shirt and down to the middle of his chest. Jake’s heart beat strong and steady, and Rye broke the kiss, dropping his chin, as he focused on that feeling for another moment.
His own heart raced, too, thrumming in his chest, and he breathed deeply and made himself look back up at Jake. Jake’s eyes were closed, but he opened them and smiled as soon as Rye reached up to touch his cheek again.
Jake’s beard tickled his fingers, and Rye tore his eyes away from Jake’s to watch his own thumb brush along Jake’s jawline. He wanted to kiss Jake there, like he had that morning. And then, with a sudden rush of heat that spread all the way down into Rye’s toes, he realized he wanted to kiss Jake elsewhere too. Lower a bit. On Jake’s neck. And maybe...
He pressed his palm into Jake’s chest, wondering what it would feel like, what Jake would look like—his bare chest solid and muscular, his skin smooth and warm. And he almost wanted it. He almost wanted to touch Jake. Lower. Under his clothes. No, notalmost, actually.
Hedidwant to.
Acknowledging these feelings out loud, however, suddenly seemed much too scary. In fact, maybe it was too scary to even think, and so instead, his eyes flitted back up to meet Jake’s.
And immediately, heat rushed to his cheeks. That desire he’d been feeling was perfectly, clearly,obviouslyreflected in Jake’s eyes.
Rye sucked in a breath and quickly buried his head down against Jake’s chest. And he felt Jake let out a long breath, too, before Jake’s arm tightened around him.
“Sorry. Was that too much?”
No.
“Maybe.”
“. . . Maybe?”
“Maybe. Maybe . . . not.”
Jake seemed to tense slightly, and Rye shook his head.
“Sorry,” Rye said quietly. “I’m not... being clear with wh-what I...” Rye trailed off, closing his eyes. Maybe it had actually been too much. Maybe he onlythoughthe wanted more. Maybe—
No.
No, he really didn’t think it was too much. Maybe just too fast. And he needed to tell Jake what he wanted and how he was feeling. Because Jake would understand and help him, and they’d figure things out together. If there was anything to figure out, even.
“I... I’m...” He took a deep breath, willing his words to work. Then he looked back up at Jake and bit his lip as he reached up to cup Jake’s cheek. The softness had returned to Jake’s expression, and maybe that helped a little.
“What is it?” Jake asked quietly. His hand came up to settle on Rye’s upper arm, and the light touch sent another spark of heat through him, radiating outward right from that spot.
