There was so much he didn’t know.
Seth leaned back again, letting the video he’d chosen play. He folded his hands in his lap, giving Riley a small, bright grin.
Riley wanted to take those hands and hold them in his again, like when Seth had been painting his nails. He wanted to study them closely. They were fascinating to him, the way they were small but strong, with all these little nicks and burns. Seth had told him the burns were from the ovens, and they ran along his forearms too. They were pretty, in their way, but Riley still felt protective over them.
Vampires had healing properties in their saliva. It was convenient for closing bites, a way to keep their victims from bleeding out after a feed. Riley had never had a chance to use it that way, since he’d never fed from a live human deliberately. But if Seth burned one of his fingers in the oven when Riley was there, Riley could put that finger in his mouth, couldn’t he? He could suck so gently. No teeth. Just lips and tongue and?—
“I’m gay,” Seth said out of nowhere, giving Riley a sidelong look. His pulse was still jumping, so maybe it was something he was nervous to admit. “Not sure if that’s something I need to say, but—” He shrugged.
“I know,” Riley told him. He’d already overheard Seth talking to Violet about the queer scene in Seacliff.
“Okay,” Seth said easily, his gaze drifting back to his video.
He didn’t ask. Didn’t push Riley to divulge his own interests.
But Riley wanted to.
He just didn’t know what to say. Riley didn’t know if he was gay or bi or what. There hadn’t been anyone before Seth, and there wouldn’t be anyone after, so what did it matter?
“It…depends for me,” Riley said eventually, his voice barely louder than the whispers coming from Seth’s computer screen.
Seth turned to him, giving him his complete attention. “Depends on what?”
On if it’s you.
“On the person.”
Seth nodded. “Ah, gotcha.” He placed a hand on Riley’s knee, a friendly squeeze, there and gone again. “Thank you for sharing, Riley.”
Seth had that way about him, Riley had noticed. He could be flirty and silly but also very sincere. Riley liked that.
He was pretty sure he liked everything about Seth.
Seth let out a happy sigh. “I really love this creator, you know. They do the prettiest makeup. Like, it’s the usual audio component, but also it’s so visually soothing.”
Riley had the sudden, overwhelming urge to shut the laptop. Or at least cover it up with something. They only needed tohearthe video, right? They didn’t need to see the pretty creator with the glittery eye makeup that Sethloved.
But then Seth turned to him again. “Have you ever had your makeup done?”
Riley lived alone in the woods with two extremely fashionable mothers. He’d had his makeup done hundreds of times, at the very least.
But Riley thought of Seth touching his face, sitting close, breathing his air. He tried to look guileless and was pretty sure he succeeded. “Will you do mine for me?”
In answer, Seth scrambled off the couch, running into his bedroom with a laugh. Riley almost regretted asking—he wanted Seth back on the couch with him—but it was barely a minute before Seth returned with another little basket that held eye pencils and little pots of eye shadow and other makeup supplies.
Seth settled next to Riley, cross-legged but facing him this time. Riley faced him in turn. Seth’s eyes were bright, his cheeks flushed happily.
He was the prettiest, cutest thing Riley had ever seen.
“Okay, so,” Seth began, “just a little something on the eyes, I think. Purple hues can look really cool with a dark brown like yours.” He cocked his head, studying Riley’s face, and it was a struggle not to preen under the attention. “And a little shimmer on the cheeks,” Seth mused. “We can wipe it all off afterward, if you want. I know wearing makeup isn’t for everyone.”
“I don’t mind.” Riley would wear whatever the fuck Seth wanted to paint him with. He’d wear it proudly.
Seth grinned at him, sorting through his basket. “I’m too lazy to rock a full beat all the time, but it’s just fun, you know? To play. Or to have a little something extra on a good night out.” He set his selections on the same towel he’d used when painting Riley’s nails. “You go out a lot? Is there a fake ID somewhere in your wallet or is that too hard with a town this small?”
“I’m—”Trapped in the woods so I don’t eat the locals. “More of a homebody,” Riley hedged.
Seth nodded, then held out a cupped hand in front of Riley’s face. “Lean forward, please. Eyes closed.”
