“Wait, so he didn’t actually cook all of this himself.”
Eduard raised a brow as he continued to fill his plate. “He arrived two hours ago after receiving my call. And although he is something of a miracle worker, he’s can’t just blink something into existence.”
“Well, it wouldn’t surprise me if he could, not with everything else I’ve learned about in the past day,” Sawyer said.
“Touché. But no, Cecil will be hiring staff to handle most of our needs. He manages all of the details so I can focus on my work. And you can focus on yours. Of course, the chosen one may arrive with their own staff, but at least then the house will be in order.”
Sawyer thought the whole thing was weird. He’d been taking care of his own house since he turned eighteen. His foster parents had left the house and its contents to him when they passed. It was really all they had and he was touched that they’d wanted to take care of him. His foster brothers told him later that they’d wanted to divide the assets between them, but they’d said no. They were out of the house and earning their own incomes at that point, and Sawyer was still in high school. Of course, none of them had known that within two years of making that decision, they’d both be gone.
He’d decided to attend the local university, then stayed on to get his graduate degree. All while living at home. It had made the most sense to him. Once he’d gotten Pearl, he had everything he needed. And speaking of, he’d need to take her out to play for a few hours after lunch. She’d been cooped up in the house for too long and needed to get outside for a while.
“What?” Draco asked quietly.
“Nothing,” Sawyer said. “Just planning my afternoon in my head.”
“Want some company?”
Sawyer looked over and saw the worry on Draco’s face. He thought he’d soothed that fear earlier with their talk in the kitchen, but they clearly still had some work to do to get back to the way they were before. “Always,” Sawyer replied.
He’d never turn down time with Draco, and even though he should be more angry that he’d kept such a huge secret, Sawyer really did understand. All of the secrets, the world Sawyer wasn’t part of, he didn’t blame Draco for not sharing that part of his life. But what if nothing had ever changed? They could have spent their lives with the wall of secrets between them. Now, maybe, they’d be able to build something more, as long as his weird attraction to Eduard didn’t get in the way.
Draco
Quiet Sawyer was never a good sign. Something had put him in one of his contemplative moods, and those always drove Draco to distraction. He wanted to hear Sawyer’s rambling banter, to have him tease and gripe and laugh. When Sawyer went into his head, Draco felt like the door to his own thoughts were closed as well.
Pearl leaned against Draco’s leg as they walked in the backyard of the house. She normally would have used her walk time to run and play, but she seemed to realize Sawyer needed both of them close.
The other guardians were inside, leaving them alone to walk through the mostly unfinished landscaping of the house. There were still ruts in the ground from the building equipment but grass had reclaimed the land behind the house and it wasn’t bad to walk through.
“You going to tell me what’s on your mind?” Draco asked once he couldn’t take the silence any more. They’d been outside for over twenty minutes without Sawyer saying a single word.
“I’m not sure what to say.”
“Since when don’t you know what to say to me?” Draco reached out and grabbed Sawyer’s hand, pulling him to a stop before turning to face him.
Sawyer sighed. “You know you mean the world to me, right? That I’d never do anything to hurt you?”
“Of course.”
Sawyer sighed again. “Man, this sucks.”
“Just spit it out, already. You’re gonna give me hives, and you know how cranky I get when I get hives.”
Sawyer huffed out a laugh then reached for Draco’s other hand. “So, I hope you don’t get mad at me, but I had a little moment this morning with Eduard.”
Draco leaned forward the smallest bit, eager to breathe in Sawyer’s familiar scent. “What kind of moment? Do I need to set him on fire?”
Sawyer smiled, but it seemed sad. He shook his head, then looked down at their clasped hands. “We almost kissed.”
Draco waited, but Sawyer continued to look down. He released one of Sawyer’s hands and lifted his chin. “Why is that making you sad? Did you not want to kiss him? Did he try to—”
“No! I mean, he didn’t force me. He actually… stopped me. I don’t know what happened. I mean, for years, it’s beenyou. Every thought and sexy time alone in my house, it’s always been you I imagined being with. And then boom! I meet some new guy and he turns my head? On the day I find out what’s probably been holding you back from me? And I don’t know what to do about either of those things. Because it’s always been me and you, and what if it isn’t anymore because of your duty or whatever? And why did I suddenly want to kiss someone else? Am I that flighty? One hot griffin comes along and I just—”
“Sawyer, breathe. Come on, breathe with me.” Draco waited for him to pull in a shaky breath. “Now out.”
Sawyer blew out his breath and looked up to meet Draco’s gaze. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what? For thinking Eduard is ridiculously sexy? I think he is, too.”
