River’s onlyregret about asking Jem to stay came early in the mornings, when Jem’s alarm went off and River wasn’t ready to human.
Fortunately for both of them, Jem was not a snooze-button abuser. He silenced the alarm so quickly River barely woke up.
But one morning he heard the splash of water, not in the bathroom, but in the heated pool in the backyard.
Are you fucking kidding me right now, River thought. Was Jem trying to turn him into a morning person? Because it would absolutely work and he was mad about it.
Oh well. He could go back to sleep after Jem left for work.
He dragged his ass out of bed and pulled on a hoodie so he didn’t freeze his balls off perving on his boyfriend at ass o’clock in the morning.
The source of the noise quickly became apparent. As good as he looked without a shirt, Jem was not a natural swimmer—too much splashing, rhythm not quite smooth. But he was also clearly enjoying himself as he did a clumsy backstroke through the water.
After a minute he noticed River watching him and stood up, water cascading down his body as he flicked his hair back. “Hey. Sorry, did I wake you?”
Parts of me, River thought wildly. His mouth didn’t want to make coherent noises, so he grunted an affirmative.
“Normally I’d jog, but I hate it and this is better on my knees. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh no, by all means. Spare your knees.” Whoops. River’s sass woke up before everything else. Well, almost everything.
Jem grinned at him.
Nope. River was not prepared to deal with this yet. “I’m going back to bed.”
Jem’s laughter followed him into the house.
When River woke up for real, there was a note on the bed next to him, just like there’d been every day since Jem’s extended sleepover began:Breakfast in the fridge. Remember to eat it!!! Home around 5. – xox Jem
The first day it happened, River half didn’t believe it, but when he entered the kitchen, the coffee pot was halfway full. River poured himself a mug and figured maybe he hadn’t hallucinated the note, and when he opened the fridge to get the milk, sure enough, there was a plastic-covered plate and a tall smoothie cup.
For a moment River couldn’t do anything but stare at them. But he couldn’t just leave the food uneaten. That would be rude.
The cuteness factor hadn’t worn off yet this morning either. He peeled back the plastic and found today’s offering—a tasty-looking breakfast sandwich—which he was still eating when Grace let herself inside.
“Rise and shine, flat-ass!” she called out. “Time for exercise.”
River winced. “Jeez, not so loud, woman. Do you know what time it is?”
A moment later she entered the kitchen in full uniform—brown hair up in her usual high ponytail, loose pink T-shirt, cropped yoga pants, and teal sneakers. She looked at him like he’d grown another head. “You’re awake.”
River scarfed down another bite of breakfast sandwich. It would’ve been better if he put it in the microwave. “Mmm,” he agreed.
“You’reeating,” she said with what River felt was an unnecessary amount of disbelief.
He washed down the last bite of sandwich with a glug of smoothie. “I do that sometimes.”
“Not in my experience,” she muttered.
Then her eyes caught on the note River had brought with him from the bedroom, and she snatched it up and read it. Understanding dawned way too quickly. “River Wild, are you telling me I’ve been trying to get you to eat more regularly for two years and the secret wasI’m not a cute enough boy?”
River sputtered. “That’s not the only reason!” He scrambled for another excuse. “I mean, did you make your breakfasts with a side of love?”
Grace eyed him up and down and said, “Did you make love with your breakfast?”
Rude. “No,” River said with a dramatic sigh. “He left when I was still in bed.”
She giggled. “All right, well, sorry to touch on a sore subject. But let’s get a move on with the exercise, then, hmm? Take your mind off your heartbreak. Give you another outlet for all that unspent energy.”
