"I did."
He takes my hand in his. "I did, too. Just took me by surprise, that's all."
"If there's one thing to expect with me, TD, it's surprises."
He chuckles. "I wish we could keep going, but I need to get back to work," he says, closing his fingers more firmly around mine, sounding like he'd really rather stay with me.
"Have you got time for lunch?"
He nods. "I do. You thinking The Leafy Nook?"
"No. Let's order something in. I don't feel like sharing you with the world right now."
He smiles at my sappiness and gets up to order some takeout. We shower while we wait for the food, which is basically an excuse for me to eat his ass again. And, Jesus, it tastes so damngood.
"Oh, shit," TD cries, grabbing his dick and, a fewseconds later, coming. "Holy heck. I've never come so soon again like that."
I get up, sliding my hands over his broad, wet shoulders. "Looks like someone enjoys getting rimmed."
"I do." His eyes meet mine, and I don't know what it is, but something has shifted. "Is it sappy to admit I missed you while I was away even though we chatted every night?"
"It's not any more sappy than me saying what I just did." I lean in and kiss him on the lips. "And just so you know, I missed you, too."
Our food arrives, and we eat at the breakfast bar since Mexican can be messy.
"So, I googled you while I was gone," TD says, pouring some lime over his fish taco.
"I'm impressed you figured out how the internet works," I reply, biting back a grin.
He lets out a low chuckle. "Wise guy. I saw a video of you giving a talk at some mortician's conference."
My grin dies, and I turn to face the front door. "Oh."
"What?"
"Nothing. Just… There's the door. Run, run for your life."
"What are you talking about?"
I sigh. "Most guys leave or block or ghost me the second they find out what I do for a living. You didn't, but you've only just now seen my water cremation speech, so I won't be mad if you make a run for it."
TD stares at me, his face unreadably stoic. "Your generation is weird. I'm not going anywhere. I wasintrigued by your speech and was hoping you'd tell me more. You know, since I'm so close to death myself, I probably should start making plans."
How? How is TD actually cool with this? No. He can't be. This has to be some sort of setup, a trap, a cruel joke, which would really hurt coming hot on the heels of the best sex of my life.
But heseemsgenuine, so I test the waters. "I only learned about the special machine that facilitates water cremation a few years ago. People wrongly assume we're putting someone in a barrel of acid, but that's not it at all. The process involves water, heat, and alkaline chemicals, which are, in fact, the chemical opposite of acids," I point out.
"Right."
"The machine works by gently rocking the warm water and potassium hydroxide to accelerate the natural decomposition of the body. Once dissolved of flesh, the bones are dried and crushed."
"Right," he repeats.
I scan his face. He actually looksinterested. Even better, he's not freaking out.
"I think as people become more environmentally aware, they’ll begin to realize that cremation can be fossil fuel intensive, and it emits toxic pollutants such as mercury, while burial takes up lots of space, which could be used for other things like housing for the still living, so, I'm hoping that in time, it won't be seen as this weird, fringe thing. That it'll become accepted. Maybe even normal."
"I hope so, too," TD says, looking at me with a soft smile. "And that people who work in the industry aren't seen as weird or fringe either. Because they're not." Hiseyes meet mine, and his smile grows. "Ask me how I know."
