David
You don’t have to go.”
“I know, but I should,” Farzan said. “This sounds important.”
“You could hang out with us.” David zipped up his jeans.
“Dressed like this?”
“Fair point. Maybe it’s time to start leaving some clothes at my place.”
Farzan laughed. “Maybe.”
But the laughter didn’t light up Farzan’s face the way it usually did. David’s stomach turned.
“What?” he asked, threading his fingers through Farzan’s.
“Just…” Farzan swallowed, showing off the hickey David had given him. “It kind of hit me. How real this is all getting. You moving away.”
“We’re just talking,” David said. His test was more than six weeks away. They still had plenty of time. “Nothing’s certain. Rhett’s a friend. I haven’t seen him in forever.”
A friend who had showed up unannounced—David had double-checked both the group chat and his regular texts with Rhett, and he definitely hadn’t missed anything. But Rhett was an agent of chaos.
“All the more reason to catch up,” Farzan said. “I’ll be fine.”
David stifled a growl. Today was supposed to be for him and Farzan. He’d cleared his schedule, gotten Farzan to clear his. He had a bottle of Paul Pernot Puligny-Montrachet, one of his favorite white Burgundies, chilling in the fridge. A carryout order from his favorite Thai restaurant all queued up and ready to go at the proper time—namely after Farzan fucked his brains out.
Now he had to go talk business instead.
“Hey. Join us for dinner after?”
“I don’t…”
“Meet us at Aspire? Seven o’clock?” If he and Farzan couldn’t spend the day together, at least they could have dinner. “I met your friends at kickball. Why not spend some time with one of mine?”
Farzan bit his lip but finally nodded, giving that soft little smile that was David’s favorite.
David’s stomach finally righted itself. “Okay. I’ll walk you out.”
“See you tonight,” Farzan said at the door. “Nice meeting you, Rhett.”
“You too! What’s tonight?”
“Dinner. Assuming you behave,” he warned Rhett, but with no heat. Like he’d ditch his friend in the city. Granted, Rhett probably had about a dozen places he wanted to check out anyway. As far as David knew, Rhett had never tasted Kansas City barbecue, which meant his life was sorely lacking. “See you tonight.”
He stole a quick kiss from Farzan, stood in the door to watch him make the short walk to his car. What was the old saying?I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave.Farzan’s ass looked incredible in those joggers. Plain black ones, with the white stripes on the sides. David had been ready to peel Farzan out of them when Rhett interrupted.
“You have got it so bad,” Rhett said behind him. “I have never seen you smile like that.”
David rolled his eyes and shut the door, glowering down at Rhett, who stood a good head shorter than him. It was a bit challenging becauseRhett had grown a patchy beard and it wasn’t trimmed quite evenly. David felt the corner of his lip quirking upward against his will.
“What?” Rhett finally asked. “Do I have something on my face?”
“Your beard is uneven.”
“Really? Shit.” Rhett felt at his chin.
“Can I give you a hand before we head out?” David gestured toward the bathroom.
