Robbie sighs and sags against his boyfriend, eyes going closed—so fucking trusting in ways I don’t know that I have ever been.
I hate to admit it, but Thom fits right in here. Just like I used to. But now it seems that I’ve started growing in all the wrong shapes, and I don’t fit anywhere anymore.
I look over when I see Thom waving in my periphery. ‘Do you have plans this week?’
Apart from rotting in bed before I start at the office? Not really. I shrug and take a sip of whatever mix this is. Gin, maybe? And Sprite? ‘Shopping and relaxing. Why?’
Thom takes a deep breath, and I can see Robbie at my side,giving him a nod of encouragement. Damn it, this really is thelet’s be friendsthing, isn’t it?
‘I have to help Leaf with some gardening stuff, and I thought you might want to come along.’
Shit. I haven’t seen Leaf since he was in the middle of his Michael crisis. I left a week after he and Thorne got back from Portland with the news that the dude he was seeing was an FBI agent on the verge of retiring.
‘Is the groundhog still alive?’
Robbie pulls a face while Thom bursts into laughter. ‘Yes,’ Thom signs. ‘He’s the farm mascot now. Thorne got him a BabyBjörn to carry him around in.’
That’s the worst thing I have ever heard, but also the most Leaf thing I have ever heard. I don’t even need to see it. I can picture it perfectly.
I contemplate saying no, but Thom looks so annoyingly hopeful, and Robbie looks like he’s going to rip me a new asshole if I do. And it might not be so bad. Leaf is fluent, and Thorne—if I recall—is hard of hearing, so I won’t be out of my element again.
And hell, if I made it through France on my own, I can do anything.
‘If it’s not too early,’ I start, but my hands freeze when the lights on the table flicker, letting me know someone’s at the door. Who the fuck could possibly be here?
Literally everyone I know is inside my apartment. Though it’s possible a neighbor called in a noise complaint because we got louder than expected. That has absolutely happened at apartment Deaf gatherings I’ve been to.
I start to get up, but Thom pushes me back down. ‘You look tired. Let me get it.’
Fuck him very much. I look just fine. I attempt to steal alook in the mirror on the wall, but it’s too high for me to see my reflection. I tap at my under eyes to see if they’re puffy.
Robbie smacks my elbow. ‘You look fine. Truth. But if you want to feel better, take this.’
He hands me something, and I stare down at it. A gummy of some sort.
‘Safe?’ I ask, and he rolls his eyes.
‘Yes, legal, just strong.’
I pull a face, pop it in my mouth, then turn my attention to where Thom is pulling the door open, and all the breath leaves my lungs.
Oh shit. It’s him.
It’shim.
Dex smiles at Thom as he walks in, his eyes swiveling around the apartment. Then his gaze catches mine, and he freezes. The world skids to a stop.
He’s here.
And I have no fucking idea what to do.
Apparently, in an emergency like this one, I don’t react. In fact, I do nothing at all. I just sit completely still, trying to avoid looking at him.
Because while Thom has gotten even better-looking the last three years, Dex has morphed into the epitome of erotic. Everything he does is sensual. The way he moves, blinks, and breathes. It’s making my cock unbearably hard.
When people joked his nickname was Sex, they weren’t kidding.
He is. Walking, talking sex.
