Sure.
Oh, Sage says you can also come here for board games.Or D&D he says.He says he can explain how that works if we don’t know.
(I don’t know.)
Sounds good.Just text me when and I can ask Corvin.And Carl I guess.
Oh, Carl.
Carl can come too.
Do you have Corvin’s number?
I want to say thanks for the book.
I’m reading it now.
Still smiling, Theo texted Will the number.He smelled the warm sugary scent of the caramel popcorn and turned to see Peter, the big popcorn bowl in his hands.
“You looked positively adorable just now.”
Theo put his phone away.“I looked adorable while texting?”
“The expression on your face.That’s what made it adorable.You were smiling, Theodore.”
Theo felt his cheeks heat.“Whatever.Gimme the popcorn.Come on, they just got to the haunted B&B, let’s see who gets killed first.”
Peter slid in close to Theo, handed him the bowl, and draped an arm around his shoulders.
“Do you care to bet?”
Chapter 8
“Thereboundboyfriend.See?I told you.”Theodore gifted Peter with a languid smile.“I win our bet.”
Theodore had abandoned his bowl of popcorn and half turned to Peter, opening himself up.It was a challenge to not seize the moment, but doing so would have been presumptuous.
“You do.To terminate the relationship in such a gruesome way.”
“Hmm.”Theodore turned fully away from the screen, cozying up to Peter, resting his head on Peter’s shoulder.He was warm and quietly commanding all of Peter’s attention.“It’s so scary.Makes me want to climb into your lap.”
Peter curled his arm tighter around Theodore, putting his palm on the other man’s back just below his neck.“Do you need some help with that?”
Theodore nuzzled Peter’s neck in a casual, unselfconscious way.It’s as if he seeks warmth and safety with me.It’s his right, his due.It’s good that he’s learning to demand it.
“No, I’m good.Don’t move too much, okay?”
“Theodore, you make it difficult to sit still.”
“So try.”
Peter raised his chin when Theodore began kissing him, a hand roaming over Peter’s chest and fiddling with buttons.Cultural misattribution aside, Peter was pleased that Theodore appreciated his build and the shape he was in.
If you knew the extent to which I adore your body, the way you smell after we make love, the way you relax after coming or the way your breathing picks up just before…Peter tangled two fingers in the tips of Theodore’s hair.I worry that you think I forget that you are smart and well spoken while being able to apply a sailor’s lexicon if you need to.
Those were things one might say when one was handfast, or before, when one was trying to get the other person to agree.Peter had considered adding some of it to their contract, but he had refrained and stuck with the necessities of their day-to-day.
What good would it do to spook the man I love into thinking about the implications of love when I can simply make him feel loved instead of throwing words at him?Frigg willing, love will hollow this particular stone.
