28
Oscar groaned as he rolled onto his other side, snuggling closer to Ryan to take advantage of his body heat. As predicted, he was sore all over from running after Ryan’s car yesterday.
Also possibly from the sex that followed, though those muscles were more used to getting a good workout.
“You don’t sound happy,” Ryan murmured, shifting on the bed to face Oscar as Oscar tried to press as much as himself up against his Ryan-sized hot water bottle as possible.
“I’m more a lover than a runner.” Oscar sighed, comfortable now that he was as close to Ryan as he could be.
Ryan chuckled. “Regretting it?” he asked, though all the uncertainty Oscar would have expected even a few days ago was absent. Ryan knew how he felt now.
“Not even a little,” Oscar said. “Especially not if the cure is cuddling.”
Humming, Ryan moved to wrap his arms around Oscar. The little bit of extra warmth made Oscar sigh happily again, content to stay exactly where he was.
“How about you?” Oscar asked after a moment, though he was fairly sure he knew the answer. He’d never seen Ryan this content before.
Right now, he was hoping he’d get to see it a lot more often. It was impossible not to love him like this.
“No regrets,” Ryan murmured, nuzzling Oscar’s hair. “I always wanted to stay. I just didn’t want to be in your way. It was your home first.”
“You’ll never be in my way,” Oscar responded. “It’s a magical place, huh?”
Ryan hummed, stroking his arm up and down Oscar’s side, a simple show of affection. “When I first showed up, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to move on. Now… now there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I’m happy here.”
“And you saved it,” Oscar said, heaving himself up so he could look Ryan in the eyes. “You didn’t have to do that. I never expected you to.”
“Got a soft spot for some of the residents.” Ryan shrugged. “Those tiny alligators, Spot, even Buttercup… couldn’t have left them homeless, could I?”
A slow, warm smile spread over Oscar’s face. “So it’s all just for the animals?”
“Oh, totally. I love animals. I can even identify three or four kinds on sight,” Ryan said seriously, harking back to their very first conversation. “This guy taught me. I love him, and he loves animals, so they kinda come with the deal.”
“Sounds like a pretty cool guy,” Oscar said, his heart fluttering.
“He is,” Ryan agreed, with the sweetest smile Oscar had ever seen spreading over his face, his pretty blue eyes sparkling with warmth.
It wasn’t as though Ryanhadto love animals for him. Besides, Oscar knew that he was falling for the sanctuary residents all on his own.
Even Buttercup.
But it was nice that Ryan felt it was important to care about the things Oscar cared about. There was areasonOscar hadn’t actually dated in a few years, and hookups being sarcastic about his job was a big part of it.
Not everyone saw what he saw.Ryanhadn’t seen what he saw when he arrived.
He’d learned, though. He’d been open to new experiences. Somewhere along the way, he’d started to understand why Oscar cared so much.
Even when he’d thought he was leaving for good, his parting gift had been all about what Oscar wanted.
Who could possibly have this man and throw him away? Oscar could hardly believe now that he’d almost done it. Only an idiot would let themselves lose a man like Ryan.
“You know you’re perfect?” Oscar said, following his train of thought to the logical conclusion.
Ryan blinked at him, obviouslynotfollowing the train of thought. That was fine. He didn’t have to. He just had to lie there and let Oscar shower him with affection for a little while.
That was whatbothof them needed.
“I’m okay, I guess,” Ryan replied, which was at least an improvement on how he’d been talking about himself when he first arrived. They’d get there. Ryan would be the poster boy for quiet confidence once Oscar was done mending his self-esteem.
