I liked Kit’s dad more every time I talked to him.
“We’ll be there,” Kit called back, rolling out of bed.
I watched him stretch his arms high over his head in the sunlight streaming through the lace curtains. There were heavier ones, but we hadn’t remembered to pull them closed last night.
Kit looked deliberately away from me while he scratched his exposed belly, where his pajama pants had ridden down, his t-shirt had ridden up, and there was a neat, dark, tempting treasure trail pointing down to...
Oh.
Oh, that was atleasta semi.
I licked my lips involuntarily. I knew how dicks worked, I knew more often than not that I woke up hard if I’d slept comfortably, but Ialsoknew I wouldn’t have been able to help being a little turned on if I’d woken with Kit rubbing against my leg.
Hmm.
Could just be morning wood, could be something else. No way of knowing, and I wasnotbrave enough to ask.
I was stupid enough to stare, though. I never got to see Kit fresh out of bed, and I hadn’t realized how adorable he was in those precious first few minutes before he turned up in the kitchen begging for coffee.
Also, how had I never noticed how cute his butt was in pajamas before?
“Andy?” Kit spoke up, distracting me from the perfect, high curve of his ass. “Are we all right?”
I blinked at him, forcing myself to focus on his sleep-soft face and ruffled hair. “Why’re you asking me? I’m the one who was... y’know.”
“I mean about... this,” he said, gesturing broadly. “All of this. I don’t care about... the other thing,” he finished, blushing all over again.
“We’re okay about the thing where you’ve been secretly an Earl the whole time I’ve known you,” I said, surprised by how easy it was and how true it felt.
We were okay. Kit was still my best friend. Maybe I wasn’t entirely comfortable with all of it, but this wasKit. He hadn’t actually changed.
“I’m not really an Earl,” Kit said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s just a courtesy title.”
“I don’t understand that part,” I said. “And I’m not sure I want you to explain.”
“My point is that I’m still a commoner, which I realize sounds awful now that I say it out loud.” He frowned. “What I mean to say is that nothing will change for me until I inherit my father’s title, on his death.”
“But then things will change?” I asked, worry itching in the pit of my stomach.
I couldn’t keep Kit forever. One day, things would change.
“Yes. Sort’ve. Maybe. I’m not sure,” Kit said, toying with the blankets at the edge of the bed. “Perhaps I’ll disclaim the title, live a normal life, or perhaps I’ll be a bloody marquess and not have a moment’s peace again. I don’t know. But could we just be Kit and Andy again until they do? If they do?”
I was just now realizing that Kit had kept all this a secret at least partly because he was scared of what it meant for him.
I’d only been thinking aboutmyfeelings when I’d been freaking out over it yesterday, and a better friend would’ve been thinking about his, too. His fear of rejection, his fear that one day his life would change dramatically and he couldn’t do anything about it.
“We’ll always be Kit and Andy,” I promised. “Like I said yesterday, you’re not getting rid of me that easy. Even if I have to like... book an audience to see you sometime.”
“I’ll always keep room in my schedule for you. I have promised you pizza every Friday night for the rest of our lives, and I mean to keep that promise.”
“That’s okay, then,” I said, rolling out of bed. “Time to go scandalize your mom some more.”
