They pushed off the wall and walked to Bryce’s room. He switched off the hall lamp as they passed. In the doorway, Bryce stopped. “This is weird, right?”
“Extremely,” Sage said. The honesty helped.
Bryce kicked off his shoes and pulled the blanket back. Sage hesitated at the edge, then slid on top of the covers. Bryce followed. They lay on their backs first, shoulders not touching,both staring at the dark ceiling. Bryce slowed his breathing by counting four in, four out. It worked a little, helped to settle him.
“You awake?” Sage asked.
“No,” Bryce said.
They both laughed quietly. It loosened Bryce enough to say, “I like you here.”
“Me too,” Sage said.
“Don’t tell anyone.” Bryce wasn’t ready for anyone to know what was happening between them. He didn’t know exactly what was happening between them, and he needed to before anyone else did.
Sage nodded and smiled. “Classified information.”
They turned at the same time and bumped into one another. Close now. Bryce lifted his arm and placed his hand on Sage’s shoulder because he didn’t know where else to put it. It fit. Sage rested a hand on Bryce’s waist. It was a steady weight that eased something inside Bryce.
“Still okay?” Sage asked.
“Yeah,” Bryce answered.
The apartment made its small noises. A car hissed by outside. Bryce listened and felt Sage’s breath warm on his cheek. He thought about tomorrow and let it go. He thought about names for this and let that go too. None of it mattered right then.
“You’re my—” Bryce started, then stopped, heat rising in his face.
“Valentine?” Sage responded.
“Shut up.”
“It’s the day.”
“Technicality,” Bryce said, but he was smiling.
Sage’s thumb touched the edge of Bryce’s T-shirt and slid over the skin. Bryce answered with a light press of his hand on Sage’s shoulder. He didn’t need more tonight. He needed to sleep and wake up with Sage in the same spot.
“Night,” Sage said.
“Night,” Bryce said.
He thought he wouldn’t sleep. He did as soon as Sage’s breathing evened out, and the mattress settled under their weight. His last clear thought before sleep took him wasthis doesn’t feel wrong.
Chapter Eight
Sage woke to the weight of another body on the mattress and the dim light sneaking around the edges of the blinds. For a second, he didn’t know where he was, then the room slotted into place. Bryce’s posters, Bryce’s desk, the dent in the pillow under Sage’s cheek that smelled like detergent and something warm.
He didn’t move. Bryce’s breathing was slow and even and close. Sage could feel it on his skin. He checked the clock on the nightstand, which showed it was just after nine in the morning.
His thumb found the corner of the blanket and fiddled with it. His head felt clear in a way it hadn’t last night. His mouth remembered the hallway and the kiss. The steady weight of Bryce’s hand on his chest, his head on Sage’s shoulder. The kiss had not felt like a mistake but something more.
Bryce’s lashes twitched. He blinked awake, and his hazel eyes went from unfocused to seeing Sage. Bryce looked at him and made a small sound that might have been a hello. He blinked again, then smiled softly.
“Hey,” Sage murmured.
“Hey.” Bryce’s voice came out rough as he looked around the room, then back at Sage. “You stayed.”
“Yeah, I did.”
