“Okay.”
Bryce sat and took his mug. He blew on it and took a careful sip.
“You told her?” Sage asked.
“Yeah.”
“What did you say?”
“That I’m seeing someone,” Bryce said. “That it’s you.”
Sage looked at him for a long second and nodded once. “Do you want to go to the store tomorrow?” Sage asked. “We need coffee.”
“Yeah,” Bryce said. “Paper towels. Batteries for the remote.”
“Fruit,” Sage said. “Gage thinks we live on noodles. I’d like to prove him wrong for one day.”
“We can do vegetables,” Bryce said. “Against my will.”
“You’ll live longer, and I kind of want that.”
Bryce smiled and leaned over to kiss him. “Fine. I’ll eat my veggies.”
They finished the coffee and put the mugs in the sink. Bryce hooked two fingers in the edge of Sage’s hoodie and pulled him in. Sage went, tilting his face up for Bryce’s kiss. Bryce groaned as he pulled Sage close and licked across his lips before slipping between Sage’s parted lips. The kiss deepened, tongues sliding, touching. Bryce moved them until Sage’s back hit the wall.
Sage broke for air and set his palm on Bryce’s chest. “Bed?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Bryce agreed.
Epilogue
The beach was busy but not crowded. Sage spread the blanket and kicked his shoes off beside it. Bryce set the small cooler down and dropped beside him. They sat close without thinking about it. Bryce handed him a bottle of water.
“Hydrate,” Bryce said.
“Yes, doctor.”
They watched the water for a minute. A couple walked past with a dog that refused to touch wet sand. Bryce smiled at that and leaned his shoulder into Sage’s.
They’d been here for a week. Cheap motel two blocks off the beach. A room AC that rattled. Two sets of towels they took to the desk every other morning. It worked. They slept like rocks. They woke without alarms. They ate sandwiches and fruit and the same diner’s eggs on repeat. It felt easy.
“Mom asked if we’re back by the twenty-fifth,” Bryce said.
“We are,” Sage said. “Keys on the twenty-third. I texted the landlord.”
“Good.”
Sage rubbed sunscreen on the back of Bryce’s neck. He did the shoulders next. Bryce did the same for him. It was ordinary now. No jokes to cover it.
“Study room?” Bryce asked.
“Yeah,” Sage said. “Bedroom two becomes the study. Desk along the window wall, bookshelves on the right. Whiteboard on the short wall.”
“Coffee maker in there?”
“Small one,” Sage said. “We’re not walking to the kitchen every time we sit down.”
“Deal.”
