Seb cleared his throat. “Excuse me?”
“What?” Gray asked.
Seb rolled his eyes as he laughed. “Duh, Gray. I’m the computer genius with latent hacker tendencies. You didn’t think I could be of service?”
Gray frowned. “What kind of thing could you do? It’s not like we were on computers.”
Seb smiled and crossed his arms over his chest as he turned to Jameson. “Next time your boyfriend wants to have an adventure, call me so I can cover your tracks for you, okay?”
Jameson opened his mouth to correct Seb about the wordboyfriend, but Gray pulled him closer first. James spun his face up, then pulled Gray into a kiss. Slowly, Gray kissed back, his body loosening. Now that Gray was coming back to him, Jameson was desperate not to let go. He pressed his lips up against Gray’s ear. “I want to be your boyfriend,” he whispered.
Gray squeezed him closer, then dragged his lips across Jameson’s mouth, making Jameson giggle from the scrape of his beard. “I want to be your boyfriend, too,” he whispered.
“Okay,” Seb said, then coughed loudly. “That answers a few other questions I was having, I suppose.”
Laughing shyly, Jameson let himself stare in Gray’s eyes for just a few seconds longer. They were his boyfriend’s eyes. He told it to himself, tasting the thought, willing it to become more and more true. And if they really were boyfriends, that meant Jameson got to keep feeling the way he felt around Gray.
Like himself.
Seb showed them around his workspace a little more, and then Gray headed down to help his uncle retrieve things from the car. As he left, Jameson noticed the clouds of worry returning to his gaze. He considered running after Gray, then pulling him close and kissing him until he relaxed again, but he hesitated, unsure of himself. Gray had never really seemed like he needed space, and he and Jameson had just decided to be boyfriends together. So why now, visiting his family, was Jameson suddenly overwhelmed by self-doubt and totally uncertain how to support his guy?
Maybe if he had ever dated before, he realized, he’d have some idea what to do.
Seb invited Jameson to stay and keep him company in his workspace. Gladly, Jameson accepted, and he found himself with a glass of red wine, sitting on opposite ends of a couch with his new friend.
“You know,” Seb said, “I wasn’t joking earlier, about you needing my help. Although I’m not encouraging you to go on the run again,” he said quickly, then laughed. “Declan nearly flipped his lid, thinking Gray was going to get himself arrested. I don’t think I could go through another week of that.”
“Sorry,” Jameson laughed, scratching the back of his head. “I hope it’s okay to say this, but Gray really looks up to Declan.”
Seb smiled broadly. “I know,” he said. “Declan really admires Gray, too. They’re good family to each other, and to me, too. Anyway, I do know some tricks that might help you, if you ever want to travel with more anonymity.”
“Whenever I take official trips, I use fake names, fake accounts, all that kind of stuff.” Jameson sighed, then sipped his wine. “But it never works. People always figure out where I am, and there is always media waiting for me.”
“That’s the thing,” Seb explained. “You’re taking care of stuff up here,” he waved his hand around, “but there’s a bunch of other stuff happening down here.” He dropped his hand closer to the floor, then shook it around a little more. “Down here is where I can help you out—cover your tracks, get you some secure documents, all of that fun stuff.”
Jameson nodded. “If you think you can help, that’s great! Thank you!” He rubbed his finger along the top of his wine glass, smiling. “Gray did say you’re a genius.”
“Actually, there’s no such thing as geniuses,” Seb said brightly.
Jameson laughed. “He also said you would say that. Anyway, thanks so much. I really appreciate what you all are doing for me. Taking me in and dealing with the police for me and everything else.”
“We’re just happy to help,” Seb said. “And Kaiser Security is a great hideout. Between me and Declan, we’ve got everything fully secured here.”
“Great. Now I just need to face the real monster and call my publicist.” Jameson bit down on his lip, then looked to Seb. His emotions were still swirling as he thought about Gray, trapped in his own storm cloud, but he at least knew how to help himself feel better and more secure. “Do you mind if I do my makeup? Just while we’re hanging out, I mean.”
Seb shook his head, a friendly smile on his lips. “No, go ahead!”
“I usually have a look on,” Jameson explained as he grabbed his bag. “Lately, I mean. But I was worried about someone recognizing us on the drive over, so I cleaned it off.”
“I understand,” Seb said. He leaned back against the couch, swirling his wine as he watched Jameson dig through his bag. “And I think it’s nice, by the way! One of the reasons I know I was depressed before I met Declan is that I never really got dressed or thought about my outfits at all.” He smoothed down the front of his dress shirt. “I’m not fancy or stylish like you are, but whenever I comb my hair and put on a fresh shirt, I just feel better. And since I got together with Declan, I’m inspired to do that every day.”
Jameson swirled an eyeliner pencil in his hand. “You’re stylish,” he said. “Those jeans are cute.”
Seb blushed as he glanced at his jeans, then stretched a leg out toward the coffee table. “I try,” he laughed.
Jameson found his compact mirror, then went to work, tracing the eyeliner across his bottom lid with a steady hand as he stared into his reflection. There were so many other things he needed to worry about, he knew, but a big part of Jameson needed most just to feel like himself, the person who could find his way straight to Gray’s heart every time.
“Cute color,” Seb said brightly.
