The constant, low-level hum of anxiety that had been the backdrop of his entire existence was gone.
There was no clipboard, no job, no purpose.
There was only this.
The warm weight of Dustin on top of him.
The feeling of Dustin's heart beating against his own.
And the quiet hum of the motel's air conditioner.
Dustin stirred first. He shifted his weight off Greg's chest and settled beside him on the narrow mattress. Their legs stayed tangled. Neither of them moved to fix that.
“So,” Dustin said. “How was the test drive?”
Greg stared at the ceiling. A water stain spread across the plaster above them in a shape that looked vaguely like a duck. He decided not to mention this.
“Better than ice cream,” he said.
Dustin was quiet for a beat. Then he shook his head and chuckled. “Better than ice cream,” he repeated. “That's what you're going with.”
“It's true. The ice cream was very good and this was better.”
“By how much?”
Greg thought for a moment. “Significantly.”
“Significantly better than ice cream.” Dustin pressed his face into the pillow next to Greg. “I want that on my headstone.Here lies Dustin. He was significantly better than ice cream.”
“There won't be a headstone.” The words came out before Greg could think about them.
Dustin lifted his head from the pillow. His hair was tousled, his skin flushed, his eyes still soft from what they'd just done. He looked amazing. “Greg…”
“I'm not letting you die.” Greg said it to the ceiling because saying it to Dustin's face would have made his voice break. “I will find out what's keeping you alive and then I'll make sure nobody messes with it.”
Greg couldn't say when he had reached that decision, but it felt right.
It felt like the only thing he could do anymore.
Cautiously, he glanced over at Dustin.
Dustin stared back at him, but he didn't say anything for a long time.
Then he shifted closer on the mattress and pressed his good shoulder against Greg's. “For a small reaper you make some pretty big promises. Are you sure that's what you want to do?” Dustin's hand found his. Their fingers laced together, loose and warm.
“I'm sure.” Greg's voice was firm.
He would hold on to this. To his promise, to the man next to him.
For as long as he could.
CHAPTER 25
Dustin woke up fully alert, the way he always did when he shared his bed.
Quickly, he took stock of his situation.
The pain in his shoulder was a low, ugly throb that radiated from the joint down through his bicep and into his neck. He tested the range and barely got two inches of movement before the joint saidabsolutely not.That wasn't great, but not disastrous.
