Luca was slanting a skeptical look Emerson’s way. Luca waslooking at him, for the first time since he’d entered the room. Emerson tried to school his smile.
“It’s just interesting to me! I’ve never known a real life writer. This is all fascinating.”
“I’m not—” Luca huffed out a breath and returned his gaze to the ceiling. “Anyway, I normally only check my email once a week, on Sundays when I update my spreadsheets, like I was telling you the other weekend. But I couldn’t sleep tonight, and I’m weak, so I logged in. And I had a request.”
“For a partial or the whole thing?”
“The whole thing. They call it a full request. And it’ll come to nothing, I know, but it’s a really nice feeling, getting a full request, and I haven’t gotten one in like, a really long time. But the thing that’s kind of cool—” Luca huffed another breath. Emerson had never seen him look so annoyed. Emerson wanted to kiss himso badlythat it was killing him.
Luca suddenly flopped onto his side, away from Emerson, so he could talk at the wall.
“The thing that’s kind of cool is that I’ve been writing kind of a lot, since I got here. And so the manuscript I got to send this guy tonight, it’s—I don’t know, I feel like it’s better. It’s stronger. And it’s possible this guy won’t even read it, butI guess I’m—glad. That maybe at least one person will get to see this version of it, when I’d kind of stopped thinking that was even a possibility.”
Emerson inched himself closer until his arm was around Luca’s stomach, his lips just brushing the back of Luca’s neck. Luca shivered, and Emerson tucked himself even closer.
“Tell me about the guy. The agent who asked for it.”
“He’s pretty new. At least, he was when I queried him. Only had a few clients.” Emerson ran his hand underneath Luca’s t-shirt. Luca shivered again. “But sometimes that can be—fuck. That can be a good thing. Because they’re—” Emerson kissed Luca’s neck, open mouthed and wet; pinched a nipple under his shirt. “They’re hungry,” Luca rasped out. “More willing to take a chance, sometimes. Fuck, Emerson.”
“Tell me something.” Emerson rolled his hips against Luca’s ass. “Tell me one thing about your book.”
Luca ground back against him.
“It’s calledDrift,” he said. “Takes place in a world where there’s only driftwood left, at least pretty much. Driftwood and the sea.”
Emerson scooted back, pushed on Luca’s shoulder until Luca was on his back. And then he crawled on top of him, and he kissed him. Luca kissed back, hands reaching up to grip the back of Emerson’s head.
Emerson broke the kiss to say, “Missed you.”
Luca stared back at him, his breathing erratic. He swallowed before he said, “Missed you too. But—Daisy’s?—”
Emerson kissed him again. “We can be quiet, right?”
“Yeah.” Luca’s thumb brushed against Emerson’s jaw. “We can be quiet.”
And then they were kissing again, and Luca was pushing his pelvis up into him, and Emerson was pushing back. The barriers between them were thin—Luca’s basketball shorts; Emerson only in briefs—and it felt so good, so fast. Emersonloved that Luca had told him about this. He loved that Luca had been writing a lot here. He loved that he now knew his book’s name.
“Fuck.” Luca’s nails were scratching up Emerson’s back. They were so close, bodies plastered together. “You feel so good.”
“So good,” Emerson agreed, latching his mouth onto Luca’s neck. It was rough, the stubble burning Emerson’s lips, and Emerson couldn’t get enough. He moved on to Luca’s ear, sucking it between his teeth.
“Fuck,” Luca said again, voice a strained whisper. “Emerson, fuck. Get your lube.”
Emerson didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed it as quickly as he could, dropping it into Luca’s hand before returning to kissing his mouth.
Luca reached between them. Broke away from the kiss to say, “Give me just a little bit of space, babe,” and then he was pushing down Emerson’s briefs, pushing down his own shorts and underwear, just enough to free them both. Emerson barely had time to process thebabe—he couldn’t tell if it had been a term of endearment or a joke—before Luca’s lubed hand was wrapping around them both.
“Oh,” Emerson said, dumbly. “Damn.”
“Mmhmm,” Luca agreed, his free hand bringing Emerson’s head back down to his. And then they were kissing, and moving together, Luca’s hand helping them stay in sync.
“Luca,” Emerson breathed. “Fuck, Luca, I’m almost there.”
“I know,” Luca said. “Me too. Wait just a second, babe. Can you hold off just a second—fuck. Fuck, Emerson.”
“Luca. You’re so—fuck. I can’t?—”
Luca smashed their mouths together, and Emerson let go. He could feel Luca let go a second later, their open mouths catching each other’s groans.
