I press my forehead to his shoulder, breathing hard, glasses fogged. “Sean, I want you,” I say, the words half a growl. “You have no idea how badly I want you, want more, but not like this. You deserve better than quickies in the server room.”
He stills, fingers tightening on my back. “I didn’t care about it the other night,” he murmurs, voice low. “You think I care now?”
I lift my head. His cheeks are flushed, lips red from kissing, eyes bright and wrecked. It takes everything I have not to drag his face back to mine.
“I care.” I tuck a loose strand behind his ear, my thumb lingering on his cheek. “We’ve already crossed that line once. I just… I want this to mean something. I wantusto mean something.”
He blinks, like the words take a second to sink in. Then he exhales and lets out this shaky little laugh as he runs a finger down my jaw. “You’re really something, Greg.”
“A nerd?”
“Maybe.” His mouth twitches. “A very hot nerd.”
I grin, tension easing just enough that I can breathe again. “I’ll take it.”
We stay like that for a few minutes, just… leaning into each other. The whir of the server fans fills the silence, steady and grounding. My pulse finally slows from hurricane to thunderstorm.
When Sean finally speaks, his voice is softer. “How much longer until Magnus’s computer’s ready?”
“Not long,” I say. “Half hour, maybe.”
He nods, thoughtful. “Then, uh… you wanna take a walk?”
“A walk?”
“Yeah.” He looks up at me, shy but determined. “I live about a mile away. It’s nice out. I like to walk home when I can.”
The thought of being alone with him outside this windowless box hits my brain like a shot of oxygen. “You want me to walk you home?”
He grins. “I do.”
I swallow, pretending to think about it even though my answer’s already yes. “Are you trying to wrangle free in-home tech support?”
“Maybe. But also…” Sean leans closer, brushing his forehead against mine. “Maybe I just want to keep hanging out with you.”
Well. There goes my ability to speak. My brain’s doing cartwheels, my heart’s doing jazz hands, and none of it is helping me speak. I press my forehead to his, grinning despite myself, trying to steady the world back into focus.
“Okay,” I say finally. “Let me finish this up, and I’ll walk you home.”
He nods, smiling that small, private smile that makes my knees feel weak. Then he helps me tidy up the chaos—stacking discarded cables, closing pizza boxes,pretending like we didn’t almost devour each other against the server rack.
It’s absurdly domestic, and I love it.
By the time I finish configuring the new machine, the office is empty. The hallway lights are on motion sensors, flickering to life as we walk through. It’s quiet except for the echo of our steps and Sean’s occasional humming—some offbeat tune that makes me smile without meaning to.
Outside, the night air is cool and smells like rain. The streetlights cast gold halos across the sidewalk, and for the first time all day, I feel… peaceful.
Sean hesitates, then says, “I’m not used to being walked home by a handsome gentleman.”
“Me neither.”
His smile is quick, almost shy. “Guess tonight’s an exception.”
We walk in comfortable silence for a few blocks, the sounds of the city fading behind us. His shoulder brushes my arm now and then, and every time it happens, my heart does this ridiculous little flip.
At one point, he glances up at me. “So… when you’re not rescuing tech disaster admins and wayward hardware, what do you do for fun?”
I pretend to think. “Define fun.”
