But now, he was questioning which part he actually enjoyed more: the fantasy of fucking a girl together or lying in bed next to Elliot, the sound of his moans and whimpers, the feel of the bed rustling as Elliot jerked himself off, the experience of coming together.
Damon rubbed his eyes and made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. He turned, ripped the swim trunks down from the shower curtain, and tossed them in the laundry bin before covering his face with his hands.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He was so fucked.
Chapter Nine
Damon was acting weird.
Elliot had been right to keep his sexuality a secret all these years. Sure, Damon wasn’t homophobic or anything, but he was tiptoeing around Elliot, uncomfortable and tense.
When he caught Damon staring at him (on more than one occasion), Damon would panic and look away, embarrassed. Elliot pretended not to notice, mostly because he didn’t know what else to do.
He might have assumed Damon was just coming to terms with Elliot having powers.
Except Damon never acted strange when Elliot used his magic. In fact, he’d started coming to Elliot for all his minor bumps and bruises.
My shoulder hurts from practice.
I stubbed my toe.
I got a splinter from helping my mom in the yard.
Elliot would wave a hand over his ailment, and just like that, it was gone. He hadn’t needed to try or focus at all.
His magic was always eager to touch him.
Afterward Damon would jump around the room, singing and dancing as if Elliot’s magic somehow gave him a boost of energy, made him even more Damon-like.
Damon wasn’t weirded out by his powers at all.
He was weirded out byElliot.
He made it a point to never touch him anymore, and he’d flinch if they accidentally brushed against one another. He dropped a plate that he was passing at the dining room table when their fingers bumped.
They stopped playing video games side-by-side, too. Instead, Damon sat on the bed, while Elliot was on the floor. He hadn’t tickled him, ruffled his hair, or tackled him since the awkward wrestling match last week.
It was probably for the best, but Elliot missed it. He missed having an excuse to touch Damon. He missed his best friend actingnormal.
Damon probably just needed an adjustment period. He’d eventually see that Elliot wasn’t going to come on to him or try to fuck him or something.
He hoped so, at least.
In some ways, things had gotten better. Elliot had finally figured out the trick to get his magic to cooperate.
Unfortunately, the trick was having Damon in the same room with him.
He’d started bringing his best friend to his training lessons at the clinic under the guise that he wanted to show Damon his magic. It was easy to slip into the healing flow state when Damon was next to him. Something about his presence got the spark of Elliot’s magic to catch. Fired him up and steadied his mind all at once.
“It’s fine,” Grandmama whispered when they were out of earshot. “Some people use crystals to align their energy, some use wands, or religious totems. You use a person. It’s no big deal. Once you get used to conjuring magic, you won’t need him anymore.”
“Right,” he said.
Somehow, he didn’t think that was possible.
“Okay, you boys go try these on, and we’ll see which size looks best,” Ms. Montré said, shooing them into the back of the suit rental store.
