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Whatever Zane said was lost on all of them.

Felix buried his nose in Zane’s curls, breathing in the warm, familiar smell of him, his body growing heavier against the mattress with every breath.

This had been a really good fucking day.

Felix had a lot of those lately.

As the door shut behind the two men, Zane whispered, “Night, Lix.”

“Night, Zaney,” Felix said, kissing his head.

Avi and I won’t be home tonight. Don’t wait up. Have fun.

Zane stared at the text from Felix for a long moment before sending a single ? in response.

His message went unread.

That was weird.

Felix always read his texts.

Zane stared at the unread message, something needling at him. There was something more to Felix’s words, a sort of message within a message, and it irritated Zane like a splinter under his skin.

What wasn’t Felix saying? Why would the two of them decide to sleep elsewhere in the middle of the week?

For any other couple, Zane would have said sex, but they had sex there all the time. Zane would venture to say there wasn’t a surface in the apartment that one or both couples—sometimes at the same time—hadn’t fucked on.

So, why leave?

This wasn’t like them at all.

He sighed, shaking his head as he rubbed at his abused eyes. He shouldn’t have worn his contacts today. They were already getting on his nerves.

Everything was. He just didn’t know why.

He shook the thought away, hitting a button to wake up his laptop, then went back to his article, getting lost in the soft pulse of Lo-Fi music pouring through his headphones until another text popped up on his screen, interrupting the music with an impertinent chirp.

Zane picked up his phone and read the message.

Love you.

Zane smiled, getting ready to tell Felix he loved him, too, when he realized it wasn’t from Felix, but Asa.

He blinked rapidly, his brain trying to process the words.

Love you.

Love you?

It wasn’t that Asa never said it. He did. Just rarely unprompted and usually only when he was balls deep inside him, breathing the words against his bruised and battered skin.

That was just how things worked with them.

Have you been kidnapped? Is this a cry for help? Zane shot back, knowing he shouldn’t tease his husband but unable to resist, even as heat bloomed in his chest and crept over his cheeks.

Once more, his message went unanswered.

Zane frowned at the screen. What the fuck was going on?