Chapter Eleven
The field opened wide beyond the house, the grass darker here where the lights didn’t quite reach.
Voices carried ahead of Sage—laughter, movement, the low hum of people settling in—but it felt quieter somehow. Thinner. Like the night had stretched out to make room.
Far beyond the tree line, the city spread low across the horizon, a scatter of light holding against the dark.
Sage stepped out of the spill of light from the yard and into the open dark, the cooler air cutting through the heat, the scent of smoke and summer still clinging to him.
The shift hit his skin immediately, cooling the heat there without settling anything underneath it.
Someone shoved a sparkler into a kid’s hand. Another voice called for blankets. A burst of laughter cut through the night.
Normal.
It should’ve felt normal.
It didn’t.
Not with that awareness still riding under his skin.
It sat there, tight and restless, like it hadn’t found a place to land yet.
Not with the way his body hadn’t quite settled back into itself.
Sage slowed, scanning automatically out of habit more than anything—tree line, open field, shadows, movement—
—and then he turned—
—and walked straight into him.
Solid. Warm. Unmoving.
The impact jolted through his chest, knocking his breath off rhythm.
The impact stopped him short, the hard wall of muscle in Law’s chest firm against him.
Law’s hand came up fast, closing around his arm, steadying him.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Didn’t move.
Sage’s breath caught, the contact electric where Law’s fingers held him.
The heat of it spread fast, sharp and immediate, settling low before he could stop it.
He caught the subtle scent of Law’s body wash—something warm, grounded, unmistakably him—and it only made the moment hit harder.
He knew that grip. Steady. Certain.
Law moved close—closer than they’d been all night.
The space between them narrowed until there wasn’t room to ignore it anymore.
The first firework launched with a sharp whistle, streaking up into the sky.
A second later, it burst—white and gold exploding high over the distant skyline, light washing across the field in a sudden flare.
For a heartbeat, everything lit up.
Faces. Movement. Space.
And Law.
Right there.
Close enough that there was no pretending there was distance anymore.
Every shift of his body registered, impossible to miss.
The darkness returned just as quickly, the echo of the explosion rolling through the night.
Sage gazed upward.
Another firework screamed skyward, a sharp whistle cutting through the night before it detonated overhead—gold and white bursting wide, sparks cascading outward like shattered light.
His head turned slowly.
The flare washed over the field, bright enough to turn shadows into shapes, to catch every detail—the hard line of Law’s jaw, the shadow of stubble.
Their gazes locked and held.
They stood so close, yet not close enough. He shook off the thought.
Another shot followed, red this time—cracking open in a scatter of burning embers that drifted slowly down, the light flickering across Law’s face in pulses.
Sage couldn’t look away.
The booming sound rolled through his chest a second later, deep and heavy, vibrating through bone and breath.
The vibration lingered, low and steady, echoing through him in a way that didn’t settle.
The dark dropped back over them between bursts, thicker now, the space around them shrinking with every flash.
Law’s hand didn’t move from his arm.
Law felt a shift between them the second Sage didn’t pull back, didn’t break the contact.
That was all he needed.
Another firework burst overhead, light flashing across Sage’s face—his parted lips, the heat still there, the awareness he wasn’t even trying to hide anymore.
Law’s grip shifted—not letting go, just enough to draw him in that last inch, his thumb pressing more firmly into Sage’s arm.
The pressure anchored him, grounding and deliberate.
“You’re not stepping back,” he said quietly.
Sage’s breath hitched.
The air caught halfway in, sharp and uneven.
That was it.
Law didn’t wait for anything else.
He closed the distance—slow at first, deliberate.
When his lips touched Sage’s, Law cupped his face. Heat hit fast between them. Angling his head, he closed his mouth over Sage’s and took the kiss deeper.
The contact knocked the breath out of him for a second, everything else dropping away under it.
A sharp breath broke between them as Sage’s arms slid up around his neck, fingers curling into the hair at the back of his head. Heat shot up Law’s spine.
He groaned low, his hand sliding to Sage’s waist as he pulled him closer, grinding in just enough to feel the answering hardness.
Sage sucked in a breath against his mouth, the sound catching between them as Law held him there—tight enough to feel the air leave him.
His lungs burned for a second before he dragged in another breath, uneven and late.
And that—
That was where it shifted again. Into something deeper.
Sage didn’t pull back.
Didn’t hesitate.
He leaned in.
The hesitation burned off, leaving something steadier in its place.
One hand left the back of his neck and fisted in the front of his shirt. Law felt the change—the uncertainty burning off into something steadier, something that answered him.
Heat kicked low and fast, his arm tightening around Sage’s back as he sank into the kiss.
Another firework burst overhead, light flashing white across Sage’s face—his parted lips, his eyes lifting to meet Law’s.
The heat, the awareness neither of them were trying to hide anymore.
Law’s control slipped another notch. His mouth pressed harder, deeper—not rough, but no longer careful—following what Sage gave him, taking it without asking.
The pull turned instinctive, something he didn’t think through anymore.
Sage moaned into his mouth, staying with him. Matching him.
Law felt something settle, the last of the distance between them gone.
For a second, everything else dulled.
Noise. Light. People.
Didn’t matter.
Just that pull.
Just that heat.
Just him.
Sage barely registered how it happened.
One second, he was standing there with the echo of the kiss still humming under his skin—the next, he was gently eased back.
His body lagged behind it, still caught in the heat of it.
Law’s fingers slid through his.
Warm. Solid. Possessive.
Not asking.
Sage’s breath hitched, but he didn’t pull away.
Didn’t even think about it. His pants were tight enough to be damned uncomfortable; he struggled to get his breathing back under control.
His pulse hadn’t settled, still running too fast under his skin.
Law’s grip tightened just enough to tug, and Sage let himself be led without question, weaving through the edge of the crowd as laughter and fireworks carried on behind them.
Away from the center. Not far. Just enough.
A pickup truck sat parked near the edge of the field, its tailgate already dropped. A cooler rested on the ground beside it. A thick blanket lay on the rough metal bed.
Law stopped there, close enough that he could still feel the heat of him at his side.
The warmth pressed in from that side, constant and hard to ignore.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Sage was suddenly acutely aware of everything.
The night air cooling the sweat at the back of his neck.
Mostly, Law.
The awareness sat sharp and immediate.
Fireworks boomed across the sky.
The steady, grounding weight of Law’s hand still wrapped around his.
Law released him only long enough to flip open the cooler.
Ice shifted. Glass clinked.
He pulled out a beer bottle, twisted the cap off, and held it out.
Sage took it automatically, his fingers brushing Law’s in the exchange—another small spark that hit harder than it should have.
The contact lingered, brief but enough to spike through him again.
“Thanks,” he said, voice a touch rougher than usual.
Law didn’t comment on it.
Of course, he didn’t.
He grabbed one for himself, shut the cooler with a quiet thud, then stepped in close again—closer than necessary—and leaned back against the tailgate.
Sage hesitated for half a second—
—then pushed himself up to sit on the tailgate.
Their shoulders brushed.
Stayed there, and neither of them shifted away.
The contact settled into something steady, no longer accidental.
The metal of the truck bed was still warm from the day, grounding against the backs of his legs, but it was nothing compared to the heat standing at his side.
Law twisted the cap off his own beer and took a slow drink, eyes forward, posture easy.
Like nothing had just shifted between them.
Like they hadn’t just—
Sage exhaled slowly and tipped his own bottle back, letting the cold bite of it settle him.
The cold hit sharply against the lingering heat, not enough to cut through it.
Didn’t work. Not even close.
Because he could still feel it.
The pull.
The kiss.
The way Law didn’t need to look at him to make his entire body feel like it was being watched anyway.
The awareness stayed locked in, steady and unrelenting.
Sage turned his head slightly.
Law’s gaze slid to him at the same time.
Not rushed.
Not surprised.
Like he’d known Sage would look.
And for a second—neither of them looked away. The taste of Law’s mouth lingered on his tongue.
It lingered longer than it should have.
This wasn’t a thing.
But it was about to be.