Chapter 12 #2
Miles swallowed very heavily. “Yeah?”
“Yes.” Emmett reached over and tugged on the collar of his tattered t-shirt he always slept in. “Wear the navy-blue shirt to go with it. I really liked that one on you.”
“Yes.” Yes, Daddy ? Emmett doubted it, but he wondered if maybe Miles wanted to say it. “Yeah. I can do that.”
“Good,” boy, he wanted to add. It was a close call, that one. “Go ahead and take your shower now. I’ll wait for you.”
Miles’s hands were trembling ever so slightly as he set his fork next to his empty plate, drank the rest of his coffee, then hurried off to obey Emmett’s orders.
Fuck, he thought as he rocked his hips and rubbed his packer against his dick. This was going to be an all-day torture, and he had no idea if or when there would be satisfaction for him when it was all said and done.
“I love jellyfish,” Miles said quietly.
The best part about going to the aquarium during the day was the fact that no one was there. Every now and again, Emmett drove over and spent a few hours wandering around, watching all the fish, and holding his nose while he stood in the sea turtle rehab section watching them in their med tanks.
Sometimes the place was teeming with children on field trips or summer camp activities, but today was one of the quieter days. Miles seemed a lot calmer in the room full of round tanks, lit up by blacklights as the jellyfish gently bobbed in the water.
Emmett watched him press his long-fingered hand to one of the tanks. ASL would look gorgeous on him, he knew.
He walked up and hip-nudged him, and Miles looked over.
‘Jellyfish,’ he signed. It had been one of Selene’s favorite signs when she was very little.
Miles’s face lit up, and he copied him. And yes, Emmett was right. The language looked good on him.
“How long did it take you to learn?” Miles asked as he sat down on one of the carpeted bench blocks.
Emmett joined him and kept him close. “Years, really. I picked up the basics pretty quickly because I was always good with languages. Math, you know—it kind of trains the brain the same way?”
“Yeah,” Miles said softly.
“But I’m never not learning. It’s a living language and half the time I get into a conversation with a Deaf person and realize that a bunch of my signs are considered geriatric now.” He smiled a little and shrugged. “You know it’s not something you have to do, right? I feel like I’ve been pushy.”
“No,” Miles said quickly, then swallowed and shrugged.
“It’s this part of me that I’ve always wanted to embrace.
Like, my life was always different. I was always different.
Until I learned how to hear with these,” he tapped the side of his head, “I remember being so…so angry all the time. Now, when I take them off, it’s nice, but I’m also anxious because it feels like I’m going to miss something important and… ”
Emmett waited, but Miles didn’t finish his sentence. “And what?” He put a little command in his voice and heard Miles suck in a sharp breath.
“And I’ll get hurt. I’ll lose out on something good.”
“Like when you were in foster care,” Emmett said.
Glancing down at his shoes, Miles nodded.
“I was a good kid. I was smart, and I was great at following rules. But everyone was afraid of having a medically complicated kid or whatever.” He sat back and leaned on his hands, looking over at Emmett.
His face was soft, like he was so used to talking about this the pain wasn’t as deep.
“I got used to being the odd one out. Even now, you know, my friends all reconnected, and it felt a little bit like I was an afterthought.”
Emmett wanted to reach for him but managed to hold himself back. For now. “Do you really think that?”
“I don’t…” He bit his lip. “I don’t think so. But it’s hard not to think that when I have been my whole life. I don’t get chosen.”
Emmett hummed softly, then decided fuck it and reached for him. He cupped Miles’s cheek, stroking a thumb over his jaw. “I chose you.”
Miles swallowed heavily, then pulled back. “Can you…this isn’t…” He growled in frustration. “I appreciate you so much, but this isn’t fair, okay?”
“What isn’t?” Emmett said, his hand dropping into his lap. He was pretty sure he knew, but he wanted Miles to open the dialogue first.
“You and Cosimo—you’re everything I have ever wanted. You’re gorgeous and kind and welcoming. You make me feel safe.”
“Why is that unfair?”
“Because you’re married to each other! You keep…oh God, I’m probably reading too much into this, and I’m going to have to bury myself on the beach later, but fuck! It feels like you’re flirting, and it sucks because you’re not available.”
“I am flirting,” Emmett said. “I’m also available.”
Miles’s eyes immediately narrowed. “That’s not okay. I don’t mess around with cheaters.”
Unable to stop himself, Emmett laughed as he pulled his phone out. There was only one way to solve this, and he could only pray that Cosimo was in between surgeries. “Neither do I. Let me fix this, alright? Then we can talk.”
Miles stared at him. “What are you doing?”
“Trust me?” Emmett asked.
Miles took a breath, then nodded.
That was all he needed to push the button. He rang up Cosimo on a FaceTime so Miles would be able to see him, and it didn’t take long for his husband to answer. He looked exhausted, and he was still in scrubs, but the background of the call was his office.
“Amore,” Cosimo said.
“Mo, honey, I wanted you to know that I’m flirting with Miles.”
Miles started choking. “Oh my god ?—”
“Are you tormenting him?” Cosimo demanded.
Emmett rolled his eyes and dragged Miles into the frame. “I am not. But things got a little complicated. I wasn’t being very subtle.”
“I’m so surprised,” Cosimo said flatly.
“He wants to make sure it’s not cheating,” Emmett said.
Miles sucked in another sharp breath as Cosimo shrugged. “It’s not cheating. You two have fun. I have to go force some food and caffeine into my face before my next patient. Be nice to each other. Love you.”
The call went dead before Emmett could say it back, and the silence rang around the room as thick and heavy as the water in each tank. Miles was stiff beside him, but second by second, his body began to relax.
“What’s happening here?”
Emmett reached for him again, and Miles didn’t pull back. He leaned in when Emmett cupped his jaw. “I’d like to kiss you.”
“Oh.”
“And I’d like this to be a date.”
“Is this…do you…is it a hookup thing? Like your marriage is open and you hook up with people who?—”
“No,” Emmett interrupted quickly. “We have in the past, but at this point in my life, that doesn’t work for me. I like you. Mo likes you. I want to kiss you, and I’m pretty sure given the chance, he’d kiss you too. Right now, it doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.”
Miles bit his lower lip, then said, “I want that, but I’m not sure I’m ready for what that means.”
“I understand. And there’s more we need to talk about. But I wanted to open the door, okay? To put a foot inside, because I think you want us too.”
Miles looked vaguely terrified, but he nodded and said in a voice barely above a whisper, “Yeah. I do. God help me.”
“I don’t know if he can, but I’m here,” Emmett said with a grin, then he leaned in close. “I’ll keep it chaste. I promise.”
Miles hummed, the sound almost involuntary, then he tilted his face up. “Okay.”
It took a moment for Emmett to find the strength to close the distance between them, but he did. And he kept his promise. He parted his lips just a little, touched his tongue to Miles’s mouth only for a second. But it lingered on and on, warmth rushing through him.
He wrapped both hands around Miles’s jaw, cradling his face and he kissed him and kissed him, and kissed him.
“Fuck,” Miles whispered when he pulled back.
“Too much?”
Shaking his head, Miles let out a small sigh as he looked up into Emmett’s eyes. “No. But…can I take some time? To, you know, think about it?”
“As much as you need. And this doesn’t need to be a thing ever again, okay? I care about you. I want you happy, however that will look for you.”
Miles nodded, then very tentatively slid his hand between them and took Emmett’s in his own. It wasn’t a promise of more to come. It wasn’t a declaration.
But it was something.