31. A Long Month #3
“Yeah. You’re alright.” Theo buried himself in him, breathing him in. “We just can’t tell my mom we went out there.”
“This is very romantic, but…”
Theo pulled back. “But?”
Dae gave him a sheepish grin. “I’m hungry.”
They made dinner together, which of course meant Dae made dinner and gave Theo tasks even he couldn’t dismally fail at: cut the carrots, stir the sauce so it wouldn’t congeal, and, most importantly, find a dinner playlist.
As they ate, they caught each other up on their week as if they hadn’t been texting and calling every day.
It was different hearing the stories in person.
Theo could witness Dae’s face light up when explaining the benefit of using one verb over another.
He could see his dimples when he laughed.
He could watch the rise and fall of his chest.
It was hard to take his eyes off him. The way his jaw moved when he chewed.
How his lips touched his glass when he took a drink.
The muscles in his forearms when he cut his meal.
Theo reached across the table to lace their fingers, and his stomach flipped as if it were the first time.
Damn, maybe there was something to this whole separation thing.
Not that he would ever tell him that.
Dae poured more wine into their glasses, then ran his hand through his hair. “So, you’re still free next Saturday?”
He’d texted mid-week about a wrap party for the movie. There would be people there who could help his career, but he was reluctant to go.
“Of course.” Theo gave him his most encouraging, most confidence-boosting sunshine smile. “I’ll help you schmooze your way into your next contract.”
“Ugh.” He winced. “Schmooze.”
“It’ll be okay, I promise. I’ll fill any awkward silences and make them see how competent, charming, and sexy you are.”
“I don’t think they need to see that I’m sexy.”
“Can’t be helped.”
Since ‘dinner and a movie’ was their first date, and Theo’s confession happened while dangling outside their apartment, they’d decided to do dinner and a movie at home. Theo had been educating him in the ways of romcoms and tonight would be a masterclass.
“Are you finally ready to graduate to When Harry Met Sally?”
“What makes this a graduation?” He wandered to Céline and settled into his spot, spreading his arm across the back, waiting for a snuggle.
“You’ll see.”
Dae was a dutiful student, laughing at the right times, staying quiet during the intense moments, and letting out a reverent little gasp when Carrie Fisher came on screen for the first time.
He clicked his tongue at Billy Crystal almost screwing everything up and sat forwards in anticipation when his character ran to the New Year’s Eve party.
As Harry listed all the things he loved about Sally and they kissed to Auld Lang Syne, Theo studied Dae’s profile, his heart pulling a Grinch and growing three sizes at the sight. “I love your hair.”
Dae paused the epilogue, his face scrunched in amused curiosity. “Yes, you’ve mentioned.”
“And your dimples.”
He nodded. “You may have said that once or twice too.”
“And I love the way you laugh when you see a dog, like it said something funny.”
“Ah.” His smile was slow, but it built to incredible heights. “We’re doing this?”
“And I love the way your face gets really intense when you’re cooking, and your lips press together like this.” Theo pinched his mouth in his best Dae-cooking impression.
Dae rested his head on the couch, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “I love that you get mad at fictional characters and tell them what to do through the screen.”
“I love that you text your sister every time you see someone wearing her designs.” He extracted himself from their snuggle and swung his leg to straddle his waist. “And how intense your face gets when I’m close like this.”
Dae’s hands moved over Theo’s thighs, massaging. “I love that you refuse to buy pre-grated cheese. And that you hand-make birthday presents. And that you sing loudly even though you’re so bad at it.” He licked his lips as his gaze slid to Theo’s neck. “And that freckle under your jaw.”
“Just the one?”
“Hmmm, I love them all, but,” he said, leaning forward to kiss it, “this one’s my favourite.”
“Don’t let the others hear.” Theo ran his lips over Dae’s jawline. “I love how patient you are with me.”
Dae’s massage gained purpose, pulling him closer, hands moving, fingertips dipping under his shirt. “I love that it took a near-death-experience for you to admit you loved me back.”
Theo laughed into his skin. “Really?”
He nodded. “It was very you.”
“I love everything about you.”
Dae lifted Theo’s shirt over his head and kissed the centre of his chest. “I love when you get like this.”
“Shirtless?”
He looked up at him. “Gooey.”
Theo turned feral and went for his mouth like a predator, his hands in his hair, then fumbling for his clothes. Dae flipped him onto the couch and pressed into his body, his weight burning right through him. His kisses were hungry and tasted like red wine.
They never finished the last two minutes of the movie.