Page 73 of See My Words

“I had a good time, Ry.” Scott cut into his grilled salmon. “Anything new here?”

“Nope. Same old. Worked at the club, edited pictures, hung out with Minh and Chris.”

“How are they doing?”

“Inseparable. We’ve been back from Sedona, what, a month now? I don’t think I’ve seen one without the other since.”

“Good for them.”

A short silence fell until Scott said, his tone carefully offhand, “So you saw the pictures of the pool party?”

Rylan washed down his bite of beef yakisoba with a sip of beer. “I did. Whoever the photographer was, he did a great job.”

And then some, he thought ruefully, considering how many loving close-ups of Scott’s abs and bulge there were. “It’s what I expected to see, Scott. The whole point of those appearances is for you to act like every man’s wet dream come to life.” He chuckled. “Make it seem like wearing MC₂ is the ticket to good times and hot sex.”

The relief in Scott’s eyes was palpable. “Exactly. I knew you understood that, but hearing you say it helps.”

They finished their meal in silence, and Rylan carried their empty plates to the sink and busied himself rinsing them off. He gave a little squeak of surprise when he felt strong arms wrap around his waist from behind.

“We talked about this when I signed the contract with MC₂,” Scott said in his ear, “but every time I go to one of these events, I worry about—”

Rylan shut the water off and leaned back against him, smiling when Scott pulled him closer. “I know the score. It’s okay.”

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I don’t—”

Rylan reached around behind him and gave Scott’s muscular ass a pinch. “Don’t you dare say the D word,” he scolded with mock severity, and Scott kissed his cheek.

“I don’t deserve you,” he said anyway, ignoring Rylan’s groan of annoyance.

“Hey.” Rylan tilted his head back to look up at him, noticing that old white line of distress around Scott’s lips. It had been a while since that had made an appearance, and seeing it now caused a pang. “Don’t worry about me. We did talk about this, and you know my hard limit—”

“—no gay porn,” they finished in unison, and Rylan turned in his arms and smoothed his thumbs over the corners of Scott’s mouth, relieved to see a faint smile replace the pinched look.

“Watching you fuck some Lance Stone wannabe on camera is a big nope, although I do admit to an increasing desire to watch you and Chris go at it—”

Rylan broke off with a yelp when Scott grabbed him and tickled him mercilessly, which soon turned into outright groping and kissing. They broke apart, breathing hard, and Rylan slid his hand between Scott’s legs to squeeze his erection. “So is this for me, or for Chris?” he asked wickedly, gasping when Scott gave his ass a sharp smack.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Scott’s face was relaxed, his eyes full of heat with a tinge of playfulness. “If we didn’t have to meet Beej in half an hour, I’d bend you over this counter and give you a hint.”

Rylan huffed. “Well, I hope I’d get more than a ‘hint,’ since I usually demand all eight inches—”

Scott thrust against Rylan’s palm with a smirk. “It’s all for you, baby. All for you.” He lowered his head and gave him an achingly gentle kiss. “God, I really missed you.”

“Mmm.” Rylan stroked his tongue over Scott’s lips, deepening the kiss. “Missed you.”

They clung together for another minute, until Scott pulled away. “I want you to move back to my place, Rylan.”

Rylan patted Scott’s cheek and resumed rinsing the dishes. “But what about the dating clause?”

Scott rested a hip against the counter next to him. “It’s not a clause. It was a—polite request.”

“And one that’s easy enough to honor.” Rylan hung the dishrag over the faucet to drain and dried his hands on a nearby towel. “They’d prefer you not date anyone openly since that pretty much negates the party boy, casual sex image. I get it. I don’t need to stake my claim or be around you twenty-four seven to feel like we’re dating. It’s okay.”

Rylan didn’t even know how many times he’d said that phrase over the past month…it’s okay.

“Rylan, I—you know I haven’t been in a relationship before. Not like this. It’s just—God, I don’t want to fuck it up.”

Rylan smiled at him, stepping closer to cup his cheek. “Keep talking to me like this and being open with your feelings, and I guarantee you won’t fuck anything up. How can you if we’re communicating?”