Page 45 of Single Player

Right?

When Zuul finished eating he set her up in her wheelchair, and by that time the teakettle had begun to whistle, so he got up to grind the beans and prepare the coffee.

“Is that a Chemex?”

Matthew turned, hearing Silas’s groggy voice behind him. Silas was rubbing his eye with the heel of his hand, looking half asleep and much younger than his years.

Matthew stepped aside, revealing the hourglass-shaped glass coffee brewer. “It most certainly is.” He gestured proudly to the contraption.

“When did you get one of these?” Silas wandered past him, looking at the pile of fresh coffee grounds in the cone-shaped filter, blooming with the small amount of nearly boiling water Matthew had poured on them to (according to his Internet research) help them release their oils.

Matthew measured out the correct amount of water for two cups. “This week. I ordered it online. You were talking about coffee so much I thought I should get a good coffee setup instead of what I’ve been drinking.” He poured the hot water over the damp grounds, watching the rich coffee drip down into the bottom of the beaker. “I remembered you showed me one of these.”

“It’s my personal favorite.” Silas inhaled and sighed. “God, that smells good. I love coffee.”

“I know you do.” Matthew took the unguarded moment to check Silas out, his hair askew, wearing a loose pair of Matthew’s sweatpants and nothing else. Silas probably had no idea how handsome he was. With the coffee brewing behind him, Matthew moved in to kiss Silas on the mouth, gentle and soft.

Silas disengaged. “I have terrible morning breath.”

Matthew laughed. “Yeah, me too.” He kissed Silas’s jaw instead. “Is this better?”

“Mmm, yes.” Silas tipped his head to the side. “This isn’t a bad thing to wake up to. Kisses and hot coffee.”

“Did you sleep well?” Matthew drew away reluctantly to get mugs for the coffee.

“I did, actually. Best I’ve slept in a while.”

Matthew set the mugs down next to the Chemex. “I’m glad. I didn’t want to wake you; looked like you could use the sleep.”

“Thank you.” Silas looked at the clock on the microwave. “I never sleep this late. You have anything here for breakfast? I’m starving.”

Matthew checked the fridge and freezer. “Got eggs, some cereal, and freezer waffles. Any of those sound good to you?”

“Cereal’s fine.” Silas yawned. He poured himself a bowl of Mini-Wheats and sat down at the kitchen table to eat them while the coffee finished. Matthew poured them each a cup when it was done and brought them over to the table with his own bowl of cereal. This was domestic, the kind of domesticity he had never actively sought, but he didn’t mind it with Silas. Found he quite liked it, actually. The guy was surprisingly easy to share space with.

Silas paused in his cereal to take a sip from his cup of coffee, and an expression of bliss came over his face.

“Wow, that good? I usually only see that look on your face during sex.” Matthew sipped his own coffee, and yeah. “Oh yeah, you’re right, that’s fucking great.” He sipped again. It was hot and smooth and strong, but with none of the bitterness or acidity that he’d come to expect from coffee. “Doesn’t even need milk and sugar.”

“I know.” Silas smiled, eyes closed, as he took another sip. “Nectar of the gods.”

“I only wish it didn’t take so long to make.” Matthew shoveled in another bite of cereal.

Silas shook his head. “That’s the beauty of it, though. You can’t rush it. This is a coffee to be savored. Like a fine wine.” Then he paused. “Even though I don’t like most wine.”

Matthew laughed. “I’m not much of a wine guy, either.”

They ate in companionable silence for a little while, and then Matthew let Silas take the first shower. Silas emerged a little while later, startlingly good-looking in Matthew’s shirt and his jeans from yesterday. It was a little weird to think Silas was wearing a pair of Matthew’s boxer briefs under there, but also perversely hot, just like the way the shirt stretched across Silas’s chest. Yes, he wouldn’t mind getting another piece of that at some point, especially if it was anywhere near as amazing as yesterday. He’d had hopes about bondage being something Silas would enjoy, but he hadn’t expected the fireworks that had resulted, and it had been pretty freaking fantastic.

“How was your shower?” he asked, spinning around on his desk chair.

“Good. I feel more awake than I did before.” Silas yawned, spoiling the image, and then laughed at his own yawning. “Okay, despite that yawn, I swear I’m awake. The coffee helped.” He put his hands in his pockets and looked around. “So, you have things to do today? I don’t want to be in the way.”

“Nothing at all today, actually.” Matthew smiled and folded his arms behind his head. “I’ve got a shift at Gigi’s tonight, then going to go visit my folks tomorrow, but nothing until then.”

“Oh.” Silas looked hesitant. “So, should I stay then?”

“Yeah.” Matthew put his arms down. “There are a lot more games I have to teach you. I thought today we’d do some dungeon-crawling games by jumping you right into the Diablo series, and then maybe give you a go at some PI Games pieces now that you’re a bit more seasoned. What do you say?”