Page 14 of Love Limits

It was like he was communicating whole novels with his gaze.

He was flirting, right?

Zhong finally looked away at something behind Ash, a different but equally large grin on his face. Huh. So maybe it wasn’t just Ash?

Ash turned to find Dustin welcoming them inside. Zhong gave Dustin a surprisingly long and cuddly hug. Well, that was interesting. Confusing, but interesting.

Ash was so distracted trying to puzzle things out that they got a little tangled in their scarf while they were taking off their coat. Holding the sodas didn’t help.

Then suddenly Zhong was there, taking the sodas out of their hand and helping them shrug out of the swirl of fabric. His hands were cold from the winter weather, but Ash felt the full heat of his attention.

Ash felt their cheeks grow flushed, though whether it was from embarrassment or Zhong’s fingers on their skin, they couldn’t tell.

When Ash was freed from their coat, Zhong gave their clothing a lingering, appreciative look. Did you design that? It looks like it should be in a museum or something.

Ash twirled slowly, savoring the attention of the sexy man.

For today’s outfit, they’d sewn the lapels of a suit jacket over a form-hugging dress. The fabric underneath was printed with newspaper clippings and they’d burned strategic holes through it in a few places. It expressed some of their feelings about the gender binary and violence against trans people.

It was in a show once, but people can see it more if I just wear it. Art is meant to be used and shared, not locked up and hoarded.

Wow. Zhong shook his hand at the wrist to express his admiration. You’re very talented.

Then, Zhong did the sweetest thing ever. He separated the filmy scarf from Ash’s coat and draped it around their neck. They usually only wore it for warmth outside and it kind of ruined the effect of the outfit. But since Zhong put it there, they weren’t going to take it off.

Was he being helpful? Flirting? Was it, please God, a Daddy thing? Because Zhong could totally be sexy Daddy material.

They studied Zhong and met those deep eyes again in return. Rarely had they met anyone who just seemed so… excited to meet them. That had to be flirting, right?

Eventually Zhong handed the sodas back, but Ash just gave them to Dustin, who thanked them and dashed back into the kitchen.

Ash had come here to hang out with Landon, but lingering with Zhong in the hallway now seemed like a much better idea.

Zhong hung Ash’s coat in a tucked-away closet with the ease of long familiarity. Then he took off his own layers, revealing a loose tank top and surprisingly muscular shoulders. Ash dated people of all genders and body types, but as an artist and designer, they really had a thing for shoulders.

Zhong’s were particularly tasty. There were so many good angles and shadows. Even if they were reading everything wrong, they would love to sketch him some day.

Was Zhong the friend who’d made Dustin go to the munch? That would mean he was kinky, right? Or maybe not, since if he were kinky he would have gone himself, Ash supposed.

But there was something about the way he’d helped Ash with their coat and scarf that was just so… Daddy. Ash was pretty sure they weren’t imagining it.

Ash followed those delicious shoulders to the kitchen. It was the type of thing that could have been in a catalog, with endless white cabinets and shiny silver appliances. The kitchen island hosted its own sink, and double ovens gleamed where they were set into the wall. It screamed money, not that Ash was surprised at this point. Dustin was definitely loaded.

The marble counters were covered with small trays of those little puff pastry things people served at parties, sandwich squares with a few different toppings, and a vegetable platter. Had Dustin really ordered catering for game night for a few friends?

A quick look around at the mountain of dishes in the sink and scattered piles of vegetable peelings suggested otherwise. Ash blew out a quiet sigh of relief.

Landon was wrapping cellophane over a plate of chocolate-covered fruit and trying to find a spot for it in the fridge while Dustin was trying to maneuver a different tray out, laughing when they got in each other’s way.

Apparently Dustin liked to cook, which was kind of charming. He must have been baking for hours to get all of this prepared. OK, Ash didn’t need to be judgy about the kitchen if Dustin actually used it.

As Dustin and Landon started carrying the beautifully arranged platters out to the living room, Zhong moved around the kitchen without a second thought. He pulled things out of drawers without even looking and instructed Ash to carry a tray.

Naturally, Ash bumped the bowl of sauce that was in the way, because of course they would look like a clumsy idiot in front of the hot guy.

He’d just winked and told them he would clean it up while they washed the splatters off their hands. And then he’d held up a towel while they dried off before slipping it back over the oven bar.

It was just a silly little exchange, but it had Ash’s heart racing. Whole fantasies spun out of Zhong lovingly wiping off their hands after a meal or slipping their fingers into their puppy mitts.