Page 77 of A Little Bit Naughty

“Hey, Remi!” Isaac stretched, drawing Remi’s eyes to his muscular arms and down his sturdy chest. He was wearing a loose t-shirt, but Remi’s memory filled in the rest.

Isaac adjusted the camera and then sank onto the couch, his whole body laid out in an inviting pose of relaxation, pure boyish youth and snuggles and everything that was good in the world.

Not that Remi was trying to devour Isaac with his eyes. They were just friends now, and that had been working out beautifully. He wouldn’t want to make it weird. “How was your final?”

Isaac shook his head, like he was waking himself up. “Good. I missed a few on the written exam, but I looked them up on the way home. And I think I did well on the practicals. Now I just need to sleep for a week.”

Isaac had most of a week off from classes between the Summer II schedule and the fall, but as Remi understood it, he would still be seeing his patients and he had a lot of other stuff to catch up on. Still it was a lot more free time than he’d had in a while.

It was just as well that Remi had started teaching this week or he might have tried to fly out to see him.

“How was your first day of class?” Isaac asked.

“Good. The sugar dissolving experiment went well with the education students, and I think I’m getting a good idea of what they need.”

Isaac looked away from the screen sharply. “Hey, my doorbell just rang.”

“Better go answer it,” Remi suggested. “It’s for you.”

Isaac squinted at him. “Hey, you’re not…” He brightened before his face fell. “No, never mind.”

He wasn’t there in Boston? He obviously wasn’t, with his whole living room in the view behind him. But was that what Isaac had been checking? It was good to know that if he ever did show up on Isaac’s doorstep that it wouldn’t go amiss.

Isaac scampered off, then came back holding a white delivery bag and looking puzzled. “What is this?”

“Celebration dinner. To your successful finals and my first day of class. I got us both the same thing, or as close as I could.” He held up his own bag.

“Oh!” Isaac flushed beautifully. “Um, thank you, Da- Remi.”

Remi caught that slip, and he had to admit that he loved how Isaac still thought of him that way. They were doing a good job, he thought, of keeping things low-key. Remi found that with their dinners twice a week, he wasn’t feeling too possessive or powerless like he would if they were really dating. And Isaac seemed to be thriving, reporting stimulating classes and work that he enjoyed.

So if Remi missed seeing sweet, cuddly Izzy playing on the floor, he kept that to himself. Right now, it was more than enough to just have Isaac in his life.

He did keep thinking about what Dani had said, though. About spending so much time talking that they saw each other in good times and in bad, when they were annoyed or exhausted or cranky. So far, he’d just seen Isaac a bit stressed about his exams, but even then he was both upbeat and prosaic, stating that he’d probably do well with enough studying and making peace with the questions he might miss.

In other words, Isaac was a very capable, responsible adult, which made it all the more special when Remi could do something a bit celebratory and fun with him. As friends, of course.

“What is it?” Isaac stuck his face inside the bag and inhaled loudly, making Remi laugh. “No wait, don’t tell me. Enchiladas? With mole sauce?”

“Got it in one! I got mine with the red sauce, though. I never did quite understand spicy bitter chocolate.”

“Oh, but it’s the best!” Isaac eagerly unpacked the bag. “Ooh, and chips! You got me chips!”

“With guacamole. Or at least I hope they put that in.” Remi unpacked his own chips and guac.

“Here it is! And what’s this?”

“Tres leches cake. If you haven’t had it before, you’ll love it.”

“I’m sure I will! It looks like it’s swimming in frosting-goo.”

“Yep, that’s exactly what it is. Condensed milk, I think. It’s one of the three milks. Carlos always asks for this for his birthday parties.”

“Can I eat it now?” Isaac asked permission like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Remi clenched his fingers into his thighs because all he wanted to do right now was cuddle Isaac on his lap. Maybe feed him each chip, one by one, and kiss the salty crumbs off his lips.

There were a thousand little things Isaac said like this, all the time. They’d both promised not to fall into the Daddy/boy dynamic, but it was like Isaac couldn’t help it. Or maybe he didn’t even notice he was doing it, which was even more adorable.