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“I don’t…oh my God,” said, then lifted his hands, feeling them tremble with both frustration and want. ‘I don’t care if people see you with me. Come here and kiss me.’
Luca licked his lips, and then he erased the distance between them in two long strides and had both hands cupping Wilder’s face as he pressed their lips together. It had the breath of desperation, but Luca kept it chaste and easy, pulling back with three soft pecks to his chin. “Thank you,” he said.
Wilder squeezed his wrists, then stepped out of his grasp for signing space. ‘You’re beautiful. I will never be ashamed of you. Of us.’
Swallowing thickly, Luca rubbed the back of his neck, then gestured to a customer who approached. Wilder went back into business mode, and Luca busied himself with his phone as he sat in the corner of the tent. It was hardly the most romantic date, but later, they got kettle corn and a funnel cake, and Luca licked powdered sugar from the corner of Wilder’s mouth, and they bought another scarf from Fitz, who again refused to let Luca pay, and he picked up an abstract alcohol ink canvas painting from Evren before the night was through.
It was the best night at the Market Wilder had ever had. He didn’t know what it really meant—or what it would mean for the future, but he was happy.
‘Come back to my place?’ Luca asked at the end of the night as they stood on a dark street corner, watching the way the Market emptied, and everyone made their way home. They kept their palms pressed together, and Luca was more relaxed than Wilder had ever seen him.
“I actually have people working on my apartment right now,” he said with a small grin, “and I was going to stay with Jayden and Tim, but…”
“Me,” Luca all but growled. “Stay with me. Please.”
It wasn’t exactly a question, so he figured a kiss was a good enough answer.
* * *
Wilder typically joined his friends for a quick drink and dinner at the Tavern when the Market was over, but tonight, no one even bothered to ask if he was going to show up. Jayden smiled, and Chaz waved, and he felt some measure of relief that he wouldn’t have to make excuses or explain himself, because all he wanted was to get back to Luca’s rented apartment and curl up with him.
And more. Probably. His dick was interested, but the small, nervous twinge in his belly wasn’t sure. He and Luca didn’t waste time packing up, though, and they took the leftovers to Whipped where Luca shoved everything into the fridge as Wilder darted upstairs to grab clothes for the rest of the week.
It felt odd, moving fast like this. It wasn’t permanent, and Augustin House wasn’t Luca’s anything. And yet, it felt oddly like home, or maybe the premonition of what a future would be like if Luca stayed. He was too terrified to go down that road, though, so he pushed the thought aside and grabbed his keys, locking up before they walked across the courtyard and down the narrow streets that led to the house.
Wilder heard a quiet murmur from Luca, but the words were too low for him to make out, so he pulled him closer. “I didn’t catch that.”
“It’s nice here,” Luca repeated, and dragged his thumb over Wilder’s wrist. “It has such an old world feel to it.”
And that was true. He spent a lot of warm summer nights sitting outside on his little terrace, staring at the blanket of stars that sat over thatched roofs. He was happy in that moment, but he couldn’t stop wondering if he would really be content in Savannah forever. So far, the answer was yes, but that was before Luca had stumbled into his life and turned everything onto its head.
“I traveled a lot, but I never stopped to appreciate the small things. I always felt like if I didn’t keep busy, my thoughts would get louder.” Luca cleared his throat, then shrugged. “I was afraid of myself for a long time.”
Wilder tugged him closer, then slung an arm around his waist. “I get that. You’re your own worst critic, right?”
Luca’s laugh was so low, Wilder couldn’t hear it, but he felt the way it thrummed through his side where Wilder’s palm rested. “I never did like the tough questions. I didn’t want to achieve in life. I was happy to just get by.”
“And now?” Wilder pressed.
They came to a stop at the house, and Luca glanced up at the darkened window, then shook his head. “I still don’t have a lot of passion. I’ve never been…driven, you know? I don’t want to live a shallow life, but I don’t know how to change that without figuring out what I want to do with it.”
Wilder had more to say, but right then he just wanted to take Luca upstairs—so he did. He walked ahead of his lover, and waited patiently for him to unlock the door and get the lights on. It was cool from the AC, and it smelled faintly of cleaning solution. In spite of cooking earlier, the kitchen was tidy, and it was obvious Luca had been putting attention into his space.
“It doesn’t need to be something grand,” he said, and Luca frowned. “What you said before—about not wanting a shallow life? You don’t have to find some grand passion and chase it. You’re allowed to be content with the small things.”
Luca shrugged, looking as lost as he ever did, though his eyes were softer, and his jaw wasn’t as tense. “All my life, everyone I knew wanted to follow their passion—and I just thought something was wrong with me. I mean, what kind of person is content working at a coffee shop or a pizza restaurant?”
“Plenty,” Wilder said, his voice rich with his desire for Luca to be softer on himself. He took a step forward, but he left signing space because he wanted to say this in his own tongue. ‘I didn’t open a bakery because I played pastry chef when I was four. I don’t actually care about cupcakes. I wanted something that was mine. Something that my family couldn’t touch—something they couldn’t take away from me. So when I was finally free, I went out and made that for myself.’
Luca swallowed thickly, then cupped Wilder’s face. “You make me want to be better.”
“You don’t need to be better. You are enough already,” Wilder told him. He stepped in and closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around Luca’s waist before kissing him.
He lost track of their movements, but he was aware that Luca was leading him to the bedroom. His skin was hot, his cock hard and pressing against the inside of his jeans. He wanted to feel skin this time, wanted to feel the curl of Luca’s fingers around his dick as he stroked Wilder, as he dragged him over the edge.
He scrambled out of his shirt the moment there was air between them, and Luca went for his own zipper, parting the hem of his jeans in a wide V with his cock tenting his briefs. “Can I…?” he asked.
Wilder knew what he meant, but his words were caught in his throat, and his tongue was thick with want, so he simply dragged his boxers to the ground and showed off his naked body to another man for the first time in too many years. He watched as Luca’s eyes widened, as his lips parted on something like a sigh. He watched as Luca gently pulled the rest of his clothes off, then stepped forward with only a little hesitance, like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to touch.
