Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Reed

Lennox's hands are on me, so I'm happy.

We're in the hotel library, the skylight above us dark, the room quiet as he applies my makeup. His dark eyes are focused on his work, and my attention, as always, is on his face, on the flutter of his eyelashes as he blinks, dark brown irises, so much fucking depth.

Do everyone's eyes have this much depth? They must, but for some reason, it's his that I see. His depth that draws me.

It's been three days since that first night in his room, and I've filled every free moment I have with him.

Needless to say our sleep has been lacking, and I've never said so many words to another person in my life.

I didn't know I had so many things that I needed to say. I talk about my brother, talk about water polo, talk about my adoptive parents and my bio parents. I talk about being gay, and I sort through so many new understandings about myself.

And I listen, too. I suck up every detail about him like it's a fucking drug, every memory, every thought, every word. The more he tells me, the more I want to know. It all feeds on itself. Him and me and his room, surrounded by his art, figuring out who we are, together.

Lennox creates some bruising underneath my right eye using a specific color palette, and I shift my ass in the chair. I'm already rock-hard in my joggers, which are also continually looking worse—torn and dirty and smudged with fake blood.

I dig my fingers into my thighs, attempting to reduce the blood pumping to my dick. It's hard to keep my hands to myself. We've been reluctant to broadcast our relationship here. It's not a secret, really, but it's important this movie goes smoothly. And Jamie's still not one hundred percent about us.

He doesn't trust me. I think the real issue is that he loves both Indy and Lennox so much that he's wary.

I can understand that.

I don't know what I'd do if someone hurt Lenn.

And, fuck… I also don't know how much longer I can keep my hands off him as his forehead lines in concentration. I'm gravitating forward in my chair, fingers unclenching and hands sliding down my thighs to my knees. Then, with a sharp inhale, I graze my fingers against his jeans.

His eyes zap to mine. "Do you need something?"

"I might." My cheeks rise as I smile. I'm supposed to keep my face passive, but that's difficult around him.

His hand lifts off my face, a white sponge-like thing trapped between his fingers. "You're going to have to be more specific than that."

"Alright." I tug on the bottom of his hoodie, tipping my chin up slightly.

His gaze drops to my lips. He breathes. I breathe. The library is silent and empty, dark in the corners, one still painted with the angels. We made out there last night.

And the night before.

"I'm not even halfway done," he says. "You're gonna need to control yourself."

My smile widens. "I'm capable of that."

He's got a fair amount of work to do on me. I am continually getting the shit kicked out of me in this movie. What started as three scratches on my cheek has evolved into a slice on my bottom lip, a bruise on my jaw, and cuts across my eyebrow.

I keep wondering if I'm going to die. We lost Lucía last night. Umar the night before. We're dropping like flies now. I get the pages for the script and I scrub over them, looking for where my character finally gets it.

I am a little nervous about tonight's scenes, though. I have another scene with Indy. Lennox and I haven't talked about that yet.

He sets aside the sponge and starts working on the cuts in my eyebrow, his mouth right in my line of sight, every flick of his tongue, every twitch of his lips.

Fuck, I love this. I want to ask him to put makeup on me in his room. Just me and him. Cuts or scrapes like this, or whatever he wants. He's shown me a few of his creations, and they're beautiful. Skull faces and butterflies twined together. I've never seen anything like it.

"I do want something, though." I lick my lips, dragging my eyes north of his mouth. "I want to ask you something."

He leans back, holding some kind of red-tipped brush in the air.

"I want to ask you…" My fingers clutch the bottom of his hoodie, my heels pressing into the chair's footrest. Why am I so nervous? "I was hoping that you'd come to watch this scrimmage I have coming up."

"Water polo?" His hand falls.

"That's the only thing I play."

"I know." His eyes narrow. "I just…" His tongue runs over his bottom lip. "I mean, of course. Yes . I'd love to see you." He pauses. "With your friends."

I nod. "Yeah. Well, Colin, Saif, Harrison, Ruben, and Troy." I don't mention Archer. I've hardly seen him over the last few days since I've been at Lennox's so often. Besides, I'm struggling to include him in that classification of "friends".

"I want you to see what I do," I say. I want him to see me. "It's not a huge deal, but we lined up this scrimmage with another pickup team. There will be a lot of people there. And afterwards, you can come by the house. Eat some lasagna."

He's still, dark eyes settled on my face, chest moving steadily under the zipper of his hoodie. No eyeliner at the moment, but last night… oh my fucking god. He let me put some on him, and I nearly came in my pants. It wasn't a pretty makeup job, but I fucked him so hard afterward that both of us were left quivering in a puddle. Fuck, he was sexy, his dick cupped in my hand as I pounded him from behind. He'd practically shouted when he came, his ass pulsing around me.

I squeeze my eyes shut. Don't think about it now . Control yourself.

I take a few deep breaths. When I open my eyes again, he's still staring at me, gaze narrowed.

"I'll go," he says. "Just me or…"

"Invite whoever you want." I shift my ass, pushing down on my joggers to relieve the way they're strangling my dick, and then adjust myself. "As long as you're there, I'm happy."

"And will I meet your friends?" He's stiff, hardly moving. "Either way is fine, but I want to know if?—"

"Of course." I inhale slowly. "I want them to meet you."

His pupils flare, his mouth tipping open. "You do?"

"Yes."

His lips press. "Have you thought this through?"

I frown, nodding. "Yes."

"And you're sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I lean forward, then slide my hand to his lower back and tug him closer. "I want you to see my life. It's important."

His eyes flutter closed, his shoulder relaxing. And I take advantage. I set a foot on the floor and tip the chair forward, then graze his lips with mine. He opens to me, one hand gripping my neck, his tongue flitting across my bottom lip.

We both groan, both deepening the kiss at the same moment, like we're mind melded together, the chair tipping more, him pushing up to his toes. He tastes so fucking sweet right now like the strawberry milkshake he had at Randy's before we came here, and I suck it off his tongue, swallowing his moan, my heart pounding, my cock throbbing. His fingers dig into the side of my neck, and I vaguely think that next time, I'm going to get one of those milkshakes to go and lick it off him.

Fuck, I want to take him right here. I want to know that he's mine .

We haven't talked about that yet—not about relationships or monogamy or polyamory. I don't know where he lands on things, and I'll take him however he wants, but I don't want anyone else.

I didn't want anyone else, even when I was with someone else.

Since I first walked through the door of Randy's, it's been him. Every second, every thought, every wish. Even in my confusion, it was always him I was drawn to. From the very first glimpse.

"Reed." He breaks off, breathing hard, our foreheads pressing together. The silence of the library surrounds us until…

A creak.

I stiffen, my shoulders straightening, our heads turning.

Five sets of eyes are on us.

Seriously.

Five.

Fucking.

Sets.

Everyone is here. Indy is grinning, eyes crinkled at the corners. Lucía and Verity are both open-mouthed. Umar is glancing around like he's not sure what everyone else knows. Jamie crosses his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing under Willis.

Fuck.

"Oh crap," Verity says. She spins toward Indy. "Is…"

"It's all good," Indy says. "Let's not make a thing out of it. Everything is as it should be."

"Ooookay," Lucía says. "So, we just move on into the scene where Reed and Indy's characters have a last kiss and pretend that everything is normal?"

"Yep." Indy nods decisively. "That's the plan."

"Cool." Verity shrugs. "I guess we should get going, then."

Jamie rocks back on his heels, his arms still across his chest, but something in his face eases. He's looking at us closely, my fist still clenched around the bottom of Lennox's hoodie, the way that he's holding onto my neck.

Is it my imagination, or does he actually smile a little?

"Alright, everyone." He uncrosses his arms, heading toward the table. "Let's finish a movie."