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“What do you want?” I ask him.

He looks at the floor for a minute. “I want to be your boyfriend.”

A grin spreads across my face.

“But…the ritual thing terrifies me,” he admits, and my smile falters.

“Ah, it terrifies everyone, and you just learned about it.” I slide a hand over to rub his back.

He laughs. “Oh, well, thank you, Dante. That’s very helpful.”

It goes quiet between us. “So do you want me to ask, or wait for you to ask?” I eye him. “I’ve never asked a guy before.”

He licks his lips. “You.”

“Well then, puppy, it’s happening right the fuck now.” I smirk, scoot closer to him, and take his jaw in my other hand. “Ethan, will you be my boyfriend?”

Ethan’s eyes light up, his face flushing. I can sense the anxiety in him, but there’s happiness there, too.

“Yes.” Ethan leans in and wraps his arms around my neck, then smashes his mouth against mine.

I don’t need to hear anything else. I just pull him into my lap and kiss him deeply.

A giddy sense of satisfaction floods my chest. It’s almost too pure to actually be somethingI’mfeeling.

Ethan Moore is my boyfriend.

“You sure you don’t want somethin’ more to eat?” I ask Ethan as we leave the coffee shop. We’re both holding cups of freshly brewed coffee, the second for each of us.

“No, I’m fine. I’ll eat a big lunch,” Ethan tells me. “I promise.”

I eye him a bit. He only ate a muffin in the shop, and after the sex we had, I’m not so sure that’s enough to keep him going. I’m fucking starving even after the bagel and cream cheese I ate.

“Send me a picture when you do.” I sip my coffee, not removing my gaze from his.

He blinks at me. “Is that an order?”

“Yes. Send me a picture of your food, so I know you’re eating,” I insist.

His face flushes, and I know it’s not from just the cold air.

“Got it,” he agrees, and his lips pull up at one corner.

I lick my own lips, staring at his for a moment.

“It’s real hard not to kiss you when you look like that,” I tell him quietly. We’re walking along the sidewalk near the coffee shop.

He looks to the side for a second, as if to see if anyone heard. There’s no one nearby except someone getting into their car.

“No one heard,” I assure him.

He looks at me again, his brow furrowed. “It’s not that,” he says. “Just…well, the last time I was here, my car exploded.”

I stop walking, and move closer to him as he stops as well.

“Nothin’ is gonna happen to you. I won’t let it,” I assure him.

He nods. “I know. Still, it’s hard not to think about. The pavement is still scorched and I’m pretty sure pieces of my car door are still embedded in the grass over there.”