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“They aren’t weird—wait, excuse me, you’ve been watching them with me!” Grady glared at him, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back on the couch. “Who ranted for twenty minutes after we finished watchingMarried at First Sight?”

“Because sometimes I think they deliberately match people wrong! It’s supposed to be a show aboutlove,and they’re sabotaging them!”

Grady chuckled. “Well, yeah, I think that’s the point? It makes for better entertainment.”

“People’s hearts should not be fodder for ‘entertainment.’”

“So you just want it to be a show about… people falling in love?”

“Yes!” Lake said in frustration. “What’s wrong with that? Why can’t it just be anicething?”

“I don’t know why you’re growling at me; I didn’t direct the show,” Grady said, but his smile belied his words.

Lake rolled his eyes and went back to browsing. When he foundJurassic Park, he grabbed it out. “Okay, we’re watching this.”

“Are you going to rant about something?” Grady asked curiously.

“Yes,” Lake said indignantly.Jurassic Parkwas a classic, but there were plenty of rantable moments. More so in the newerWorldversions, but this had some good ones.

He put the disc in the player and then settled beside Grady, hooking one leg up under himself. Their thighs were pressed together, and Lake had a bizarre thought that he wished he could get even closer. Meld them together like the blob monster in that weird 50s horror movie that he and Avery had watched as kids without their parents knowing. It had caused weeks of nightmares and sharing a bed because Lake had been twelve and Avery had been seven, and they werenotsupposed to be watching those kinds of movies. Their parents had decided the trauma had been punishment enough.

Lake didn’t end up ranting about anything because he was too hyper-focused on Grady beside him to be able to concentrate properly. He’d spent hours upon hours sitting next to Grady in the last few months, and while all of those times had made him feel warm and happy, none of them had ever quite distracted him so thoroughly.

Over the course of the next hour, they finished the popcorn, and Lake slowly slipped down the couch until his head was resting against Grady’s shoulder.

Lake’s throat thickened as Grady shifted, lifting his arm so that Lake could snuggle against his chest. Grady’s arm settled on Lake’s shoulders, his fingers curling around Lake’s upper arm. The weight was heavy, warm, and comforting.

If someone had asked what was happening on the TV, he wouldn’t have been able to give an accurate answer. All he could think about was Grady’s arm on him, the rise and fall of his chest, and the steady thrum of his heartbeat against Lake’s cheek.

He lifted his head and looked up at Grady, tracing Grady’s face with his eyes. His thick, full beard covered half his face and was always so well-groomed. Lake knew from the few times he’d stayed the night with Grady that he spent solid time in the bathroom in the morning to keep it looking good. Lake appreciated that because it was nice to look at. Grady had a sharp jaw, but the beard only enhanced it instead of hiding it. The stubble just under his chin was what had grown during the day, and Grady would shave it in the morning.

Grady looked down at him with a question in his eyes. “Are you all right?” he asked.

On a whim, Lake leaned up and pressed his lips to Grady’s. Grady’s breath hitched, and they stayed perfectly still, their breath mingling as Lake re-learned the feel of them. They were soft and they fit perfectly against him. He shifted a little, slanting his mouth to fit more comfortably.

When he pulled back, Grady’s eyes were open, staring at him.

“I just wanted to see,” Lake whispered, not sure how to explain even to himself.

“See what?” The hoarseness of Grady’s voice made Lake’s heart skip a beat, and a shiver run through him.

“If it was how I remember.” If the reality was like his memories, or if he’d made up how good it had been.

Grady’s nostrils flared. “And?” he said, almost hesitantly.

“Yeah,” Lake said. He lowered his head, resting his cheek on Grady’s chest as he turned his attention back to the movie. “Yeah,” he repeated, mostly to himself.

Grady’s hand tightened on his upper arm but didn’t move. Lake’s eyes drifted closed, and he was asleep before the movie had finished.

He woke the next morning in his bed, no sign of Grady in the house.

IfQuinnkeptlookingat him like that, Grady was going to say something unpleasant to his partner. They’d stopped to have lunch at a café near where they’d been canvassing an area about a hit-and-run, and Quinn was about to be another victim.

“Just fucking spit it out, Quinn,” Grady growled, unable to take morestaring.

“Spit what out?” Quinn asked innocently.

“What you want to say?” Grady pushed away his empty plate and picked up his coffee, cradling it in his hands. “You think I don’t know that you’re just chomping at the bit to say something? We’ve known each other too long, friend.”