Page 87 of A Real Good Lie

Chapter Twenty-Five

Callahan is Happier Than he’s Ever Been

It had been two weeks since the ribbon cutting ceremony, and Callahan had never been happier. He’d spent a handful of nights with Jace, mostly at Callahan’s place, which was fine with him. He worried Jace was embarrassed of his living situation, but he also didn’t want to bring it up and make things worse. So when Jace asked to come over, he never said no. Besides, he liked that his pillows now smelled like eucalyptus.

Things with Jace had been going slow, but they’d been going good. Every day he woke up with Jace in his bed was a good one, and every night he fell asleep with Jace’s cock inside of him, a better one.

He’d already grown used to Jace’s phone buzzing across the nightstand earlier than his own alarm, but it was Saturday and the room remained peacefully silent as the sun crept through the windows on the other wall. Callahan adjusted himself so he could look at the view, and Jace grunted, pressing against his ribs and then settling with a soft snore.

Much to his dismay, Callahan’s phone vibrated against its charger. He grabbed it quickly, hoping the noise wouldn’t wake up Jace. Callahan tapped his screen and found a text message from Sebastian.

Sebastian: If I bring you a Bloody Mary, can I come over?

Me: When?

His doorbell rang.

Callahan groaned and dropped his phone on the bed. He untangled himself from Jace’s sleeping form, then waited to make sure he hadn’t awakened him. When Jace snored, Callahan bent over and grabbed his sweats off the floor, pulling them on as he padded quietly toward the front door.

“You can’t come over unannounced,” he whispered, opening the door and letting Sebastian in.

Sebastian looked…tired, and not like himself. His shirt was wrinkled, and he had a couple days of hair on his face. He held up a cardboard tray of drinks and offered a lackluster smile.

“You look like shit.” Callahan closed the door.

“You don’t.” Sebastian’s eyes lingered on his neck, and Callahan raised a hand, covering the spot Sebastian stared at. He didn’t think Jace had left a hickey on his neck, but he hadn’t looked at himself in a mirror so he could have been wrong.

“Come on.” He jerked his head toward the living room.

“Is Jace here?” Sebastian asked, taking a seat and passing one of the Styrofoam cups in the holder to Callahan.

He swirled the straw around, his eyes focused on the hallway that led to his bedroom. He nodded and took a drink, leaning back and settling against the couch. “Yes.”

“How’s that been going?” Sebastian took the lid off his cup and Callahan gagged, the smell of gin smacking him straight in the face.

“A little early for gin?” he asked.

Sebastian shrugged and raised the cup to his lips.

Callahan sighed. “Things with Jace are going well.”

“Have you heard from Rhys?”

“Why would I?”

Sebastian shrugged again and closed his eyes. “Thank you for letting me be here.”

“Of course, but is there something wrong with your place?”

“It’s just…” Sebastian puffed out his cheeks. “Lonely.”

Callahan rubbed the bridge of his nose and took another drink of his Bloody Mary before setting the cup down on the table. He turned toward his best friend. “Do you want to get dinner later? With Jace and his roommate Remington?”

“What kind of name is Remington?” Sebastian asked.

“Probably somewhere between Jace and Sebastian,” Callahan answered.

“Who is?” Jace’s voice came from the hallway, thick with sleep.