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“Shut the front door! This is amazing! I’ve been trying to find the right storage system for my cans for ages, but anything remotely close to it is too big for my pantry.” Jay turned back to the wall and sighed longingly. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Really?” Ryden wasn’t sure what to think, so he said it. “You don’t think it’s weird that I turned my spare bedroom into a prepper’s pantry?”

Jay blinked at him. “We live in a state with an entire season dedicated to hurricanes. Not to mention the laughable storage space in most places. It took me months to find an apartment with a decent-sized pantry. Plus, you’re talking to a guy who organizes his clothes by color.”

“I can make you one if you like,” Ryden said, leaning against the doorframe. He chuckled at Jay’s gasp.

“Are you serious? Don’t play with a boy’s heart like that.”

Ryden shrugged. “All I need are the measurements. I have a small workshop out back. I can even paint it any color you like.”

Jay let out a little squeal and did a happy dance that made Ryden laugh. He was so fucking cute.

“Hell, if I’d known all it took to make you that happy was a shelf for your cans, I would’ve offered to make you one years ago.”

“If I had known you possessed such skills, I would have let you,” Jay purred, sending a shiver through Ryden.

Uh-oh, Ryden might be in trouble.

Jay headed toward him when something caught his eye. He backed up, reached up, and moved one of the fruit preserve jars over one. “You had a raspberry in with your strawberry.”

Who was this guy? He knew Jay was meticulous and took organizing to another level, but Ryden would have never expected them to have pantry prep in common.

Jay smiled at him, and it almost knocked him off his feet.

It wasn’t the first time Jay had smiled at him, but this was different.

His guard was down; he looked relaxed and… happy. It was a genuinely sweet smile.

“Are those for me?”

Jay’s words snapped Ryden out of it, and he pushed away from the doorframe. He held the clothes out.

“Yeah. You might have to roll the pants up.”

“Thanks.” Jay took the clothes from him, their fingers brushing and sending a jolt of awareness through Ryden.

The startled look on Jay’s face told Ryden that he’d felt it, too.

A shiver seemed to go through Jay, his cheeks turning pink again.

With a quick nod, he spun around and crossed the hall to the guest room.

He opened the door and slipped inside before closing it behind him.

Ryden stood there for a heartbeat, wondering if he’d imagined what happened. He was about to head to his room when Jay opened the door.

“Goodnight.”

Then he disappeared.

Um, okay? “Goodnight,” Ryden called out.

Shaking his head, he went to his room and changed into his pajamas.

Okay, this was fine. He was good. It was all good.

Maybe they were on their way to becoming friends.

That was a good thing, right? Yep. Friends.

Friendly friends. Friends who, um, friended.

That was a thing. So they’d made out earlier today, and now Jay was in his house, sleeping in his guest bed. No big deal.

Tomorrow, everything would go back to normal. He just needed to relax, forget about what happened with Jay at the wedding, and get some sleep. If Jay had successfully avoided talking to him about their first kiss, no way he was about to talk about them making out.

It took Ryden forever to drift off to sleep, thanks to his brain supplying all kinds of unhelpful fantasies about the gorgeous, pouty-lipped man wearing his clothes just down the hall. When he finally fell asleep, a soft knock on his bedroom door woke him up.

“Huh?” Ryden said, his voice rough from sleep.

Jay opened the door and stood there, the moonlight coming in from the window enough for Ryden to see him fidget.

He rubbed one foot with the other but didn’t say anything.

He needed something but couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Whatever it was, it had Jay coming to his room in the middle of the night.

“What’s wrong? Everything okay?”

Jay shook his head, his gaze going to his bare feet. “I…I had a horrible nightmare, and I don’t want to be alone.”

“Come ’ere,” Ryden said softly.

Jay’s head shot up, and he watched intently as Ryden pulled the blanket back and patted the mattress. He could practically see the wheels in Jay’s head spinning furiously.

“No funny business,” Ryden promised.

Jay hesitated for a heartbeat before closing the door behind him.

He hurried over to the bed and climbed under the covers.

He lay there, unmoving, staring up at the ceiling for what seemed like ages, the tension so thick that Ryden was afraid it would choke them.

Everything always felt scarier and bleaker at night, Ryden should know. He rolled to face Jay.

“It’s just for tonight. Whatever you need, I’m here.”

Jay worried his full bottom lip again before closing his eyes.

He rolled onto his side to face Ryden and, after some slight hesitation, shifted closer.

Ryden slipped his arm around Jay’s waist, his heart skipping when Jay reached up and touched his fingers to Ryden’s lips.

His gaze dropped to Ryden’s mouth, and then he leaned in and pressed his lips to Ryden’s.

Knowing Jay sought comfort, Ryden let him take the lead, parting his lips for Jay. Their kiss was slow and sweet, and Ryden hummed when Jay slipped his arm around him, deepening their kiss. He tasted of mint, his hair was sleep-tousled, and his body warm and soft.

They tangled their legs together, and Ryden did his best to ignore how right it felt. He couldn’t get used to this, couldn’t let himself believe there could be more between them. It was just one night. Tomorrow, they’d return to being…whatever they were before today’s events.

Jay pulled back, his eyes closed as he sighed softly.

He opened his eyes, and Ryden brushed the hair away from his face, moving his fingers down his jaw to caress his cheek.

There was so much to say, but it was best left unsaid.

Things were complicated enough, and they were reaching a point where they might become friends.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Ryden promised. “And not because I think you need protectin’ or can’t take care of yourself.”

Jay covered Ryden’s hand with his. “I’m sorry for the way I acted. I know you were looking out for me. If it had been any of the other guys, I wouldn’t have gone off like that.”

“What if we start over?” Ryden held his hand out. “Hi. I’m Ryden Foster. It’s nice to meet you.”

Jay laughed softly. He took Ryden’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Ryden. I’m Jay Starling. And yes, I know my first and last names are related to birds.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to mention it, but it could have been worse. Your last name could have been Bushtit.”

Jay barked out a laugh. He smacked a hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking from laughter. When he seemed to get a hold of himself, he shook his head, his blue eyes sparkling. “I don’t want to know how you know that.”

“What about Jay Boobies? It has a sort of…perky ring to it.”

“Oh my God! Stop.”

“Bananaquit.”

Jay’s smile was wide. “Now you’re just making things up.”

“Nope. It’s a bird. So is Dickcissel.”

“Let me guess. Between gardening and making pipe cleaner animals, you also birdwatch.”

“It’s very relaxin’.”

“Stop it,” Jay said, poking him. “You do not birdwatch.”

“You’re right. I don’t birdwatch, but I did get stuck watchin’ a nature documentary at my doctor’s office once.

The nice lady next to me was a birdwatcher who told me all about the Bushtit.

Do you know how hard it was not to laugh every time Granny said Bushtit?

Extremely.” He hummed. “Come to think of it, she might have been doing it on purpose. She had that frisky look about her. Like she might have a black loofah hangin’ from the roof of her golf cart.

Loofahs are the new upside-down pineapple. ”

“Oh no!” Jay covered Ryden’s mouth with his hand. “We are not going there, you hear me? I don’t need to have that mental image of my grandma.”

Ryden snickered behind Jay’s hand.

“You’re such a shit,” Jay laughed. “I’m going to move my hand. No more talk of upside-down pineapples or black loofahs.” Ryden held up a finger, and Jay sighed. He moved his hand away. “What?”

“I’m just letting you know that the only meanin’ behind the purple loofah in the guest bathroom is that it was the only color they had left in the store.”

Jay arched an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, there was a blue one, too, but it had a shark on it.”

“Admit it, you were tempted to get the shark,” Jay teased.

Ryden pressed his lips together, and Jay’s eyes went wide before he laughed so hard that he was in tears. Then he scrambled out of bed, and Ryden threw the blanket over his head, hearing Jay from his bathroom.

“Oh my God, you got the shark!”

The next thing he knew, the mattress bounced, and a little shark head popped up under the blanket.

“Let’s be friends!”

Ryden groaned. He flipped off the blanket. “You are never gonna to let me live this down, are you?”

Jay held up the shark loofah. “No, I am not.”

“Come on. Look at that little toothy grin. Tell me you would’ve walked right by and left his little sharky face in the bin all by his lonesome.”

“He is cute,” Jay admitted. He placed the shark on the nightstand before lying back down, his smile still in place. He popped a kiss on Ryden’s lips. “He’s not the only one who’s cute.”

Wait, what ?

Jay shifted, fitting their bodies together and hugging Ryden close, his head under Ryden’s chin. He let out a contented sigh, and a heartbeat later, he was asleep.

This was bad.

No, it’s good. So damned good.

Which was why it was bad.

The scent of Jay’s shampoo hit him, and he managed to stifle his groan.

He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Fuck, Jay smelled so good.

Smelled good, felt even better, and tasted amazing .

With a sigh, Ryden let his cheek rest against Jay’s head.

He might as well enjoy this moment because, come tomorrow morning, all this would be nothing more than a heartbreakingly beautiful dream.