Page 70 of Paint Our Song

There are loud knocks on the door, and Miles sits up abruptly.

“Ignore them,” Calvin says. “They’ll leave.”

“Heeey! Cal! Miles!” The knocking continues. It stops for a moment as they talk, their voices muffled. Baffled, Miles gapes between the door and at Calvin, who puts a hand up to his mouth and yawns. The knocking resumes, Chase yells for them, and Calvin only sighs in exasperation. Soon enough, just like Calvin said, they leave.

After a moment of silence, Miles asks, “So, you really aren’t going to tell me your deep, dark fantasies?”

“Shut it.”

Miles snickers. He watches Calvin stare at the ceiling with narrow eyes, and he chews on his cheek as if he’s hesitating.

“I’ve thought of your mouth,” Calvin admits, voice quiet, and Miles’s thoughts come to a screeching halt. “Watching you deep-throat a lollipop was torture.”

“You—what?What?” Miles can’t help but wheeze. “Really? Since then?”

“We can talk about something else now.”

“I’m so glad we can finally acknowledge your dirty mind.” He teasingly knocks on the side of Calvin’s head.

“I’m already regretting this.”

Miles asks, “Telling me about the deep-throating? Fooling around?”

“All of the above.”

“You don’t regret any of that.”

A pause, then Calvin lets out a huff. “No, I don’t.”

“Aww, I love it when you’re real with me.” Miles puts his hands up to his mouth to hide the giddy grin he has on.

“You are actually so insufferable,” Calvin mumbles, then he goes quiet.

Miles takes a moment too, mostly to calm his still racing heart.

They lie in silence for a good while until Calvin shifts to his side and meets his gaze. Calvin’s chest rises and falls slowly and he says, smiling, “You want real? I’m glad I met you.”

Miles’s heart leaps. It’s ridiculous what Calvin does to him. He doesn’t say anything because if he did, he might say something truly stupid—like the fact that he thinks he might have wanted him before they even met. Needed him, even.

Now that he thinks about it, that’s the most transparent thing Calvin’s ever told him. So, Calvin gets sleepy and honest after sex. He makes a mental note of that, and a thought occurs to Miles. This is his chance to get a proper answer to what’s been bugging him since day one.

“Calvin,” Miles says. “Calvin, hey. You listening?”

“What?”

“Did you leave the note on my car, those weeks ago?”

“Wha…” Calvin’s face blooms red, and his mouth hangs open. He stammers in disbelief, then he scowls. “You’re annoying,” Calvin says, pulling his pillow from underneath his head and smacking Miles with it, which breaks his usual poise and also the comfortable silence they had going on.

Miles grabs the pillows from him and hugs it tightly. He tackles Calvin back into the mattress, throwing himself over his chest and nosing at his neck. Calvin shivers under him.

He smellsso good;it’s ridiculous, and Miles isn’t subtle about how he inhales his scent.

“Are yousniffingme?”

“No,” he lies, and before Calvin can call him out again, he rests his chin on Calvin’s bare chest and meets his eyes. “Tell me about the new song you’re writing.”

“Huh?”