Page 150 of Should Our Hearts Catch Fire

Dawson chokes on his mashed potatoes. “Seriously? I’m sorry, that’s…kind of hilarious. Do you have the same taste in men?”

Gabriel huffs. “I think she just likes to stir shit up.”

“Runs in the family?”

Gabriel throws a napkin at him.

The rest of dinner continues in the same spirit, with Gabriel and Dawson doing most of the talking, and generally keeping the atmosphere light and warm. It’s…nice. Ellis can’t tell if this is what celebrating as a family is supposed to feel like, but it’s something he could easily get used to.

After dessert—which Gabriel has brought, and Dawson has begged the recipe for—they move to the living room to exchange presents. Ellis has never been good at picking gifts, and so was more than happy to leave the responsibility to Gabriel. He doesn’t even know what Gabriel ended up buying.

Dawson opens his present first, eyes going wide and excited as he pages through what seems to be a very heavy cookbook.“This is amazing. I can’t wait to try all of these! Thank you, thank you!”

Gabriel is next, unwrapping his present to reveal a pair of aprons with funny quotes and letting out an excited squeal.

Ellis smiles; he loves seeing Gabriel get excited over simple things.

He unwraps his present next, looking it over confusedly. “What’s that?”

“It’s a shakti mat,” Dawson supplies unhelpfully. “It’s supposed to relax you.”

“It has spikes,” Ellis comments with apprehension. “Isn’t it painful?”

“When you’re not used to it, but then it feels sooo good.”

“Oh, I’ve tried that before!” Gabriel says. “Zeke has one of those. It’s amazing.”

“Right. Thank you.” Ellis gives a polite smile, turning to Gabriel to whisper, “You can keep it.”

Gabriel shoots him a disapproving look. “You’re trying it. You’re so tense all the time.”

Ellis slowly drags his gaze from Gabriel’s face down his chest and back up. “There are other ways to relax me.”

Two spots of color appear high on Gabriel’s cheeks. He licks his lips, his eyes narrowing. “Still trying it.”

Ellis sighs. “Dammit.” Worth a try.

Meanwhile, Cal has unwrapped his present. “Oh. What are these?” He studies the two books in his hands with great interest.

Ellis leans forward to get a better look, choking a little when he gets a glimpse of a half-naked man. Two half-naked men, actually! And this is supposed to be a present from him and Gabriel?!

“It’s gay romance,” Gabriel explains. “Paranormal gay romance.”

Cal’s expression brightens with intrigue. “Oh, amazing. Does it have vampires?”

“No vampires in these,” Gabriel says with a chuckle. “But plenty of magic and spells. And book two has a morally ambiguous fae that issooohot.”

“Gabriel picked the books, in case you were wondering,” Ellis says, trying not to pout too much. He’snotgoing to get jealous over a fictional character, goddammit.

“Thank you. I’m really looking forward to reading them.” Cal pauses, studying the covers intently. “Did these men do something bad? Why are they tied up?”

“Both books have BDSM elements,” Gabriel says breezily, while Ellis tries to blend into the sofa.

“Oh no,” Dawson says. “Now he’s gonna want to try it.”

Cal looks between Gabriel and Dawson. “Why? What’s BDSM?”

Dawson holds up a hand when Gabriel goes to explain. “I’ll tell you later,” he promises Cal.