Page 155 of Should Our Hearts Catch Fire

“As does half the population. Next?”

“We both love you.”

Ellis’ heart pounds so hard it’s in danger of bursting out of his chest. It doesn’t help that instead of being his blabbering self, Gabriel is worryingly quiet.

Until he’s not.

“Seriously?!” Gabriel yelps in indignation. “First time you tell me you love me and you have to bring my mum into it?”

“Sorry,” Ellis mutters, trying not to laugh. “I’ll try again later.”

“Yeah, you better,” Gabriel grunts, arms crossed sulkily. He’s pretending to look out of the window, but Ellis can see his smile in the reflection.

After so much ado, saying the three words came naturally, like he’s said them a million times before.

Shortly, they pull into the parking garage in Ellis’ building.

“I have one more present for you at home,” he tells Gabriel. He’s almost more nervous about that than he was about the love-confession.

“Another one?”

“There’s a limit?”

Gabriel actually ponders it. “Well, no, but…why now? Christmas was two days ago.”

“It took a while to get sorted.”

“Okay. But you’re trying out your shakti mat first, before it miraculously disappears.”

Dang. There goes Ellis’ plan.

Ellis manages to delay the torture by insisting Lola needs to go for a walk first, taking deliberately longer. When they return, Gabriel has already spread the mat out on the floor.

“Do I have to?” Ellis asks miserably. The spikes are really scary.

“Yes! You’ll love it, I promise.”

Grumbling away, Ellis sheds his shirt and, so very gingerly, lies down on the mat.

“I can’t do it,” he announces after thirty seconds, the spikes digging into his back like a thousand tiny shark teeth. And people pay for this?

“Be patient!” Gabriel forces him back down when he attempts to sit up. “You need to stay like this for at least twenty minutes.”

“It hurts!”

Gabriel smiles devilishly. “Stick with it and you’ll get a reward.”

Ellis stops struggling, eyeing Gabriel with suspicion. “You better be talking about sex.”

Gabriel smirks. “Guess you’ll have to wait and find out.” He pats Ellis’ tummy. “Twenty minutes.”

“Fine.”

Ellis is floating, his whole body buzzing and mind blissfully quiet. Something touches his face, Gabriel’s voice bringing him to the present.

“It’s been half an hour,” he says, sounding smug. “You want to collect your reward now?”

Ellis doesn’t bother opening his eyes. “I’m good.” He’s more than good. He could fall asleep like this.