Page 69 of Should Our Hearts Catch Fire

“Cool.”

God, they’re ridiculous. And so not cool.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” Gabriel says.

“See you tomorrow,” Ellis echoes, but doesn’t move to leave. A part of him is afraid that once he steps outside, everything he’s feeling right now will disappear. He’s noticed that Gabriel’s presence makes it easier to ground himself in his emotions, which otherwise just wreak major havoc.

“Ellis?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you give me your number?”

Pulling out his phone, Ellis negotiates whether to send a wave or a smiley face. He ends up typing out a simpleHiand hittingsend.

“Just texted you.”

Gabriel’s phone pings with a notification, and he stares at it, then at Ellis. “You saved my number?”

Hearing the disbelief in Gabriel’s voice makes the guilt come back with vigor. “I meant to text you. Take you up on the offer. But then Dawson called, and my head was a mess, and—”

“Ellis. It’s okay,” Gabriel puts an end to his babbling. He takes a couple steps forward, making Ellis’ breath hitch. “Thank you for coming here today. I missed seeing you in the mornings.”

“Same. The coffee in my office building sucks ass.”

That gets a laugh out of Gabriel. It seems like he’s about to say something, only he clamps his mouth shut and looks away, face turning red.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Gabriel says quickly. Too quickly.

Ellis replays what he said. It must be something he—

And then it clicks. “You wanted to make another ass comment, didn’t you?”

Gabriel’s guilty expression is all the confirmation he needs.

“I’m sorry! It’s like a reflex, I swear.” He hides his face in his palms.

Ellis laughs so loud he surprises himself, his heart swelling with emotion. “You don’t have to censor yourself for my sake.”

Gabriel peeks at him through the web of his fingers. “But the shit I say makes you uncomfortable.”

Ellis shrugs. “A little. But I told you before; I don’t feel like it’s a bad thing.”

Slowly, as if weighing how sincere Ellis is being, Gabriel removes his hands, his trademark grin firmly in place. “Okay. In that case, ass comments are back on the menu.”

“Excellent,” Ellis says, wondering what he just got himself into. “So…tomorrow?”

Gabriel smiles. “Tomorrow.”

Ellis nods, turning around and heading for the door before he does something reckless. Outside, he allows himself one last look back and nearly chokes on a laugh.

Gabriel is doing some ridiculous shimmy dance—without the mop, this time—and stumbles back when his gaze lands on Ellis, who’s trying very hard to keep a serious expression.

Instead, Ellis waves at him, making him hide his face in his hands again, and starts walking to his car. He smiles like a lunatic as he gets into the driver’s seat, and it only grows when his phone vibrates, revealing a message from Gabriel.

Gabriel:Kill me now, please.