Page 1 of The Year of Us: September

Cory

The only thing more bleak than the end of August was the beginning of September.

Reese had been gone for three whole days.

Weeks. Okay, not weeks, but it felt like it when each hour that passed was an eternity.

I’d worked from home since the incident in the office, not changing out of the black hoodie that I loved to steal from him.

I loved that it was too big on me, and that it smelled like him.

Well, it used to.

The front door opened and then closed, and a minute later a familiar face came into view.

His expression softened when he saw the sorry state I was in.

I’d maybe ridden the self-pity train a little too hard, but it felt like the world had ended.

Like there was no oxygen. No life. Nothing worth getting off the couch for anyway.

I couldn’t sleep in our bed. Wouldn’t. Not without him.

“You look like shit,” Reese said, his voice soft and kind of sad sounding.

He didn’t look so hot himself. The dark circles under his eyes indicated a lack of sleep, something I could empathize with.

“You look gorgeous,” I told him, because it was the truth. Even tired, even mussed, though not to the extent I was, Reese was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. “I’m sorry, I?—”

Reese held up a hand, stopping my speech before I could get going. I’d had three days to rehearse, and the second his hand went up in the air, my mind went blank.

“First, we’re going to clean you up, and then we’re going to feed you and hydrate you, and then we’re going to talk.

” Reese’s gaze slid over to the empty whiskey bottles, and he grimaced.

“And we’re going to talk about coping mechanisms too, Cory.

Because ruining your stomach lining with rotgut isn’t the answer. ”

The mere mention of the booze made my stomach churn, and I let out a pathetic groan. “I have already learned that lesson.”

Reese was suddenly beside me, holding his hand out, waiting for me to take it. I felt hollowed out, like everything inside me had been scooped out and discarded.

“Come on. It’s shower time.”

I took his hand and watched him frown. “You’re ice cold.”

“Probably the hangover. I feel like death paid me a visit but decided I was too pitiful to bother with.”

“I’m glad he left you behind.” Reese tugged me through the house and into the en suite bathroom.

He leaned me against the counter, maybe realizing if I sat down, it would be hell getting me back on my feet.

After he started the shower, he came back to me and helped me out of the hoodie. He wrinkled his nose in displeasure.

“I told you I needed to clean up.”

Reese leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Stop grumbling and let me do this.”

I pretended to zip my lips and then let Reese undress me the rest of the way. He stripped out of his clothes and followed me into the shower. I glanced down at his cock; it was hard to the point of standing straight up, but he just shook his head.

“Ignore that. He doesn’t know it’s not his turn.

” Reese grabbed my bath sponge and deposited an ample amount of body wash onto it.

He positioned me under the spray and then worked the sponge over my skin, starting behind me and working his way from the back of my neck down to my ankles before moving around to the front of me and starting all over.

To my pleasure, Reese was absolutely thorough. And to my dismay, he was absolutely serious about it not being our dicks’ turn to be the center of attention. When he moved on to washing my hair, he started to talk.

“It’s been pointed out to me, by a certain best friend of mine, that perhaps I’d acted childishly.”

“I wouldn’t have liked what I saw either.” I opened my eyes, despite the threat of soap spilling into them. “Reese, I was so fucking miserable without you.”

Reese’s smile wasn’t the blinding kind of joyful one that I’d grown used to, but there was a glimmer of humor in his eyes as he worked the shampoo into my hair.

“I shouldn’t like hearing that as much as I do. But I was serious about those coping mechanisms, Cory. Your friend was worried about you.”

“My friend?” I furrowed my brow. “Kale talked to you?”

Reese nodded. “Shut your eyes so I can rinse your hair.”

Dutifully, I did as he said. As if I had the energy to do anything else.

“I still can’t believe someone named their kid after the worst kind of lettuce.”

“His brother’s name is Boston.”

“Like the city?”

“Like the other kind of lettuce. His parents own a farm.”

“That explains a lot.”

“I didn’t know Kale was coming to town until he was here.

He’d only arrived moments before you did.

Of all the people I left back in New York, Kale was the one I was closest to.

He’s the kind of friend who won’t let you fall off the map.

He’d hound me if it had been too long since we saw each other.

He wouldn’t let up until I agreed to meet him for drinks.

He can be a pain in the ass, and I’m sorry your introduction to him went so sideways. ”

“That’s my fault. I should’ve let you explain.”

“You really should have.” I opened my eyes and finally gave into what I really wanted and put my hands on Reese’s hips. “If you’d listened to me, you’d have saved me three nights of dreams fueled by that shit your bar serves.”

“I can’t believe you willingly drank that, you whiskey snob.”

“It made me think of you.”

Reese shook his head, but he was smiling again, a real one this time. “That’s the most tragic thing I’ve ever heard.”

He showered off quickly, then killed the water and wrapped us both up in the big fluffy bath towels I’d bought.

“What happens now?” I asked him, still slightly terrified that he was going to leave me.

“Now,” Reese said, “it’s nap time.”

My fears eased only when he climbed into bed next to me and turned me into the little spoon.

“Reese, I?—”

“Shhh.” He kissed me behind my ear, then settled back down. “Sleep now. Talk later. And don’t think for a second that I’ve forgotten about the offer to punish you.”

Well. How on earth was I supposed to fall asleep after hearing that?