Page 98 of Vespertine

Jasper covered Nicky’s hand and tried to rub some warmthinto it. “I know that.” He brushed Nicky’s wet hair back from his face. “I’mnot angry with you either.”

“You’re not about to flip your shit about it all?”

“I’m fine, I promise. Come on, before you get pneumonia.”

“I’m not that fragile,” Nicky grumbled, but he pushed aheadof Jasper anyway. They made a little detour to grab their clothes, phones, andwallets, and then aimed for the dark house. The night was thick and rich withthe sound of cicadas and Jasper wanted to imprint their song onto his brain.

Nicky’s black boxer-briefs clung to his ass like paint andJasper’s face heated despite the cold. He should be feeling all sorts of thingsright now, but there was nothing in his heart but overwhelming gratitude and adeep-seated contentment that made his limbs heavy.

Nicky laughed. “Stop staring at my ass, Father Jazz, and let’sget inside.”

With a guilty jerk, Jasper lifted his head and met Nicky’seyes. He was grinning, but the apprehension that had crept into his gaze afterthey’d had,oh God, sex,wasn’t entirely gone.

“Sorry,” Jasper said with a wink to make sure Nicky knew hewasn’t sorry at all. “Anything we can raid in the fridge? I’m starving.”

He watched as Nicky scratched at his arms, shaking with coldas they reached the back porch. Jasper had noticed him doing that before and hewondered if it was a side effect of the drugs he used to be addicted to, or theones he was on now.

“You’ve seen my mom’s fridge. There’ll be lasagna at least.”His lithe muscles moved under his skin as he bent to retrieve the key sostealthily hidden under the mat, and unlocked the back door.

“Hmm, yum.” Jasper crowded Nicky into the house, walked himall the way to the counter where he pressed against Nicky and kissed the backof his neck. It was like a dam had broken. Everything about Nicky aroused him.The freckles on his shoulders, his hipbones making a handle for Jasper’s hands,and the bend of his neck. While he knew there would be music to be facedtomorrow morning, for now all the doors to the future had been momentarilyclosed and locked with the key thrown away.

“Fuck,” Nicky moaned roughly. He arched his back and rubbedhis ass against Jasper’s front, and then turned around. “Making up for losttime?”

“Hmm.” Jasper grasped Nicky around the waist and lifted himon top of the counter, then pulled him into a kiss. Their mingled taste wasbrine and summer and wind, and it lifted Jasper’s heart until he soared.

Nicky squirmed in his arms, pressing their chests together, andgripping Jasper’s hair, trying to take control, like he always had.

“Oven?” Jasper mumbled against Nicky’s mouth.

Nicky blinked at him and pulled back a little, his mouth shinyand his cheeks flushed. Jasper nearly laughed at his wet bird’s nest hair butfigured his own wouldn’t be much better with the way Nicky had been tugging atit.

“How hot should the oven be for the lasagna?”

“Oh, uh. Food. Right.”

Jasper felt a tingling burst of pride and affection that he’ddistracted Nicky so thoroughly with a kiss. Nicky moved to jump off the counterbut Jasper held him there.

“Stay. I’ll do it.”

“Uh. Four hundred.”

Jasper punched the button and the oven came on. In thefreezer drawer underneath the fridge he found a tinfoil square of cheesygoodness. “I haven’t had this in years. How long?”

Nicky frowned at him like he was a little crazy. “I don’tknow? Since we were seventeen, I guess?”

Jasper laughed as he pushed the lasagna into the oven. “No,I mean how long does it need to go in for?”

Nicky rolled his eyes and he jumped down. His teethclattered. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty, Jazz. Forty-five minutes.” Hereached past Jasper and set the timer.

“Just enough time for a shower,” Jasper said, and he tookNicky’s hand and dragged him upstairs. When he glanced back, Nicky was lookingathisass, and he felt his cheeks heat with sudden,giddy awareness. He was walking through the Blumfeld house in nothing but hisunderwear. It was like he’d slipped back in time. A beautiful wormhole that ledback to a place where he could touch and be touched, where love was everythingthat mattered in the universe.

“We should talk,” Nicky whispered when they stopped in thehallway for a kiss. Jasper held him close and nodded against the sweet curve ofhis slender neck. He licked the salt off Nicky’s collarbone.

“We should,” he softly said. “During dinner.”

“We can’t pretend this is okay.”

“No one’s pretending, Nicky. But for now…I want it to be youand me. Can’t the world wait? Please?”