Page 31 of Size Doesn't Matter

“Well, here goes nothing.”

I took a deep breath and knocked. A moment later, the door opened and a tall man with glasses opened the door.

“Nico Ross? Cyrus’ boyfriend?” The tall man cocked his head. “What are you doing out here?”

“You must be Irving.” I sighed. “It…It’s a long story.”

“Well, come inside, and then you can tell Sylvan and me. It’s absolutely frigid tonight.”

I hugged my arms around me, shivering. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

Irving shook his head. “It’s not an intrusion. Any friend of Cyrus is a friend of mine, and Sylvan is all too happy to host guests. In fact, your surprise visit will probably make his entire night. Now, come with me and Sylvan will make us all some tea.”

I smiled and nodded. Irving was too kind to someone who’d broken up with his friend, but I wasn’t about to go back into the woods and struggle to find my way home. It had been a long night, and I still needed to apologize to Cyrus for treating him the way I had.

26

CYRUS

Bzz, bzz.

My eyes fluttered open and I turned to look outside through the window. It was pitch black and far too early for my alarm to be going off. I must have been dreaming. I turned over in bed and closed my eyes again, letting out a tired exhale.

Bzz, bzz.

I opened my eyes again, this time staring up at the ceiling. The noise wasn’t in my head. My phone was ringing, and at this time in the night, it could only be bad news.

In the dark, I pawed around for the device before my hands closed over it and I grabbed it, answering the call a second before I got the phone up to my ear.

“Hello?” I mumbled.

“Hello, Cyrus. Were you asleep?” If I wasn’t conscious enough before answering the phone, Irving’s serious, sobering voice was enough to jolt me awake.

“I was, but no matter. Has something happened?” I sat up in bed, heart pounding as I waited to hear what tragedy had befallen my coworker. “Is Sylvan all right?”

“Yes, Sylvan is perfectly well, as am I. But we do have a surprise visitor tonight and he needs a ride home. I would take him myself, but my car is parked out by the road proper and you know how long a trek that is from the cabin. Only a truck like yours could make it all the way down the dirt road safely.”

I blinked a few times, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. The time on the clock read just past midnight.

“A visitor? Who might the visitor be?”

Before Irving could answer, a voice in the background broke through: “I told you it’s no trouble at all; just give me some directions and I’ll walk back home. I was already planning to do that when I got lost.”

Nico.

“It’s your boyfriend,” Irving said dryly.

“He’s not my boyfriend anymore.”

“He told me as much. Listen, if you don’t want to come, Nico can sleep on the couch for the night and Sylvan will take him back to his apartment in the morning.”

“I don’t mind,” Nico called out.

Irving sighed and paused, waiting for Nico to pipe up a third time. When he spoke again, his tone was hushed. “You don’t have to come get him, but you’re a fool if you think he’s not still into you. That man has not shut up about you once since he arrived on our doorstep.”

“Really?” My heart skipped a beat.

“Yes. I would never lie to you, Cyrus. This poor fellow is smitten.”

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