Page 109 of A Hard Sell

He blasted himself with hot water in the shower, scrubbing the dream away till his skin was red. Then he got dressed, grabbed his keys and bolted, desperate for fresh air and to be far, far away from his phone. He had no idea where he was going to go—he just had to get out.

When he pushed open the front door of his building, a gust of wind and rain swept over him. He looked up at the heavy, gray clouds, squinting as the fat drops hit his face.How fitting.Rain on me, Misery. Do your worst.He turned to make his way down the sidewalk, then he saw him.

Thomas.

Standing in the rain. Chest heaving. Looking back at him.

Luka’s heart swelled as the rest of the world fell away. “Thomas,” was the word that came to him, voice cracking. “What are you…?”

“I ran from the station,” Thomas said, short of breath. His hair was loose and plastered to his head. His sweater was soaked. He took a few steps closer and dropped the duffel bag he was carrying.

Luka shook his head, trying to clear the static. “You’re drenched.”

Shifting his weight to his other foot, Thomas nodded. He opened his mouth, paused then pushed the words out. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Luka tried to keep his heart in his rib cage…Breathe…The rain soaked his hair and trickled down the back of his shirt. He shivered.

“Because…I’ve been such a fucking idiot.”

All Luka could do was nod. “Kind of. But…how, exactly?”

Thomas took two more steps, until they were an arm’s length apart. The raindrops clung to his eyelashes and ran in rivulets down his jaw. “This morning…alone in my empty apartment, I realized, what thefuckam I doing? Why am I leaving?”

Luka nodded some more. “That’s what I was wondering too,” he agreed in a small voice. His heart was now forcing itself up his throat, throbbing with raw, painful hope.

Closing the distance, Thomas took his hand. “What if I stay?”

Luka’s eyes flooded with tears. He was hardly able to believe what was happening. “Yeah. Yes. Stay. For the love of God, please stay.”

“Luka…” Thomas pushed out a long breath, then squeezed his hand. He raised his golden eyes. His lower lip trembled, then he said it. “I love you.”

Luka’s lungs emptied with a wheeze as his legs threatened to buckle. Tears spilled onto his cheeks, mixing with the rain. “You what?”

“I love you. And…fuck, I’m so sorry.”

Another tear fell. “I told you I was loveable.” Luka sniffled

Thomas laughed and took Luka’s other hand, his smile shy. “Do you still—”

Luka threw himself into Thomas’ arms, pressed their lips together and kissed him for all he was worth. Kissed him for every longing glance, every lingering touch, every skipped heartbeat. For the hundreds of days he hadn’t kissed him. For the accidental couple’s costume, for the honeymoon suite, for the cherry blossoms. For every wish, every ache, every dream.

The kiss went on, wet as the rain poured down on them. And on, until they were dizzy.

“So,” Luka panted when they pulled apart, lips tingling, arms still wrapped around the other. The smell of the rain was intoxicating and he wanted to drown in it. “You love me?”

Thomas hummed, pushing a wet strand of hair off of Luka’s forehead. “You do realize I could have gotten my own office at any point, right? I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you.”

“Really? Like, themoment?”

“Well…” Thomas looked up, thinking. “Maybe not themoment.”

Laughing, Luka smacked him, then tightened his grip around Thomas’ torso again. “I love you, too.”I love you, too. It had never felt so good to say those four words. Any four words, ever. They hung in the air, wrapped around them, anchored a planet to its sun.

Thomas smiled, holding his gaze. Luka blinked more tears away, then kissed him again. His heart was pounding…or was that Thomas’?

Then Thomas’ eyes widened. “Fuck. All my stuff is on its way to Mansfield.”

Luka laughed again, because any problem felt small when they were together. “Let’s get out of this storm, shall we?”

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