Page 94 of Body Check

“Youareokay with coming back to my place, right?” There was something brittle in Gavin’s voice.

Dakota nodded, glancing over. “Yeah. If you want me.”

Gavin studied his face, though what he could see in the dim car was debatable, but a moment later he nodded. “Yes. I do.”

They didn’t say anything else, but they were halfway there before Dakota realized their fingers were tangled together on the seat between them. He glanced down, looking at Gavin’s wide, sturdy fingers wrapped around his slimmer, narrower ones, the image alternately illuminated and plunged into shadow every time they passed a streetlight, and his throat thickened.

In the condo, Gavin stripped out of the now rather rank-smelling workout gear he’d worn to the hospital, then stepped into the shower. He looked at Dakota, not saying anything, but every line in his body screamed out that he was searching for comfort. For connection.

So Dakota stripped off too and went to him.

They didn’t speak in the shower either, just soaped each other off. Gavin’s eyes closed with bliss when Dakota scrubbed his hair, and he seemed tired and a little dazed as they slid into bed.

“You’re staying?” Gavin said hopefully, though his eyes were already drooping.

“Yeah,” Dakota said quietly. “I am.”

He could tell himself all he wanted that it was because it was late and the last train to Quincy had already run, but that wasn’t the half of it. He shot off a text message to Violet letting her know he was spending the night at Gavin’s place—he’d deal with the fallout fromthatin the morning—and set his phone aside.

“There’s an extra charger in the nightstand drawer with adapters,” Gavin mumbled, then flipped on his side.

After Dakota’s phone was plugged in, he hesitantly let his body curve around Gavin’s, but he simply sighed, pressing back into his touch. Dakota wrapped an arm around him, softly stroking the hair on his belly, and it wasn’t long before Gavin’s body went slack against his.

Dakota fought sleep a while longer, his head whirling with everything that had happened today, but eventually, he too closed his eyes and slept.

Gavin awoke to the sound of insistent beeping.

He fumbled with his phone until it stopped, squinting tiredly at the screen. He should get up. Should get on with his morning routine …

But he winced when he thought of the doctor telling him he needed to take better care of himself. That he was going too hard. That if he didn’t dial it back, he’d find himself facing down a real heart attack the next time.

And it would happen sooner rather than later.

Behind him, Dakota made a sleepy, disgruntled noise. Gavin smiled, turning over. Dakota was sprawled on his stomach and Gavin reached out to brush his messy hair off his cheek. “Shh, go back to sleep,” he whispered, an oddly tender feeling growing in his chest. “It’s too early to get up.”

Another mutter and Dakota buried his head in the pillow and was out.

Gavin watched Dakota sleep for a few moments before his own eyelids became too heavy to keep open and he drifted off again.

The next time he awoke, it was to Dakota’s alarm.

Dakota flailed for it, nearly catching Gavin in the nose.

“Other nightstand,” he said hoarsely.

Dakota sat upright, staring at him with a wide-eyed, alarmed glance, before something seemed to register. He shut off the alarm and flopped back down, staring at the ceiling.

“Forgot you spent the night here?” Gavin asked quietly, clicking on the light on his nightstand.

“Uhh …” Dakota sighed. “Honestly, yes.”

“How are you feeling about that in the cold light of day?”

Dakota squinted at the curtains Gavin had left open last night like he was trying to figure that out. The sky was still mostly dark. “Uhh, fine, I guess.”

“And where do we stand on the ‘you want to end things’ front?”

Dakota rubbed a hand over his face. “It’s a little early for relationship negotiations, isn’t it?”

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