Page 6 of Labor of Love

It took a moment for him to find the words to say, but he didn’t need to speak—Luca knew what was on his mind from the way his body responded, hips pressing slowly forward, cock sinking back in.

“Just one more night?” he asked hesitantly. “And we’ll go back to being friends after?”

“Yeah,” Luca whispered, reaching up to take him by the cheeks so he could gently guide West’s mouth to his. “One more night. That’s all. We’ll have as much sex as we want, and when we wake up, we’ll leave it all behind us… but for now, don’t you dare take it out. I want you to keep fucking me.”

West’s cock throbbed in agreement, and his lips met Luca’s to seal the pact.

They’d go back to being friends tomorrow.

But for today, friendship could wait.

4

WEST

The pot of water on the stove was almost at a boil when the lock on the front door clicked and the old hinges squeaked open. West perked his head, listening to the shuffle as boots were kicked off and a jacket was hastily unzipped and hung on its usual peg. A moment later, socked feet padded down the hallway, and Luca entered the kitchen. He was still in his scrubs, hair dusted with fine flakes of snow that were rapidly starting to melt. “Smells good in here.”

West nodded. “It’s the garlic. I made a sauce from scratch.”

“Pasta night?” Luca came right up to West’s side and stood on his toes to look over—or more like around—his shoulder, which was unnecessary, as there were plenty of other vantage points in the kitchen from which he could observe the stove. “Are you making the ones I like? The little tubes?”

“Ziti?”

“Yeah, that’s the fucker.”

West snorted, causing Luca to light right up. “Yes, I’m making ziti. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

“How long is that?”

“Mm, maybe about half an hour.”

“Enough time for a shower, thank god. I’mbeat.This whole pregnancy thing is really taking it out on me. Who knew creating a whole other human being was so much work?”

“It’s been two weeks,” West said flatly.

Luca laughed and bumped their arms together, using the impact to dramatically ricochet off West and begin his exit from the kitchen. “Yeah, I know, but what’s the fun in being pregnant if you can’t complain about it? You are in for alongnine months, my friend. My feet already feel like they’re about to fall off, and Google says that’s not even supposed to start until the second trimester. I cannot imagine how insufferable I’ll be when the actual swelling kicks in.”

West’s lips twitched, but he held back a smile. “I wouldn’t worry. It’ll beswell,I’m sure.”

Luca burst out laughing and chucked a pot holder at West’s head. West suffered the blow gladly. After a pun like that, it was well deserved.

“You are the worst. Anyway, I’ll be right back. If it’s ready before I’m downstairs, eat without me, okay? I don’t want you to have to eat cold ziti just because my slow ass wanted to shampoo twice.”

“Okay.”

Luca lingered a moment longer, seeming to search West’s face, then bit his lip and turned on his heel, abandoning the kitchen for wetter pastures.

West glanced at the digital display on the stove.

6:37 PM.

Since Luca knew food was coming, he probably wouldn’t take all that long to shower, despite what he’d claimed. On a weekend he luxuriated, but on a weekday it typically took him twenty-two minutes to wash up, and an extra ten minutes after that to towel off and conduct his regular grooming. If his feet reallyweresore,that estimate might be a little off the mark, but it wouldn’t be by much—not enough that the ziti would get cold.

Confident in his assessment, West added the pasta to the water once it reached a boil, then pulled out the casserole dish. They may have gone back to being friends, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t keep taking care of Luca in the same way he always had?—

—and if he spoiled him more than usual while doing it, what was the harm in that?

Luca’s shower took exactly as long as West had anticipated, and he arrived downstairs right as West was serving dinner. They ate at the dining room table while Luca went into great detail about his day at the dental clinic, then settled into their spots on the couch to stream YouTube and unwind before bed. As usual, Luca took the wireless keyboard and mouse and found something to watch from a channel they both enjoyed—a gaming video from a streamer named Jun_iper. West wasn’t big into video games, but watching someone else play was oddly satisfying, and Jun_iper did a great job of making his viewers feel like they were part of the experience. He had an easy, laidback way of talking, an excellent sense of humor, and seemed like a genuinely good guy.

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