Page 55 of Rules to Love By

“Oh, I can.” He sighed and kissed Marcus’s cheek again. “But discussing it when you’re this tired and I’m this upset isn’t a good idea. So relax for a few minutes while I get your bath ready.”

“You don’t have to.”

Eli pursed his lips and counted in his head before replying, because none of this was Marcus’s fault. “I do have to. For one thing, it would be irresponsible and cruel for me to leave you like this. For another, for me, this—taking care of you after—is part of what makes it work for me. It completes the cycle. Not looking after you now would negate all the good you gave me by submitting in the first place.”

Marcus stared at him, eyes wide for a long minute.

“What?”

“I thought you’d be one of the easy ones.”

Eli narrowed his eyes, sure he didn’t want to know, but he asked anyway. “Easy one of what, exactly?”

A shadow of Marcus’s usual grin fluttered across his face. “Should I actually answer that?”

“Probably not, no.”

“Will you forget I said it if I promise to lie right here and not move a muscle until you tell me my bath is ready?”

“I doubt it.” He rose from his seat and picked up the garbage can. “But maybe we’ll leave it for a second-date conversation.” He didn’t wait for Marcus to reply, because that was a pretty big assumption on his part, and he knew it.

“Second date, huh?” Marcus called after him.

“Or even third.”

Then he went into the bathroom and closed the door because it was only fair to give Marcus the privacy to sneak out if he was going to.

He dumped the trash can and cleaned it out, leaving it to drain in the sink while he ran a hot, sudsy bubble bath, just as he’d promised. When he opened the bathroom door, Marcus still lay where he’d left him, eyes closed, covers tucked tight under his chin.

“You asleep?” Eli asked, carefully sweeping the curls back that had fallen over Marcus’s face.

“Not exactly.”

“Still want that bath?”

“You going to stick around?”

“Do you want me to?”

There was a long pause before Marcus finally opened his eyes. He didn’t meet Eli’s, but he did offer a faint smile. “Can our second date not involve sex? Or maybe food?”

“You can choose the activity.”

“You are a very nice man, you know.”

Hearing how nice people thought him was the same kind of ubiquitous as people telling Marcus he was beautiful. “I know,” he said.

Marcus snorted, and it was so genuine it made Eli laugh.

“Come on.” Eli held out a hand. “Let me help you.”

“I don’t need you to.”

“But I still need you to let me. Please.”

Marcus heaved himself to sitting, then took Eli’s hand. “Fine. But only because it makes you feel good.”

“We’re going to find the things that make you feel good too,” Eli promised.

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