Page 52 of Candy Hearts

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“Oh. My. God. That’s what that’s called?”

William laughed helplessly. “I don’t want to fuck your armpit. I really don’t. But thank you. That is probably the sweetest offer I’ve ever gotten. Can you keep sitting close to me and doing this? I like this a lot.”

Benji smiled. There was humor and light back in William’s face, so his suggestion had totally been worth it. Hey, he’d even been willing to give it a shot, but that wasn’t what William needed. William needed this—Benji’s lips on his ear, shared body heat, gentle hands.

Need versus want.

“I guess we can skip that.This time,” Benji said, leaning in to mouth at William’s neck. “But I’m Googling that next time my phone’s not dead. One day, we’re gonna get freaky.”

William’s breath caught on a sharp gasp, but before Benji could suss out that reaction, he twisted the Fleshstroker back over William’s cap, watching it engulf William’s frankly gorgeous cock. As Benji slid the toy up, it left a shiny trail of slick behind. A wave of heat wafted off William, and Benji felt taken over by it. His own cock wept out a drop of pre-come, darkening the silk of the boxers.

Within a minute, William’s breath was ragged and a sheen of sweat coated his chest. His hips twisted, and he dragged Benji closer, threading his fingers up into Benji’s hair.

“Kiss me,” William demanded, voice wrecked. “While I come.”

So Benji did. He kissed this beautiful mess of a man as he shivered and sighed and died a little under Benji’s hands.

* * *

William placed their two remaining candles around the tub. Since they’d been forced to share most of the candles with everyone else earlier in the evening, it wasn’t quite as romantic as the night before, but William was pretty happy with the effect. Benji deserved all the romance, especially after that hand job. William felt incredibly tender toward his valentine just now.

He filled the bathtub with steaming water and two capfuls of the hypoallergenic bubble bath Wren had drunkenly pushed on him before bed because “your skin is sensitive and Happy Valentine’s Day and you need to slow down and smell the roses every once in a while, Willie.”

When he turned around, Benji was taking a big gulp of champagne. William gently took the glass out of his hand and put it on the lip of the big tub next to the candle. He placed his hands on Benji’s hips, tickling the skin above his waistband.

“Can I take these off you?” he asked.

The boxers weren’t as showy as some of the things William had already seen Benji in, either in person or in those pics on Benji’s phone, but he looked adorably cozy in them.

Benji nodded, his movements loose and languid. Once he was naked, they climbed in together. Benji wiggled back against William’s chest, and William brushed his palms over the plains of Benji’s body.

“What happened back in November?” Benji asked after a few minutes of uninterrupted touching. “You mentioned that being the impetus for your change?”

William’s stomach flopped. “Yeah, but I’m worried it might make me sound selfish and silly.”

Benji waved his hand like that didn’t matter, flinging water onto the floor. “I won’t judge you. Promise.”

“Something good happened to me at work.”

“What was it?” Benji patted the top of the bubbles with his palms.

“Mount was nominated for best new nightclub. It’s the first time a queer space has been a finalist.”

“That’s great.”

“Yeah.” William sighed and brushed a puff of bubbles off Benji’s ear. “I sent a group text about it. No one really responded. Wren called me a few days later to congratulate me, but it was silence, otherwise. At first I was kind of hurt, but then I realized that it was my fault. You heard all the important life things I’ve missed out on. Why should they show up for me when I haven’t for them? I’d ruined my friendships, like I’d ruined my attempts at relationships.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself.”

“Do you know why I didn’t make it to Sasha’s disaster wedding three years ago?”

Benji shook his head. “You didn’t miss much.”

“Yes, I did. I missed being there for someone I love when she was left at the altar. I wasn’t there because I accidentally double booked a dinner with big investors. A bunch of things had gone wrong and this was my last chance to secure money from them.”

“Did you get the money?”

William’s throat squeezed painfully. “Yeah, but I lost something more important, and there are always other investors. I see that now. So I reevaluated my life a bit. Rearranged some responsibilities with staff and my business partner.”