Page 20 of The Long Way
“Yeah. Yeah, I got it all outlined that night. Took fucking forever. And I had originally been even more ambitious, but fortunately Quinn - the tattoo guy - knew how much I could probably handle. He told me to come back later for the color.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Good question.” Cain shrugged. “Jace – he was my roommate. He teased me relentlessly for being scared of the pain, but that wasn’t it.”
“You didn’t wanna get caught,” Damon said, his voice carefully neutral.
Cain appreciated the diplomacy, but it wasn’t necessary. He recognized his own weakness better than anyone.
“Yeah. By the time I got this, my parents had already threatened things I… couldn’t afford to lose,” he said simply.Like Jesse’s future. Like his own.“So I backed off. Story of my life, right?” A sudden thought occurred to him. “I do the right thing, but only to a point. Always straddling a line.”
Never losing, never really winning. Probably explained why he was shit at making connections with other people.
He gave a huff of laughter and took a step away from Damon. He felt the loss of heat immediately.
“Anyway,” he said, rubbing his suddenly-damp hands on his pants. “Thanks for the, um, coffee. And letting me crash.” He stepped around Damon into the living room and headed for his shirt.
“You’re leaving?” Damon raised an eyebrow.
“Probably. Yeah. I…” He put his hands into the sleeves and started buttoning the shirt in record time. “I mean, you’ve got stuff to do, and I…”
“I thought you had a plan.” Damn that raspy, wrecked voice. It made Cain’s fucking knees go weak, and his fingers tremble on the buttons. “I’d like to hear it.”
Damon stalked closer, leaning heavily on one leg, and Cain lifted his eyes helplessly. “I don’t want to… I don’t wantyouto…” He groaned in frustration as his words seemed to pile on top of one another, clogging his brain. “You don’t owe me anything.”
Damon stepped closer again, crowding Cain against the wall much the way he had the night before, except this time those hazel green eyes were completely lucid and focused on him. “You’re right. I don’t. And you don’t owe me anything either. Okay?”
The words were important, freeing.
“Yeah, okay.”
Damon’s gaze drifted down, focused on Cain’s mouth, and Cain wet his lips nervously. He felt like he was standing on a precipice, unable to decide whether to risk the jump. Did Damon want him to kiss him? Their mouths were just inches apart, and Cain wanted very badly to find out what Damon tasted like in the light of day. Once again, the moment was ripe with possibility.
Then Damon pushed himself upright, clearing his throat. Cain shut his eyes tightly as the chance he hadn’t taken spun off into the land of might-have-been.
Once again, he’d played it safe and lost.
“So, let’s hear this plan,” Damon said, taking a seat on the sofa again. “I’m all ears.”
