Page 67 of We Were Never Lovers
Except all that had seemed fucking stupid, so miniscule and petty, under the fluorescents of the hospital waiting room when he’d thought Sean was going to die. If he could go back, he’d do a press conference like George did, he’d shout at people on the street and fucking dare them to tell him he was wrong to love the man he loved.
He thought the way they got together was romantic as shit, the night they’d made it official, but he wondered what Sean thought of it. Wondered a lot now at all the things he never thought to ask Sean about and now never could.
Like had Sean really meant it when he snapped at Jack after Jack asked him to move in with him? Jack figured they weretogether from the first night they’d hooked up, or at least hoped, had actually counted himself all in before that, and had already decided he wasn’t going to be looking elsewhere, as if he had since they were seventeen, as if any hook up had even come close to that kiss, the way it’d fizzed in his stomach and caused his heart to pound so loudly he’d been scared Sean could hear it.
They’d never put a label on it, so Jack wasn’t lying when he told Sean they weren’t lovers, but he knew he wasn’t telling the truth either. He reckoned Sean would have a few opinions on the fact they lived together in a shared bedroom and always had since they moved into this house.
He’d overheard Ben talking to Sean about the places he and Lara were looking at buying. He shot a look over to where they were sitting in front of their lockers, Ben telling Sean he was set on a place with a pool but not happy with the street as Sean nodded along beside him.
Jack had waited until the come was cooling on his stomach later that night, Sean’s arm flopped over his chest, rising and falling with Jack’s laboured breathing under the lamp in his bedroom in the little cottage he rented on the same street as Annie in East Fremantle before he’d asked, tentative but breathless, “Ben’s movin’ out?”
“Yeah,” Sean said on a breath. “Lease is up and Lara’s pregnant.”
Jack took a measured breath. “You’re movin’ out too?”
“Yeah,” Sean replied like he wasn’t really invested in the conversation. He’d rolled over, kissed a path up Jack’s rib cage, tickling him, making him shiver.
“I was thinkin’ of buying a place in Freo,” Jack said.
“Good for you,” Sean rubbed his face back and forth on Jack’s skin.
Jack took a deep breath and tried again. “Move in with me.”
Sean sat up. Jack risked a look at him. He was scowling, but that wasn’t all that was on his face; Jack had managed to surprise him.
“You can pick the place,” Jack said, unsure but honest anyway. “I reckon it’d be fun. To live… together.”
“Fun,” Sean said flatly, but there was still that look in his eyes, wide in the lamp light, something like hope.
“Yeah, like,” Jack rolled his shoulders back against the bed and tried to look nonchalant. “We should live together.”
“You mean as roommates,” Sean said, looking away, about to move back.
Jack grabbed his arm to hold him close. “No,” he swallowed, “I mean, we’ll have a lot of rooms, but like, we’d, you know, share?”
Sean snorted, but he was smiling. “Share a bedroom?”
Jack nodded, blushing. They were together. He was done. He was all Sean’s. Of course they should share a bedroom, share a bed.
Sean sobered, narrowed his eyes. “Fine.”
“Well, don’t sound too excited about it,” Jack said, trying to cover his excitement, his humiliation.
“I’m gettin’ my own place as well,” Sean said.
“Okay,” Jack’s heart sank.
“In case I need to get away from you,” Sean leaned down as he said it like he was about to kiss Jack.
“Okay,” Jack said softly.
“And I’m gettin’ a dog,” Sean went on.
“Whatever you want,” Jack said, distracted by Sean’s lips an inch from his.
“You don’t like dogs?” Sean narrowed his eyes.
“I love dogs,” Jack replied quickly
