Page 98 of Make the Play
“Welcome to the team.”
“I had gay sex,” Jason hisses, because even though he’s in the dark living room and Emerson and the dogs are asleep, he feels like he should be whispering.
“Sex is sex,” Theo laughs. “But uh, how was it?”
“Fucking fantastic. I should’ve had gay sex sooner. You were right by the way, frottage is amazing. What else should we try? Wait, don’t answer that because anything you tell me I’m going to know you do with Alec, and I don’t want to know that. In fact, don’t ever give me any gay sex tips.”
“No gay sex tips, got it,” Theo replies, sounding like he’s trying not to laugh. “But Jason?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really proud of you. I’d hug you if I could.” All of Jason’s unease melts at those two sentences. He really loves his best friend. He knew he’d make everything better.
“I like him, Theo.” Jason breathes in deeply, rubbing his hand over his jaw while pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. “I like him so much.Shit.”
“I know, Jason.” Theo’s voice is warm, familiar, and though Jason never had a doubt that his best friend would support him, his easy acceptance provides the exact comfort Jason needed. “I’m happy for you.”
Jason stares down the darkened hallway, as if only now realizing he’s in the living room alone when he could be in bed cuddling his boyfriend. His naked, sleepy, perfect boyfriend. What the fuck is he doing?
“Theo, I have to go.”
“Sure.” Theo yawns loudly, the sound crackling through the phone. “You’ll call me later?”
“Yeah, of course. I love you.”
“Love you too, Jason.”
With that Jason clicks off his phone, dropping it at the charging station before hurrying back to the bedroom. Even in the dim light, Emerson’s shock of red hair stands out like a beacon against his cream sheets—nothing but his cute nose and mess of hair visibly peeking out from the blankets. This time he’s not alone though because apparently while Jason was in the living room, Freddie snuck into the bed, curled up not in Jason’s spot but rather next to Emerson’s back which further cements his earlier thoughts. This right here is exactly where Emerson belongs, and Jason is going to do whatever it takes to keep him.
Careful not to disturb Emerson or Freddie, he slowly lifts the blankets to slip inside. Emerson grunts quietly, mouth falling open to let out a bit of drool. It’s quite possibly the most adorable thing Jason has ever seen, and he’s not sure what to make of that feeling since most of the time with his exes, he felt mildly annoyed when they wanted to sleep over. Though that likely was because they always wanted to kick his dogs out of the bedroom, which made Jason want to kick them out instead.
As with all other aspects of his life, Emerson fits—as if he was always meant to be here.
In his sleep, Emerson shifts, and Jason takes the opportunity to pull Emerson’s leg over his hip while slipping his arm around Emerson’s middle to pull him as close to his own body as possible. The warmth of Emerson’s smooth, bare skin against his own and the soft puffs of air against his neck lull Jason into a relaxed state. Breathing in Emerson’s scent, Jason drops another kiss to the top of Emerson’s head before closing his eyes.
* * *
Somethingvery wiggly and warm wakes Jason up and it is not, much to his disappointment, a sexy naked redhead but rather a one-hundred pound dog with horrible morning breath. This alone is enough to make Jason frown, his displeasure turning into a full on groan when Stella howls at the same time that Freddie licks his mouth in a silent but wet morning greeting.
“Seriously you guys.” Jason wipes away the drool, trying to guess what time it is. Judging by the light peeking through his window it’s still pretty early, though not too early for his babies to make their displeasure at not having food and attention known. The one downside to having an early morning routine during the school year is that his dogs do not understand what a weekend is, and sleeping in is never an option.
In true, part-husky fashion Stella starts some combination of bark-howling that feels very much likewhere is my breakfast, Dad. Squinting over Emerson to see the clock, Jason sees why.
“My bad, it’s a whole four minutes past when you usually eat. Did you die?”
Stella howls again as if to say yes, while Freddie flops in between Jason and Emerson, using Emerson’s head as a chair so he can try and crawl on Jason’s chest.
“Yes, yes, you missed me. You were so far away, weren’t you, you giant baby.” Freddie chuffs and Jason can’t even be bothered because Freddie might be a giant baby, but he’s Jason’s giant baby. “Let’s maybe not use Emerson’s head as a chair though, huh?”
“M’fine,” Emerson mumbles, but judging from the muffled words, his face is either shoved into the pillow or under Freddie and neither seem comfortable.
“That’s it, no assaulting the boyfriend. We want him to come back, Freddie. A lot. You be a good boy, huh?”
Any fear Jason had that waking up to the chaos that is his two dogs might be too much is assuaged when Emerson’s head pops up from beneath his blanket cocoon. His hair is even more wild than usual, pillow lines on his face, along with a very confused expression like he’s not entirely sure why he’s awake. He doesn’t complain though, just pats Freddie.
“You’re always a good boy, aren’t you?”
Freddie’s tail wags so hard at the praise it whacks Emerson in the neck.
