Page 139 of The Long Game

Jack hummed, but he sounded more distracted than amused. He had his hand pressed to his chest. “This is what I wanted to show you,” he said with a rueful smile. “But now I’m nervous, which is dumb.”

“It’s not dumb,” Grady said, quick to leap to Jack’s defense, even from himself.

Jack hesitated, then peeled his hand away.

For a moment, Grady’s eyes couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing. He blinked, his name coming into focus as he traced its sinuous lines along the tentacle that curled on Jack’s chest.

The tip of his fingers followed the flow of letters as they sketched out a hint of circular markings.

Then he pressed his hand where Jack’s had been—over his own name and Jack’s heart.

“Why here?”

“It where you’ve always been.”

Grady’s heart lurched in his chest. “Always?”

“Since the kiss in the back room of the Brunswicker Ale House,” Jack admitted in a quiet voice.

Grady was shocked. “You mean the one where you walked away and seemed surprised when I still wanted to be your friend?”

A ghost of a smile curled the corners of Jack’s mouth. “Well, maybe it wasn’t instant. You grew on me, making your mark incountless small ways until it was indelible. Adding the ink only made it visible from the outside—when I wanted.”

Grady rubbed a thumb over his name. “I love you, too, Jack.”

A tentative smile broke over his face. “It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that’s what it was.”

“But you did.”

“When you held my hand,” Jack agreed.

“Three weeks ago?” Grady asked, part amused, part alarmed.

“Like I said:dumb.”

Grady kissed Jack’s lips. “I think you’re brilliant.” Then he kissed the spot over Jack’s heart. “And you’re not the only one.”

“What do you mean?”

Grady towed Jack toward the bed. It was Jack’s king and it fit perfectly in the room. “That kiss, all those years ago? That was when I knew, too.”

Jack blinked up at Grady.“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“Were you ready to hear it? What would you have done if I’d told you then? Or six months after that? Or six months ago?”

Jack laughed, but it was at himself. “I would have panicked and run.”

Grady’s smile was far too sweet for that admission. “Yeah, I kind of figured.”

Jack climbed onto the bed and pulled Grady down on top of him. He spread his legs, cradling Grady against his body, and curled his arms around Grady’s ribs to keep him close. “Thank you for waiting for me.”

“All joking about playing the long game aside, Iwasn’twaiting. I never once thought this was possible. That it could be an option.”

“Never?”

“No. If I had, I wouldn’t have gone on those dates. I would have held your hand so much sooner.”

“It’s just as well you didn’t,” Jack admitted. “I wasn’t ready.”

---