Page 33 of Cover Up

“He’s in the back washing up,” came a voice from behind the partition, and then Max’s head popped up, and he smiled. “Jeremiah said you have a message for me, by the way.”

“I do not, and tell him I’ll be plantin’ roots in West Coast soil if he doesn’t knock that shit off.”

“And break our hearts?” the woman up front asked. Dei couldn’t remember her name—she was newer and working on becoming a piercer, but she fit in perfectly with the rest of the Irons and Works family.

Dei sighed and leaned against the counter, drumming his fingers on the cool stone. “Y’all got questions, or are you just gonna stare?”

“Stare,” Max said.

“Aren’t you literally in the middle of a tattoo?” Paris demanded as he stood up from where he’d been bent over a drawing table.

Max flushed. “Shit. Sorry, hon,” he said, dropping out of sight.

Paris rolled his eyes and jerked his head at Dei. “Come with me and get away from the damn circus.”

Paris got a chorus of boos, but Dei happily followed him through a set of swinging doors and into a very quiet hallway. “Don’t hate them,” Paris said. “They’re like a goddamn knitting circle. When Ben and I first started dating, they were ten times worse.” He stopped abruptly and offered Dei a sheepish smile. “I mean, not that you and Felix are dating, but you know what I mean.”

Dei’s chest burned with the need to correct him. They weren’t dating, but fuck him if it wasn’t the one thing he wanted more than life itself. He just wasn’t ready to say that aloud.

Yet.

“Thanks for this,” Dei said as Paris held open a door that led to a decent-sized room filled with several tables and art supplies.

Paris nodded. “This is kind of our quiet space. I’ll let Felix know you’re waiting for him.”

Dei appreciated that Paris wasn’t one for small talk, and he settled into a chair. He barely fit, but it was nice to be off his leg for a bit as he tried his best not to count the seconds Felix kept him waiting.

The silence wasn’t his friend, though.

Dei hadn’t been away from his mom since she was put into care, and while he knew he deserved to take some time away, the idea of not being close enough to run to her made him feel sick. He’d already been by that morning, and every member of her team that was there said Dei was safe to take a few weeks if he wanted.

Her condition wasn’t spiraling, even if it was progressing quickly.

Nothing would be the same after she was gone, but as much as he’d be freer to travel again whenever he wanted, he didn’t want to wait for it. He was tired of putting his life on hold all the damn time.

The door creaked open, and Dei jumped a little as Felix stuck his head in. There was a pause—the way there always was when Felix was searching him for something to recognize—and then he smiled, sweet and sunny.

“I heard the guys were giving you shit,” Felix said as he stepped in and closed the door.

Dei snorted. “No worse than I gotta hear at work, shug. How’s your day goin’?”

“Good.” Felix shot him an apologetic grimace. “I can’t talk long, though. My client’s already in my stall.”

Dei stood and reached for Felix, who leaned into his touch like a cat. His cheek was scratchy and warm. “I’m not here to keep you. I got a mountain of dinner prep to finish. I just wanted to let you know I got my time off approved and got my momma’s team all informed.”

Felix’s eyes widened. “Oh my god,” he whispered. “I forgot about her. You really don’t have to—”

Dei touched Felix’s lower lip with his thumb, his words trailing off into a sigh. “I want to go. I want to be there with you.”

Felix swallowed heavily, then nodded. “If anything happens…”

“We hop a plane and get right back,” Dei said, ignoring the little curl of anxiety at the base of his spine. Shit could happen anytime, anywhere. There was no point in constantly preparing for disaster. “What time is our flight?”

“We leave Miami at four,” Felix said quietly.

Dei nodded, then slowly drew his hand away, hating the space he created between them. “I’ll get all packed up and ready to go tonight. And if you want some company, you come right over, okay?”

Felix looked happy about that. Happier than Dei expected him to, and it made him think about what Jeremiah had told him. Testing the waters. It was sure as shit going to test his resolve, but Dei couldn’t begin to imagine what would happen if he gave in.

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