"Just checking the mail. Haven't seen you around the gym lately." Zach shut the small door to his mailbox and locked it.
"Looks like you have your mail now." I stared pointedly at the mail in Zach's hand before scowling.
Phin made a shocked, squeaky noise but didn't speak.
"Yeah, I do," Zach said slowly. The tips of his ears shone a bright red. "Bye, I guess."
"Bye, Zach. Nice seeing you," Phineas said brightly, leaning around me to look at him.
"Yeah, you too, Phin."
"Bye," I said sharply, crossing my arms. I ignored Zach's confused, hurt look—it didn't take a whole lot to confuse him—and waited for the door to close behind him before spinning around to face Phin. I wasn't sure what I'd been about to say but knew it didn't equal the anger that radiated off him. Was he pissed that I'd interrupted them? That would just be too bad.
"What was that?" he hissed.
I scowled, squeezing my arms more tightly across my chest to keep from hauling him over my shoulder. "I should ask you."
"Me? I was saying hello to the man, acting pretty normal if I say so myself. And then you came in and… how did you get down so fast anyway? I just saw you in the window."
"I jumped."
He gestured angrily in front of my face, assuming that I was lying. "Okay, fine, don't tell me. You suggested I come out here, Nash. I have to live with these people. It would be really great if you didn't make them hate me."
Why would Zach hate Phin because of me? That didn't make sense, and I was too angry to think it over rationally anyway. This game we played, it had come to a climax, and I was at my breaking point. "He's probably already forgotten."
Phineas pointed his finger at me, pressing it against my sternum as he spoke. "Stop being a dick! He isn't stupid just because he's muscular. Any more than you are!"
Was that what Phin had been doing? Using me as some Zach substitute? "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but Zach is nothing like me."
"I know! You at least remember my name!"
"Is that what we're doing here, Phin? Is he all these lessons were ever for? You better tell me right now."
Phineas threw his hands in the air. "Have you gone insane? Need I remind you all of this was your idea! You can't get mad at me for it now! That's entrapment and just plain…" His mouth gaped open like a fish as he searched for the right word. "That's just… rude!" He stepped around me, back up to the stairs.
I followed him, blocking his way. I wasn't thinking straight. My actions felt fueled by pure fire, not logical thought and reasoning. These days—hanging out with Phin but not being with him, tamping down my wolf side—I'd reached my boiling point, and while the best decision was probably to walk away and give us both some space, I could no sooner leave Phin's presence as I could jump to the moon. "Do you want Zach, Phineas? Tell me honestly. What is this that we're doing?"
Phin's lips twisted with frustration. "No, I don't want Zach."
"Then what do you want?"
The sun shone overhead. It was a rare clear day in this side of the world. Only puffy white clouds in the sky. A seagull flew by, cawing aggressively, but it was as if the two of us had frozen in time. Everything depended on whatever came out of Phin's mouth next.
He sighed tiredly and lifted his gaze to mine. Much of his anger had dimmed. "Isn't it obvious?"
What did that mean?
Oh.
OH.
My arms unfolded from my chest, and I lifted Phin, carrying him against my chest back into his apartment building. Driven by an animalistic desire, I climbed the steps and pushed open his unlocked door, kicking it closed. He stayed silent, sinking in my embrace until we reached his bedroom, and I set him down, safely on the bed. Already, I felt better. I also felt stupid for how I'd acted. But none of that mattered as much as the last three words Phineas had uttered to me. Isn't. It. Obvious.
Me. He wanted me.
I was an idiot, but a happy idiot.
Unless I was misunderstanding him now…?
His head was against his pillow, and he watched me quietly. If he hadn't just confessed his feelings for me, then this was probably really strange behavior on my part. "To be sure, you meant me, right?"
He smiled and nodded. "Yes, Nash. You. I'm sorry. I know I told you I wouldn't but—"
I balanced my weight on my hands at either side of his head. "Don't apologize."
"You aren't mad?"
"Would I have carried you to your bed if I was?" I looked at the way I had him pinned beneath me.
"Good point." His lips tugged up, nearly smiling but not quite. "What now?"
My heart felt like it had been stretched and filled with helium. I needed to be absolutely clear on this. "You weren't asking for my help so you could bag Zach?"
He shook his head, and I felt impossibly lighter. "No. I've been over that for a while."
"You want me?" It felt a little silly to be asking these sorts of questions while laying on top of him.
"Yes."
"No more flirting lessons," I said, my chest rumbling. "No more crushes. I need you to be mine, Phineas. Like you should have been from the beginning."
He licked his lips. "Yours?"
Oh fuck, what if he was one of those open relationship types? I was pretty confident I'd shown him how not into sharing him I was. No reason to tiptoe around it now. If he didn't want to be mine, I'd simply have to persuade him. "Yes, mine, Phin. To touch, to kiss, to protect." I grazed my lips over his, not quite kissing as much as I teased him with the promise of my kiss. "Do you have anything to say about that?" Whatever his arguments were, it was best to get them all out now. We'd toppled right over the point of no return at about the time we'd made out on his sofa.
"Just one thing," Phin replied.
I held my breath as his smile turned dazzling.
"Finally."
Covering his lips with a growl, I cupped his nape so I could keep him exactly as I wanted. I'd already kissed him, but now everything was different. I kept my motions slow, not wanting to spook him. At last, I had him where I wanted. I smiled and pulled back to look into his face. "Finally," I whispered before kissing him again, feeling as if my body was melting over the top of him.
I wanted to cover him like a second skin. I wasn't worried about whipping my dick out and getting off. I wasn't thinking about my next steps, how I got him from kissing to naked. I lived in the moment. The only thing to matter were my lips over his. Inhaling the breath, he exhaled. We'd walked around as two separate beings for far too long. It was time we were one.
"This is real, right?" Phin whispered.
Smiling, I rubbed our noses together. "Yes, you're really here. You're really mine."
His head tilted to the side. "You really want me?"
"I really want you." He had to feel the proof of that fact pressing into his middle. "I have since I first saw you in your underwear."
"What?" Phin's mouth parted in shock, tilting up in the corners. "That is inappropriate for a fireman to say! I was unconscious!"