There’s a knock at the door, blessedly saving me from my own thoughts. I jump up and hurry over to answer it.
By the time I take the pizza and turn back to the couch, Leo is already holding the PS4 controller in his hand, the Madden logo flashing across the screen.
I groan and he smirks. “Come on, let me kick your ass for a few rounds, and then you can whoop me at Fortnight.”
“Deal,” I agree, sliding onto the couch and putting the pizza on the coffee table. I pick up the other controller and settle in for what’s sure to be more than a few rounds of having my ass handed to me.
Leo opens the pizza box and smiles, grabbing a slice and taking a bite before placing it back in the box and focusing on the screen. I smile at him for a few seconds, my chest filling with warmth and affection. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the chance to hang out with Leo again like this. Sure, we’ve video chatted over the years, and we play online games together, but it’s not the same as having him here in my living room, eating pizza on my couch.
I’m glad he’s finally home.
Chapter 4
Hudson
The ticking of the clock hanging beside my office door sounds like the seconds are easing by at their usual rate, but every time I look up, I swear the hands haven’t moved an inch. Am I trapped in some sort of Friday sub-dimension where time moves at a different rate than every other place in the universe? Or is the clock actually broken?
Who am I kidding? It’s not that Friday is the problem. It’s been this whole damn week.
My phone vibrates on the desk, and I reach for it in a hurry, hoping like hell it’ll be a text from Bishop asking to hang out tonight. He’s sent me a couple of random memes this week, several texts full of the normal kind of rambling I’d expect from him. But he hasn’t asked to hang out, so I haven’t either. He said he needed space, and I’m doing my best to respect that. How long did he mean though? Will things be back to normal between us in a week? A month? A year? Never?
My gut twists at that possibility, and I unlock my phone to see the text that’s waiting for me.
Seph: Twisted Cherry tonight?
I deflate a little seeing it’s from my friend Persephone rather than Bishop, but it’s better than nothing.
Hudson: Who all is coming?
Seph: My company isn’t enough for you? I’m hurt.
Hudson: I’m sure you’re more than enough for anyone, gorgeous.
Seph: Flirt.
Hudson: You know it ;)
Seph: I think Bishop is coming, but he was being a little cagey so who knows. Alex seemed excited when I mentioned it, so I’m sure he’ll be there. And Elijah swears that when Pax’s plane lands, they’ll swing by for at least one drink.
Hudson: Who the hell is Alex?
Seph: Really? He came to Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving, right. I was a little distracted at Thanksgiving, but I do vaguely remember Pax’s boyfriend, Elijah, bringing a friend with him. Come to think of it, he’s been around a few times, giving off the cute and nerdy vibe with a heavy dose of flirty.
But what I remember a lot better is how irresistible Bishop looked, how he’d been snippy and adorable with me when we were alone in the kitchen, and I hadn’t been able to resist shoving him against the refrigerator and kissing the hell out of him.
My lips tingle with the memory, and my cock starts to swell.
Hudson: Right, I remember. Sorry, I’ve had a shitty week. I think my brain is down for the count.
Seph: Sounds like you need your very best friends tonight then.
Truer words have never been spoken. But as much as I love Seph, the best friend I really need is Bishop.
Hudson: I’ll be at Twisted. You know I never miss a chance to see my favorite people.
Seph: Always a charmer. See you tonight!
I close out the text thread and pull up the one I have with Bishop, letting my thumb hover over the keyboard for a ridiculous number of seconds before I give in and type a message.
Hudson: You coming out tonight?
Little dots appear next to his name almost instantly and my heart jolts.
Bishop: I’m not sure.
My stomach sinks. We’ve been going out for an after work drink every single Friday night since we turned twenty-one. It started out as just Bishop and me, every Friday without fail. Then, we met Seph, and she became part of our ritual. Pax was added a couple of years later, and now we have his boyfriend and apparently bonus friends. I’m fine with all of that, but I can’t lose Bishop from this equation.
Hudson: What do you mean? You have other plans tonight instead?
The very thought of it has me bouncing my knee and biting the thumbnail on my freehand while I wait for his response.
Bishop: Not really.
I let out a sigh of relief before rapidly typing my response.
Hudson: Come tonight. I miss you.
The dots bounce beside his name again, and I start to second guess my frankness. Should I not have said I miss him? For five years it’s been nothing but a mess of mixed signals from my best friend. One minute he’s melting against me, kissing me like our lives depend on it, and the next he can’t get out the door fast enough. He’ll curl up against me when we watch a movie together, but god forbid anyone else sees us together. At Thanksgiving, Elijah and Pax walked in on us making out in Seph’s kitchen, and I’ve never felt him tense so fast against me. I’m sure I fucked that up too, slipping out of the kitchen as fast as I could in hopes of keeping anyone from asking any questions that might upset him. He insists we’re only friends, then he dumps me out of nowhere.
A response finally pops up, and I shake off my thoughts so I can read it.
Bishop: I’ll see you tonight.
A grin spreads across my lips, and as much as I’m itching to type back a longer response, I force myself to send a thumbs up and leave it at that.
Leo
I jog up the stairs to Bishop’s apartment with a spring in my step and a grin on my face. My first week at my new law firm went better than I ever hoped. The partners are all friendly and welcoming, and getting away from corporate law to focus on helping people feels like it’s going to be exactly what I’ve been needing.
Coming home to Bishop every night hasn’t hurt one bit either. Although, a real bed would be a bonus. His couch is starting to do a number on my neck. Not that I’m about to complain when I haven’t given a single second of thought to looking for my own place yet. Why would I when I get to come home to my best friend every night and a few rounds of video games or a movie together. All the loneliness from New York is a distant memory, and I’m in no hurry to be in my own place.
I step through the door, setting my briefcase down and bending over to take off my shoes. When Bishop is in the living room, I’ve been sure to take my time to give him a nice long look at my well-sculpted ass, but since there’s no one here to enjoy the show at the moment, I take them off quickly and stand back up.
“B?” I call out, not wasting a second untucking my shirt and working the buttons open.
“Out in a second,” he answers from down the hallway. Shrugging my shirt off, I toss it onto the couch and start on my pants. When I have them down around my ankles, I hear the sound of footsteps coming down the hall, and I smirk. I turn so my ass is pointed toward the hallway and bend over.