Page 37 of The Waiting Game

“If I can help, I want to,” Jonah said quietly. “You know that, right?”

Felix nodded, turning back, framed in the doorway. “I do. I really do.”

For the longest time, their gazes met and held and it was only the buzz of the elevator reminding them the doors were open that made Jonah look away.

“I’m gonna drop this stuff in my apartment,” Felix said, stepping in the hall with his bags. “Text Ismael, shower off the airplane smell, then be up shortly.”

“Sounds good. Let yourself in whenever,” Jonah called through the closing doors. Felix had a spare key to his place and he had Felix’s. Post-roadie movie nights were not an unusual thing for them.

A few minutes later, Jonah wheeled his luggage into his apartment. He sighed with relief, thankful to be home.

Jonah flipped on lights, glad to see everything was exactly the way he’d left it. Which was to say it was neat, well-decorated, and filled with houseplants. His housekeeper had come by and everything gleamed.

When Jonah had met with a designer to decorate the condo, he’d asked for a place that made him feel the way he felt in nature—light and happy. She’d totally nailed it, keeping most of the décor simple and unfussy, with bright pops of green and darker wood tones for the furniture.

The apartment was a light, bright space during the day, with creamy white walls, light-colored wood floors, and an open feel.

Felix had once described Jonah’s apartment as an urban jungle and he wasn’t wrong about that. One wall of the building was all windows and Jonah had potted plants clustered along it and hanging from the ceiling in front of it.

It had taken some work to set up an automatic watering system that took care of the plants’ moisture needs when he was on the road but after a few false starts it worked beautifully now.

Abandoning his suitcase, Jonah brushed his fingers across the glossy leaves of his Euphorbia francoisii. It was such a slow grower but he’d been patient with it and it was beginning to look healthy and full.

Jonah puttered with his plants for a little while and by the time he was done caring for them, the tension from the flight had faded.

After all of the buildup last week, the flight from St. Louis to Dallas had been surprisingly uneventful. They’d missed the worst of the storms. But multiple flights over multiple days always left Jonah simmering with low-key anxiety that really only faded when he was back home.

Jonah rolled his suitcase into his bedroom and stuck it in a corner, too tired to unpack tonight.

Jonah looked longingly at his comfy bed for a moment before he trudged into the large bathroom. For a moment he contemplated drawing a bath and soaking away the aches but Felix would be here shortly. There wasn’t enough time.

Jonah settled for a nice hot shower and when he came out of the steamy bathroom, he heard the sound of the TV playing.

Jonah stepped into the living room, still wearing a towel. Felix was parked on his green velvet sofa in sweats and crunching on tteokbokki chips.

Jonah smiled and watched him for a moment.

It was times like this that he both treasured and dreaded.

This cozy intimacy made him long for more with Felix. Made him wish he could stride over, rake his fingers through Felix’s damp curls, and coax him to tilt his head up. If they were together, he’d bend down and plant a kiss on Felix’s lips. He’d tease at the seam of his mouth and slip his tongue between and …

Felix looked up, fingers and mouth smeared with red gochujang. “What?”

Helplessly fond of him, Jonah just shook his head, wishing he could kiss the sweet, tangy, spicy flavor from his lips. “Nothing. Just spacing out.”

“Well, go put on pants. I mean, the low-slung towel is certainly a look but …”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jonah said. “I know it’s wasted on you.”

Felix gave him a lopsided smile. “Depends on who you ask.”

When their movie finished, Felix was stretched out on the sofa, his legs smashed into the back cushions, and Jonah slumped against him, tucked into the crook of Felix’s arm and pressed long against his body. They weren’t quite spooning, but it was close.

It was the most comfortable Felix had felt in a long time.

Jonah was mostly asleep and Felix had drifted off at one point too, though he’d never admit it.

Felix poked Jonah, making him jerk in surprise.

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