Page 104 of The Laughing Game

Sebastian held up his hands. “Sorry, sorry. That was inappropriate. And no, that doesn’t matter.” He cleared his throat. “Penetration isn’t the definition of sex. Especially queer sex.”

“Trust me, I felt properly ‘initiated’ the day that I kissed them.”

“Awe!” Sebastian said, glancing at Jacob. “That’s so cute!”

“Oh, stop it. It’s not cute. It’s fucking amazing. They’re so fucking hot I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Looks like you don’t have to doanythingwith yourself,” Jacob joked, leering.

I rolled my eyes. “Very funny.”

“Look, we’re thrilled about this. Can’t you tell?” Jacob said.

“Yeah. We told them you were worth the effort,” Sebastian said.

“Wait. How long have they been…like…thinking about me that way?” I asked, intensely curious.

“Oh Christ, since that day we introduced you to them at Johnny Farina’s. Remember?”

It took me a minute. “Oh fuck, that wasagesago!”

“They’ve been pining.”

“No, they haven’t.”

“Oh yeah. We told them you were probably straight but that there might be some wiggle room. If anyone could find it, it was those two.”

“Wow,” I said, well and truly stunned.

Christ, theyhadbeen courting me.

* * * *

Vihaal had to put up with the nose packing for two days. Gideon fussed over him when he wasn’t at work and got angry when Vihaal pushed him away. It was apparent that Vihaal did not like being in such a vulnerable condition, preferring to look after himself. But Gideon couldn’t help himself, especially since he was trained to be a support person.

I had to spend some time at my place anyway, as I had client meetings and didn’t want to be a disturbance, but I did offer to drive Vihaal to have the packing removed, since Gideon would be at work at the time of his appointment.

“You didn’t have to do this, Angel. I could have driven myself.”

“Oh no. You’re supposed to have someone bring you,” I reminded him.

He flashed me a look. “You always do things by the book, don’t you?”

“Not always,” I said, giving him a look. “But when it comes to your health, I do.”

Vihaal sighed.

“You know,” Vihaal murmured, staring out of the window, “Jacob once told me that you find out the true mettle of people during a crisis.”

I nodded. “That makes sense.”

He regarded me soberly.

“What?” I asked, glancing at him as I drove.

“I’ve missed you, Angel.”

“What?” I said, laughing. “It’s been two days.”

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