Page 119 of Gratification in Gluttony

“I know. I’m sorry.” Toni sniffled glumly. “It’s just really nice, is all.”

Snickering, Jude drew him down into a kiss. “Don’t be sorry. I want to learn your language. Just be patient with me, okay? It’s not as easy as math.”

Toni hugged him, pressing his face to Jude’s neck as he mumbled, “The fact you’re even gonna try is all that matters.” With a sniff, Toni withdrew from the hug and pecked the tip of Jude’s nose. “Now, let me get this done so we can get outta here.”

“Do you have big plans for me tonight?” Jude asked, an attempt at levity now that Toni had made things ridiculously emotional.

“The biggest, and I’m not just talking about my dicks.” Toni waggled his brows as Jude snorted. “I’m gonna seduce you with my cooking, and after, I will use my rocking bod to seal the deal.”

Laughing up at the ceiling, Jude shook his head. “You’re confident.”

“I’m a very good cook.” Toni dumped the vegetables into a container and dated it before storing it in the walk-in. “And I already know you like my body. So it feels like a rebound.”

Jude quirked his head. “A what?”

Pantomiming the human sport, basketball, Toni said, “You know, a rebound. When they smash the ball through the net and score a point.”

“That’s called a slam dunk.”

“Whatever,” Toni grumbled, kissing Jude’s next chuckle off his lips. “What I’m saying is, I’m very confident that I’m going to score. As long as you want to score as well. Your consent is vital to my plan’s success.”

Slim fingers dragged down Toni’s torso until they met his jeans. “I guess you’ll have to seduce me and find out.”

“Challenge accepted,” Toni whispered as he hoisted Jude into his arms and carried him toward the back exit.

Chapter twenty-seven

Myri Je Entwyn

When they arrived atToni’s flat, Jude carried his overnight bag into the bedroom while Toni retrieved the meal he’d prepped the night before and popped it into the oven. As they waited for it to bake, Jude taught Toni how to play theB7chord on the guitar, then he invited Toni to join him, Oliver, and Liel at a hockey game the following month.

“I’ve never been to a hockey game,” Toni said, and Jude’s eyes flashed with excitement.

“I think you’ll like it,” he said confidently.

They ate the traditional Elas rice dish Toni had prepared at the table and after, they showered together, laughing as they used the sudsy shampoo to give each other obnoxious hairstyles. Toni shaped an impressive beard on Jude’s chin as Jude slicked Toni’s hair up into a mohawk. And when Toni kissed him, Jude sighed and melted against him, like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Once they were squeaky clean, they dressed in their pajamas, then Toni proceeded to decimate Jude in his favorite first-person-shooter video game.

“And that, ladies and gentlemen—and nonbinary people, of course—is why Toni is the video game king!” He stood and bowed before his imaginary audience of adoring fans. “Thank you. Thank you. No really, it’s not even me. It’s all of you’s. I do this for you.”

“Who are you talking to?” Jude laughed around his sip of beer.

“All my fans,” Toni said, waving his hand at the empty living room.

“I just learned how to play this game. You can’t be that smug when beating me.”

“Well, buckle in, buttercup,” Toni said as he bent down to peck Jude’s mouth. “Because I can, and I will.”

“It’s buckleup,” Jude corrected, breath hot against Toni’s lips.

“Whatever,” Toni said, kissing him again, lingering. “By the way, what the fuck is a buttercup?”

“I think it’s a type of flower.” Setting aside the video game controller, Jude circled an arm around Toni’s neck, trailing kisses over Toni’s jaw.

Toni frowned. “Why would you buckle up a flower?”

“Toni”—Jude leaned back, leveling him with anare-you-seriousglare—“is that really what you want to talk about right now?”

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