Page 41 of Chasing You

“You still with me?” Adele asked quietly.

Kash stuck out his hand that wasn’t holding the cane without looking back at Adele. He smiled when a warm palm touched his own. It wasn’t the day he expected to have, but it was the day he realized he needed.

“I’m here.”

Adele stepped in close enough that Kash could feel his body heat. “Good.”

It did feel pretty damn good.

The pair of them settled inside when the ferry got going, but by the time they were out on open water, Kash was feeling restless. He wasn’t sure he trusted his legs to get him from point A to point B with the way the boat was swaying on the choppy water, but he knew he needed to be outside.

“Can we head out for a bit?”

“Yes,” Adele said. He was looking a little green. “Sitting here makes the rocking feel so much worse.”

Kash had completely forgotten Adele got seasick. He pressed his cane tip to the ground and hauled himself up, but a second later, he toppled backward. Instead of hitting the floor, he hit a pair of very strong arms.

Adele tightened his grip on him. “You’re okay,” he murmured softly. He helped ease Kash upright, then kept an arm around him as they headed toward the doors.

Kash remembered to walk with the sway of the boat, and they only knocked into the wall a couple of times. It wasn’t much better out on the bow, but they reached the side railing that overlooked the bottom deck, and holding on made everything feel a bit more still.

There was no land in sight, but Kash knew they’d be able to see the cape soon enough. The water was green and rich and briny. He looked down at the waves of wake—all white and foamy. It was hypnotic and entirely peaceful.

“Better?” he asked after a long beat. He looked up, and Adele was less pale, though he was holding the wood-capped rail like his life depended on it.

“I’m not going to puke if that’s what you’re asking.”

Kash snorted. “Why’d you take me out here when you know it fucks you up?”

“Because it’s a short ride, and the beach will be worth it,” Adele said. He shuffled a little closer, their hips pressing together, and neither one of them made a move to break apart. “And it used to be your favorite place.”

It had been, and he had a feeling it still was. The fact that Adele knew it and had organized this day for him made him feel a type of way he wasn’t ready to name aloud. But it had four letters, and it lived behind the beat of his heart.

“We could have gone to the beach at home, you know.”

“It’s picked bare by now,” Adele said. “And I wanted somewhere quiet. It feels nice to get away without tests and scans hanging over your head.”

Kash closed his eyes, bowing his head over the water, and he breathed in the salty air. He felt oddly refreshed. Strong in ways he hadn’t felt in a long, long while. He could still feel Adele pressed against him, and he basked in the comfort it brought.

“Kash?”

He looked over at Adele and raised a brow.

“I need a hug.”

The words were strange and utterly vulnerable. Kash didn’t know what to make of it because he wasn’t used to providing any kind of real comfort to anyone. He was always the one asking, never offering. It meant something that Adele still saw him as the one who could fix things with a simple embrace. His arms opened without hesitation, and he let out a heavy sigh as Adele curled against him.

Adele was taller and larger—he always had been. But he fit against Kash like he was born to exist there, and Kash allowed himself the moment to feel how right it all was.

They swayed together with the motion of the boat, and then Adele pulled back, but not completely. He shifted just far enough that he could lean in and rest his head against Kash’s shoulder. “Sorry. I feel a little…out of sorts lately.”

“That’s my fault, I know.”

Adele’s head popped up. “Why the hell would you think that?”

“Because I’ve been taking up all the focus like no one else’s problems matter.”

Rolling his eyes, Adele dropped his head back down. “It’s definitely all me. I’m running from my problems,and it was easy to focus on yours and pretend like mine didn’t exist. But I’m realizing that was maybe not the best strategy.”

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