Page 51 of Chasing You

Kash choked on a cracker and reached for his water, taking a huge gulp before he asked, “You’re apologizing tome? What the fuck for?”

“I should have thought about what might happen if things got bad and chosen a different thing for us to do.”

“No,” Kash said, his voice stern like it had been earlier that day. His eyes were hard and almost angry. “You don’t get to take that from me. You promised me on the boat we would not give up beach days.”

“Kash—”

“No,” he interrupted again. “I’ve already lost so much to this damn disorder, and there’s a lot I’ll never get back thanks to it.” He gestured angrily at his legs. “I’ll never be able to fully relax. I’ll never be able to step out of the house—even on a good day—without having plan B, C, D, fucking XYZ in case shit goes south. But I’m not going to give up everything that makes me happy because you don’t want to deal with it.”

Adele sat up, the water sloshing around them. Some tumbled over the edge, but he couldn’t bring himself to give a shit about the mess. “That’s not what I’m talking about!”

“Then why? Why are you always so fucking hesitant with me? Why are you treating me like I’m a glass vase full of spiderweb cracks?”

Adele felt like he’d been punched in the sternum. “I’m not trying to. That’s…I didn’t mean…”

“Yeah,” Kash said. He turned his gaze away. “I guessthat’s the shitty part about people trying to be well-meaning all the time, but I didn’t come here to be babied. I came here because I wanted to be with the person who encouraged me to climb buildings without a net under me. The guy who dared me to jump from the roof into the pool?—”

“You shattered your elbow when you hit the edge! Bowen had to haul you out of the water!” Adele said, but there was something growing in his chest. Something warm. Something understanding. Guilt was behind it because he hadn’t realized how bad he’d been with Kash, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t fix.

Kash looked like he was trying to hide a smile, then lost because it bloomed over his face, lighting him up. “It hurt so fucking bad.”

“You cried for your mom,” Adele reminded him. “Younevercried for your mom.”

“I didn’t actually want her. I wanted you.”

Adele sucked in a breath, then shifted himself forward until his knees were pressed to the bottom of the tub on either side of Kash’s knees. He braced himself on his best friend’s shoulders, hovering over him. The air was too cold against his back, but he could barely feel it. “You had me. I was there. I didn’t leave your side.”

“I know. You never left…”

“Until I did,” Adele said quietly.

Kash shook his head. “Youdidn’t leave.Idid.”

Adele moved his hand to cup the side of Kash’s cheek and held his gaze. “You and I both know I was the one who checked out. I was a coward.”

Kash licked his lips. “What were you afraid of?”

Adele wanted to tell him. He knew the words. They were lodged in his chest and begging to be released, but hecouldn’t make his tongue move to say them. Instead, he dropped his head and kissed Kash for everything he was worth.

It was the first time. For all their fooling around and telling each other that touching dicks was just practice, they had never kissed. Adele had never crossed that line. But in this moment, he had obliterated it.

Kash sucked in a startled breath, but just before Adele panicked and pulled back to apologize, he wrapped his arms around Adele’s waist and dragged him down into the water. It spilled over the sides of the tub as his mouth opened and their tongues tangled. Kash tasted like salt and spit and butter from the crackers. His breath was warm, and his tongue was thick and lush as it pushed against his own.

Adele moaned loudly as he kissed and let himself be kissed. He lost himself to the sensation of Kash’s lips dancing against his, hands rubbing up and down his sides—restless like they didn’t know where to land.

And he was happy. Fucking hell, he was so goddamn happy.

Kash’s erection rubbed along Adele’s lower stomach as he rocked his hips, and he let out a chest-deep groan as he kissed Adele harder—deeper, desperate. Adele opened to him, his heart in his open palms, an offering to Kash because no one else would ever be allowed to take it.

It was him or no one at all.

“More,” Kash said. “Touch me. Please, please touch me. I’ve been fantasizing about this all fucking day.”

Adele’s head was spinning, but he had enough sense to slot their hips together and press their dicks into the circle of his fingers. He was hard now, like he hadn’t gotten off ten minutes before, and the edges of his vision were white.

“Like that?”

“Yes. Shit,” Kash gasped. “Uhg, my fucking hips won’t move.”

---