Page 158 of Cross & Crown

“Hey,” Kelly whispered. “Whatever this costs you, I’m

here to pay it with you. Got it?”

Nick’s green eyes shone bright in the lights of the

elevator. He leaned closer and kissed Kelly, his hand gentle

on Kelly’s cheek, his fingers trailing down Kelly’s neck when

he pulled away.

The elevator lurched to a stop, and Mikey was standing

there waiting for them when the doors opened up. He had

seen the last bit of their kiss, and he was pursing his lips and frowning. “Got to tell you, Nicky, I’m good with it and al ,

but it’s still weird. You want to keep your face pretty, you

might want to keep your hands inside the ride until you reach

the exits.”

Nick huffed a laugh, and they followed Mikey down the

hal . Mikey turned to Kelly and patted him on the arm. “This

guy taught me how to kiss when we were kids,” he whispered.

“Landed Mary Katherine McDowell on that lesson.”

Kelly laughed despite the nerves roiling through him.

“How’s that work?”

159

“I’ll show you later,” Nick promised with an almost

playful smile.

“Hey Nicky, does that make me gay by proxy?” Mikey

asked.

“Yeah, Mikey,” Nick answered, deadpan. “Yeah it does.”

“Fuck.” They reached the room and Mikey turned his

back to the door. He met Nick’s eyes, his expression sobering.

“You know you’re even with him right now,” he said softly.

“Still time to head back.”

Nick didn’t respond, merely returned Mikey’s stare.

Mikey sighed heavily. “If you hadn’t left,you’dbe in that room right now, and I’d be screeningyourvisitors. You know that, right?”

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