Page 16 of Touch In Excess

“Look, if you don’t want to talk about it?—”

“I’m scared to jinx it,” Skye admitted, watching Jet’s face carefully. He was one of the easier ones to read. “He was…unexpected. If I would have fallen on my face like that in front of anyone else, they would have gotten weird. But he didn’t make it a thing. He got a first aid kit and then just…talked to me. Like we’d known each other forever.”

“Maybe because he knows who we are,” Jet said. His face was a little stiff when he said it. His hands searched through the water, so Skye met him halfway and let their fingers tangle together. “Did you ask him about that? Avan said he found us on a Discord server.”

“He did. It was during the big leak,” Skye told him. “He didn’t go into detail, but I think because he didn’t really care.”

“That’s…different.”

“Taylor didn’t care,” Skye pointed out, feeling suddenly defensive.

Jet sighed and yanked Skye until he floated away from the bench and closer to him. “I’m not judging you or him, but it’s rare. August makes sense. He was Stone’s client. And Hen, well…”

Hen was all of theirs before he became King’s. He’d been with them since the beginning.

“I get it,” Skye said, still a little sour.

“I want you to find someone like Taylor,” Jet told him, pulling him close so he could keep his voice pitched quietly. “I want someone who might not be part of this life but accepts it as part of you without reservation.”

Skye knew Taylor had some reservations at the start. But they’d been quickly dashed because he’d fallen head over heels with Jet, and in the end, it didn’t matter. Not everyone would be okay with that, but apart from the fact that Rami was a virgin and planned to stay that way for a while, he seemed to enjoy the fact that Skye was a Sin.

“Does it help that he asked me almost no questions about what I do?”

Jet bit his lip. “Maybe. That’s…I don’t know. Weird? Most people are curious. Unless he—oh. Is he in the industry?”

“No,” Skye said immediately, then froze. He wasn’t…right? He was an artist. He lived in his grandfather’s old house, which explained why he could afford it, but there were questions Skye hadn’t gotten answered. Like why he was holding on to his virginity. He’d said it wasn’t religion, but he also said he hadn’t wanted to tell him.

“Skye?” Jet asked.

“I think I realized Rami and I need to get to know each other a little more before I can keep answering questions,” he confessed.

Jet laughed and yanked him against his chest, wrapping his arms around him. It felt nice to be embraced that way. It didn’t happen as often anymore. Most of Jet’s free hours were spent on Taylor, which was exactly the way it should be. But Skye was feeling the pressing physical distance between them growing.

At some point, Jet would retire. He would quit the Tower, and he and Taylor would move on. They’d probably stay close, but he knew that just like Stone’s upcoming retirement, he’d have plans to do anything other than be on the property.

“Take your time,” Jet said after a long beat. He settled Skye against his side and held him the way Skye needed to be held right then. “Let it be a slow burn. I mean, you are good at that.”

“Not as good as you are,” Skye said with a laugh, leaning the back of his head against Jet’s massive shoulder. “But yeah. Rami doesn’t want to rush things.” He hesitated, but he decided if there was anyone he could spill his guts to, it was one of the Sins. “He’s a virgin.”

“Oh. Like August.”

“Not like August,” Skye said quickly. “Though they’re kind of similar in a lot of ways. Rami’s an artist, and he’s a little socially…”

“Awkward?”

“Blunt,” Skye said. “He’s Autistic, and I think that might be why he just says whatever he’s thinking. He’s not like me, where I worry myself practically mute.”

Jet sighed and stroked fingers through Skye’s hair. “How did he make you feel?”

“Good. Happy,” Skye told him. “Comfortable. Like I could say anything in the world and my words would be kept safe.”

“You need more of that in your life,” Jet murmured.

“He wants to take it slow. He doesn’t want to have sex for a while.” Or ever? He also realized they hadn’t established a timeline. “I’m going to ask him on another date soon.”

Jet hummed and squeezed him tighter. “Where?”

“No idea,” Skye confessed. “I’m seeing my doctor tomorrow and hoping to get clearance to drive again so I don’t have to ask Avan to cart us everywhere like a damn chauffeur.”

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