Page 74 of Touch In Excess

Avan looked worried. ‘Vertigo?’

‘Last night. Hearing’s gone today.’ He jerked his chin toward the house and saw Avan follow him out of the corner of his eye. Inside, he motioned for him to wait, and he headed into the bedroom to grab his hearing aids out of their charger. He watched for the blink, then slid the molds into his constantly sore ear canals and waited for the familiar sensation of sound opening up.

And it was there. A little. But not the way it should be. He cleared his throat a few times and hummed to test the sound of his own voice. He’d be able to get by, so long as there was absolutely no background noise. It was a hard ask, but in his cottage, he could at least control it.

Avan was in the kitchen waiting for him, a pot of coffee already brewing. Skye could have kissed him. “I hope you made enough for three.”

“I saw your man,” Avan said, stepping closer and pitching his voice in the range he knew Skye could hear best. “He looks happy.”

“Last night was somehow the shittiest and the best night ever,” Skye told him. He bit his lip, but he knew Avan was well-informed about what Rami did on his channel, so there was no point in lying. “I won the final bid.”

“Oh damn,” Avan said, whistling. “He was cool with it?”

“He asked me to. I’m going to film with him.”

Avan’s brow furrowed. “Bro, you know we can’t be seen on?—”

“Trust me,” Skye interrupted, “he’s got this down to an art. They’ll see dick in ass and nothing else that’ll identify me.”

Avan gave him a look. “You’ve got some decoration down there, man. You don’t think people will notice?”

With a snort, Skye walked over to his fridge and pulled out ingredients for a breakfast burrito. He noticed that Rami preferred savory food in the morning, and while he couldn’t woo him with generations-old cultural family recipes, he could at least do peppers, sausage, eggs, and some hot sauce.

He didn’t think Rami would mind.

“I’m being serious,” Avan warned once Skye had the ingredients laid out.

“How many sex workers, camboys, and porn stars have their dicks pierced, dude?” Skye told him. “You really think my Prince Albert is going to give me away? Besides, anyone whodoesrecognize my dick is bound by an NDA. I’m not worried about it.”

Avan bit his lip as he watched Skye start to beat a handful of eggs in a bowl. He waited until the noise of the whisk died down to ask, “Is this going to be a thing for you two?”

Before that morning, Skye would have said no. He would have said hell no. Their contracts with the Tower didn’t explicitly forbid other sex work jobs, but there were restrictions. He could get away with it if he really wanted to, but the thought had never crossed his mind before.

He was happy where he was. At the end of the day, he wanted to do anything except have sex after a long week with clients. But he had a feeling Rami wasn’t ready to give up his channel just yet, and he found he didn’t mind the idea if it was the two of them together.

Skye could be the one to show Rami off—to torment the audience that they’d lost their chance at him and now Rami was all his. For good.

Forever.

“Wipe that look off your face. It’s disgusting.”

Skye burst into laughter and shook his head. “You staying for breakfast?”

“And cockblock my best friend? I’ll pass.” Avan walked to the counter and snagged a mug, filling it to the brim with coffee, no room for cream. He pressed a kiss to Skye’s cheek, then rested his forehead against Skye’s temple. “I love you. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“I’m happy,” Skye murmured.

“Then I fucking love this guy too.”

Skye laughed. “Don’t tell him that before I do, please.”

Avan grinned as he stepped back and sipped his coffee. “Take your time. You know I hate saying the L word more than twice a week.” He tipped his mug toward Skye, then showed himself to the door long before Rami appeared to make the perfect morning somehow, impossibly, even better.

Skye hadn’t made any plans for the afternoon because he’d expected to be at Rami’s for the day. He figured his lover would work in his art room, and he would explore the house or maybe walk around the neighborhood. Maybe he’d sit on the beach for a while with his toes right at the edge of the surf.

He felt a little lost as he stared out his dining room window, slowly demolishing his food.

Rami eventually came inside just as Skye was finishing his own breakfast, and he didn’t seem to mind that his burrito was slightly cold. He sat down at the table without saying a word, a tiny smile playing at his lips, and he sipped coffee and devoured his food like it was his last meal.

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