Page 63 of The Heart

“I already regret this,” Sebastian grumbles.

We spend the next hour exchanging presents and when we’re nearing the last of the gifts, I’m all happy and cozy, wrapped in the fuzzy blanket Colton had custom made for me. I run my fingers over it, where my name is scrawled across it in fancy embroidered lettering.

My cheeks hurt from smiling, and from laughing, because on top of the thoughtful presents and the practical ones, Sebastian and Luke also managed to slip in a few joke gifts for all of us. I nearly stopped breathing at the confusion on Colton’s face when Luke opened a giant box of our leftover yarn from our Nerf war along with a variety of knitting needles, and when Sebastian found himself staring at a little wooden animal figurine like the ones he hated so much in the safehouse. The two of them got Colton a box of teeny tiny condoms, which he is now busy blowing up like balloons, and I am sucking on a giant lollipop that’s shaped like a dick.

I’m sitting next to Colton, sucking on said dick, making a variety of popping noises whenever it leaves my mouth. He glares at me, but I don’t look over at him. No way I’m looking at him while I’m enjoying my suggestive snack.

We watch as Sebastian and Luke start to open the last couple of presents. There’s a pile of discarded paper and ribbons on the floor between us. And holy hell are my men adorable when they’re this happy, this relaxed. But I guess we’re all feeling pretty good from the alcohol and from being together tonight.

When Luke opens a new crewneck sweater that Sebastian picked out for him, I watch a wave of emotion pass over his face. This isn’t their first Christmas together, not even close. But it is the first one where they’ve been “together.” I can see that this time spent with each other, and the presents they exchange, mean something different now.

“Thanks, Seb,” Luke says softly, barely glancing up at him so as not to clue Colton in to the emotion there. I watch Sebastian’s jaw clench, watch him steady his breathing before speaking.

“You’re welcome,” he nearly chokes out with the same “not looking at each other”maneuver.

Then Luke takes his shirt off.Fuck me.

I put my lollipop back in its wrapper, I can’t look at him with my lips around it. Not when the new lacy underwear I’m wearing are already soaked completely through from that display alone.Oh well.My guys will probably just tear them to pieces in their brutal impatience anyway, just like they always fucking do.

Then Luke tosses his shirt over to Colton, and what does he fucking do?

He puts it on.

On the one hand, I’m happy the man sitting beside me is finally covered up so I don’t have to keep track of where my eyeballs are settling. On the other hand, now he smells like Luke. It’s my favorite smell in the fucking world, tied with Sebastian’s cologne, and now Colton is all wrapped up in it.Fantastic.

I look back at Luke, enjoying how his muscles and tattoos move as he effortlessly slides his new sweater over them. It fits him perfectly, and it’s so fucking hot, I kind of want to crawl over and run my hands up under it just to feel how soft he is under there. Sebastian must be having similar thoughts, because his jaw is doing that clenching thing again.

“This from you, Lu?” Sebastian asks, already tearing at the wrapping on his present.

The last present of the night.

“Yeah,” Luke responds quietly.

My body goes still, I nearly forgot.

I watched Luke wrap this gift. It’s nothing special, just a shirt he found and knew Sebastian would really like. What has my breath stalled is the hand-written note I watched Luke set on top of it.

A note that says,“I love you.”

He didn’t even sign it, but he doesn’t need to.

Sebastian knows his handwriting, just like he knows mine.

When Sebastian opens the box, his smile slowly fades as he stares inside.

He furrows his brows, looking down at it for a long moment. Then his gaze snaps up to Luke, who is giving him a small, heart-stopping smile, looking all confident and content in his new sweater. But I can feel the tension between them from all the way over here.

The corner of Sebastian’s mouth ticks up almost imperceptibly, then he grows serious again as he continues to stare at the man sitting just a few feet away. Sebastian drags a hand over his face, making some sort of distressed grumble, looking at the note again. He stares so long that Colton glances over at me, no doubt a little concerned by his friend’s change in demeanor. But I keep my eyes on Sebastian.

I don’t like seeing him wrestling with this. How much it’s hurting him.

Apparently, he doesn’t like it either.

“Fuck it,” he growls out, looking up at Luke. “Come here,” he rumbles, reaching out to grab Luke’s ankle, dragging the man across the floor toward him.

Luke’s smile is so wide he’s nearly laughing, but then Sebastian’s hands are gripping either side of his face and he’s kissing him so deeply there isn’t any more room for laughter.

My heart is so fucking happy for them that my eyes start to well with tears. I watch their lips move together in a possessive sort of way that is so beautiful to watch. I can’t drag my eyes away from it.

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