Page 80 of Unspoken

But it is and I’m aware. I’m also not going to be an asshole and sweep it under the rug. I know he’s in a vulnerable place right now. "What’s wrong?" I ask.

"You’re going to laugh." He covers his face with both palms.

"I’m not. I swear."

He burrows his head into my chest, his hair soft as silk, tickling my skin.

"Sasha?" I call again. "You can talk to me. I promise I won’t make fun of you."

He’s very quiet for a long time as if he’s trying to shake off the remainders of sleep and gather some courage at the same time. And I don’t know why he thinks he needs courage. He’s had it all along. To live with a Solovey name and try to defy everything that it stands for isn’t for the weak. And my sweet little boy isn’t that.

"I like you too much, you gym-addicted piece of shit," he finally mutters, his head still pressed up to my chest.

"Say what?" I egg him on, rubbing his back. But my heart is beating behind that rib cage like a hammer.

"I said I like you too much."

"I didn’t hear you," I whisper into his hair.

He pulls back, creating some space between our faces where we can clearly see each other, read each other. "Are you going to be a jerk while someone is bloody…confessing their feelings or whatever?" Again, he sounds like he’s making it seem less than it is, angry words tossed into the air between us. Angry words and unsaid truths.

I cradle the back of his head and yank him back to me, his lips so close to my lips they almost touch. Almost but not yet.

"You should know by now, you brat… I like you too much too. I told you before. You don’t have to be a drama queen about it. I’m a simple guy. Just tell me things as they are."

"There are times I hate you as well, Logan," he whispers.

"I know."

"Like right now."

"I know."

"And you are—"

I kiss him then. Kiss him hard. Because I can’t take it anymore. I can’t bear the thought of him thinking even for a second that I don’t feel the same for him. He tastes like home, like sex, like salvation and it’s the most honest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

"Logan," he whispers hesitantly when we come up for air. "What are we now?"

I can see the defenselessness in his expression, the hope mingling with fear. It tugs at something deep within me, and I struggle to find the right words to say.

"Last night was... intense." He catches his lower lip between his teeth, waiting for me to continue. "And no, it wasn't just about sex. Not for me, anyway." The relief on his face is real, butit's quickly replaced by a flicker of doubt. "Vlad won't take this lightly."

My heart clenches at the mention of his brother, the one obstacle that stands between us and any semblance of happiness. The weight of our situation is threatening to suffocate me. But I can't let fear win—not when I've found something so rare and precious in Sasha.

"I know, I know. We have to keep it a secret for now,mylash," I whisper.

"I don’t want it to end."

"I don’t want it to end either."

He finally detaches himself from me and sits up, all untouched by the sun skin and chaos of blond hair. The black stud in his left ear is the only jewelry he has and there’s not a single patch of ink on him as if to cement his body’s innocence. Even after last night.

"But you know it has to stop someday. Maybe not now but eventually. My brother will kill me for being gay."

"I think," I draw him back to me, to my chest, "you may need to talk to him."

"Why?"

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