Page 50 of Paint Eater
Logan couldn’t quite comprehend a mom that would teach that to their son, and a warm ache bloomed inside him as he nodded.
Sofia smiled. “We all need a good howl now and then.”
Logan showered first, having to roll up the sweats he borrowed from Jay, not having anticipated getting quite so dirty and sweaty during the trek.
“All done,” he told Jay as he stepped out of the bathroom, steam billowing behind him like a cape.
Jay pinched Logan’s side as he walked past. “Looking good in my sweats,” he teased.
Logan grumbled as Jay disappeared to take a shower. When he turned back, Sofia was smiling at him from the living room couch, TV on low in front of her.
Logan took a few awkward steps towards her. “Should I put this in the hamper?” Logan lifted the wet towel in his hand slightly.
“You can hang it in Jay’s room in case you want to shower again in the morning.”
“Oh. I didn’t…I don’t know if I’m staying.”
Sofia shrugged. “Just in case, then.”
Logan nodded.
“It’s nice to see him bring friends around. It’s the first time he’s done it, actually.”
Logan stiffened, wondering if she was insinuating that she knew it wasn’t just friendship between them. Sofia just smiled at him, although her eyes were sharp.
“I like coming here. Jay is…” Logan didn’t know where to even begin.
“He’s a good kid.”
Logan just nodded.
“And so are you.”
Logan frowned. It’d been a while since anyone had referred to him as akid,let alone a good one. “I don’t know about that. I mean…” He winced internally
Sofia laughed. “Well,Iknow about that. Jay’s been real happy lately.”
“Me too,” Logan couldn’t help but admit.
“See? A good kid. Okay, I’ll stop torturing you—you can escape now.”
Logan laughed slightly, getting out a garbled “Thank you” that he immediately regretted and went to Jay’s room.
He wasn’t usually awkward around adults, but it had been a while since he cared about someone’s opinion the way he did Sofia’s.
By the time Jay returned to his room, Logan was almost dozing on the bed, blinking awake as the door closed. “How long were you in there? You took ages.”
“Hey, some of us have an actual hairdo to maintain,” he grumbled, indicating his newly fluffy curls.
Logan rolled his eyes, his smile cutting into a grunt as Jay bounced onto the bed, practically on top of him.
“Hi,” Jay said quietly, face close to his.
“Hey.”
They stared at each other for a moment, smiling slightly, before Jay leaned closer to kiss him. It was slow, practically chaste, without urgency.
Jay moved away just enough to look at him. “Have I told you how much I like the look of you in my bed?” His voice was low, sweet.
