Page 64 of The Long Game
Ilya leaned in and kissed him quickly on the mouth while the kids whooped and threw handfuls of paper they’d ripped up into the air. Arthur hit play on theMoanasong again.
After the kiss, Ilya pressed his forehead against Shane’s, and they just stood there like that, frozen in the moment.
“Does this mean tonight is our honeymoon?” Shane asked quietly.
“Let’s pretend it is.”
Shane was having a difficult time getting his key to work because Ilya wouldn’t stop kissing his neck.
“Quit it for a sec, would you?” Shane said, tipping his head to the side to try to block Ilya’s attacks.
Ilya wasn’t deterred. He switched to the other side and nibbled under Shane’s ear. Shane let out a childish-sounding giggle and pretended to try to get away when Ilya wrapped an arm across his chest from behind.
“Give it to me,” Ilya said, snatching the key from Shane’s hand. He deftly inserted the key in the lock and turned it while continuing to make a meal of Shane’s neck.
“Show-off,” Shane complained.
“Always.” Then Ilya scooped Shane into his arms, bridal style. The same way he’d carried Jackie to the car earlier that day.
“What the hell?” Shane said, though he knew he sounded more delighted than outraged. “Put me down!”
Ilya grinned at him, and nudged the door open with his foot. “Is our wedding night.”
“This can’t be good for your knee.”
“My knee is fine,” Ilya scoffed. “And you are very light.”
“I’m two hundred pounds!”
“Sure you are.”
“I am!”
“Like you are five-ten.”
“Iamfive-ten!”
Ilya shook his head and stepped over the threshold.
The Pikes had been at the hospital for hours, but thankfully Jackie’s ankle was, as she’d repeatedly told her husband, only sprained. She’d hobbled through the door on crutches around dinnertime, Hayden hovering close behind looking exhausted and concerned. Ilya, Shane, and the kids had been gathered on the sofa, watchingFrozen 2. Ilya’s arm had been wrapped snugly around Shane, which had been nice, in the presence of others. Hayden hadn’t even seemed bothered by it, but that may have been because he’d been distracted by the floral headband Ilya had still been wearing.
It had been a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Ilya carried Shane to the living room, then stopped and glanced around. “Now what?”
“Now you put me down!”
“This is how it works? I thought maybe I put you on our bed? With rose petals?”
“God, fuck off.” Shane squirmed until Ilya had no choice but to release him. Shane landed on his feet, but stumbled forward and almost collided with the coffee table. When he turned around to glare at Ilya, he found him smiling at him with the same soft expression Shane had seen on his face during their make-believe wedding vows.
“What?” Shane asked.
“Nothing.” Ilya scratched the back of his own neck. Looked away. Looked back at Shane. “Today was nice.”
“It was.” Shane took his hand and tugged him closer. “I mean, not the part where Jackie sprained her ankle, but the rest of it.”
“She is lucky it was not broken.”
