Page 47 of Due Dilligence (Takeover)
Chapter Eleven
Todd unlocked the door to his apartment. It was early, but after overdosing on people at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame and an amazing dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant near Todd’s apartment, both he and Fazil were done with playing tourist.
Fazil closed the door and threw the dead bolt.
Todd pulled him close. “Want to watch a movie?”
“Are you asking if I want to watch a movie or if I want to make out on the couch for a while?” The huff of laughter brightened his face.
“Either. Both.” He grinned.
“Yes.” Fazil’s kiss tasted of wine and spice.
He deepened it until Fazil moaned. “Or we could just go to bed,” he whispered into his ear.
“As appealing as that sounds, I need to digest dinner first.”
There was that. Sex on a full stomach wasn’t much fun. “Movie it is.” He let go.
When Fazil stooped to inspect Todd’s movie collection, Todd was treated to a view of his ass in tight denim. The things he wanted to do to Fazil—or watch Fazil do to himself.
“Galaxy Quest? I haven’t watched that inages.”
Any movie was fine, but that one brought back interesting memories. “Sure.” He settled on the couch. “I seem to remember you spent half the time in the theater laughing your heart out, and the other jerking me off.” He turned on the TV and switched to the DVD/Blu-ray input.
A touch of color crept up Fazil’s neck, and he dropped the movie into the player. “If you’re lucky, I’ll replay those events.” He sank down onto the couch next to Todd and curled up into his arms.
“Or you can put that mouth of yours to work.”
Fazil raised an eyebrow. “And miss the movie? I don’t think so.”
They’d see. Todd was just happy to have Fazil in his arms. Everything else was a bonus.
In the end, they watched the movie snickering and cuddling. No pressure, no sexual one-upmanship—just enjoying each other’s presence. Fazil was relaxed against him, fingers laced with Todd’s. No tension, not like there’d been hours before, nor years ago. Todd was afraid to move and break the spell, but it was Fazil who shifted when the movie switched back to the menu screen. “Let me put that away.”
“I can just turn it off.”
But Fazil had slipped from the couch, and his absence was almost a physical shock. Todd winced against the leather.
Fazil returned the movie to its case and shelf. “I know you’re particular about your books and things.”
He was. “It could have waited.”
Fazil waved away the words. “I’ve also been staring at your bookshelf. When did you get first-edition AD&D manuals? These are older than we are!” He eased the player’s manual off the shelf and carried it reverently to the couch.
“Half Price Books.” Todd pulled Fazil back into his arms. “They’re notthatrare.” Hadn’t even been expensive.
“Still.” Fazil flipped open the book. “Ever think of gaming at work? There’s got to be enough people interested and less chance of implosions.”
“We did have a group that met in a conference room after work.”
“But?”
He tasted the bitter in his chuckle. “Our release schedule got fucked up. People didn’t want to stay even longer at the office for fun.”
“You guys were putting in long hours?” He sounded surprised.
Todd should have expected that. While they’d been asked to cooperate with Anderson’s team, they’d also been told not to highlight how hard they’d been struggling. “Yeah. Lots of mandatory evenings and weekends.” He scratched his neck. “Not now, of course.”
