Page 98 of Just Business
“Imagine that.” Deadpanned, but with the smirk that made Eli want to bend Justin over his knee.
Perhaps someday soon, once they both settled a bit. In the meantime... “Two, Mr. White.”
“Promise?” Justin’s voice turned gravelly.
“If you’re willing. And when I decide.” He turned over the car and backed out.
A quick smile from Justin. “Good.”
Fear lurked at the thought of resuming that part of their relationship. The sight of Justin leaving haunted Eli, not like the accident, but still. Like driving on icy roads, he’d take it slow.
Eli forced himself to relax. Navigating to Oakland on dry tarmac, even in the dark, wasn’t troublesome. As minutes ticked by, his muscles loosened. By the time they pulled in front of the row house that contained Justin’s basement apartment, his heart beat at a normal rate and his palms weren’t even sweaty.
Excellent.
“You memorized my address?” Justin’s voice rose at the end of his question. He unclipped his belt.
Not so excellent, that.“No, just recognized it. My first place was two doors up. Also a basement apartment.” That had been hell—and heaven. Moving into a shitty apartment, away from everything he’d known, changing his culture, practically overnight. But thefreedom...
Justin stared at him. “You lived here? Why?”
“It was dirt cheap and close to campus?”
“But—” Justin bit his lip. “You didn’t want to spend the money.”
Eli released his seat belt. “When every penny feels like death? I didn’t want to touch the money. I got a job on campus and this was what I could afford.”
Justin opened the car door and climbed out. “Maybe,” he said, “we should have talked more.”
“Probably.” He was wretched with that kind of thing, though. He followed Justin down the snow-covered back stairs, bracing himself with his cane. “But I never know when I’m oversharing once I get started. Michael threatened to gag me once when I started detailing my class schedule to him.”
Justin fished out his keys and unlocked the door. “Did he? Gag you?” A flush on Justin’s cheeks.
Interesting. Turned on at the thought of a gag, or at the thought of Eli gagged? He didn’t answer but followed Justin into the apartment instead.
A moment later, Eli fought every instinct to drag Justin back out. The apartment—if you could call it that—was cold, dark even with the lights on, and smelled of mold and mildew. His skin crawled, but he kept silent. Justin needed the same freedom he’d required all those years ago.
His expression must have been readable, though. He’d never mastered a decent poker face.
“You’re not happy.” Justin hung up the suit on the back of a door—probably to the bathroom. There wasn’t anything else it could have been. Justin shoved his hands into the pocket of the coat. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
Yes, it was. A ring of mold lined the baseboard of the walls. “They never cleaned up after the water leak, did they?”
Justin twitched. “Um, they haven’t finished repairing that yet.”
Fuck.No wonder it was cold. Eli fiddled with his keys. “I... This isn’tgood, Justin. Not for your health.” Or sanity. Maybe they should get in touch with Sam. He and Michael had a spare room and— He stopped himself.No.Eli took a breath. “Call me if you change your mind about staying here?”
Justin scratched his neck. “I do need to find something better, I know. But my budget...”
Now, there was something he could help with. “You know, I’m pretty decent when it comes to finances and getting the most out of a dollar. Perhaps I can help there?”
A smile curved onto Justin’s lips. “I’m not the best with my own money. I’ll probably take you up on that offer.”
Good.That took the edge off the desire to remove Justin from this place. Eli stepped forward and tipped Justin’s chin up. “I should go.” He stole a quick kiss and let go, but Justin didn’t and then kissed him back, harder and longer.
When Justin broke the kiss, he dug his fingers into Eli’s arms. “I’m afraid when you walk out, you’ll realize how awful I’ve been and never want to see me again.”
Yes, it had been bad. But— “I understand, Justin. I really do.” He blinked a few times to keep his vision clear as his mind clambered for purchase. “One of these days, you’ll figure out that I’m a monster and—” Leave. Run. That had happened once already.
