Page 86 of To Catch a Firefly

“I like this, El,” Lucky whispers. “I like being here. With you. I likeus.”

Yeah.

“Sometimes, I think back, and it’s like…why weren’t we doing this the whole time? At least, once we were old enough,” he adds quickly.

I nod again, knowing what he meant.

“But then, I think about what wedidhave, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m so glad you’re my best friend, El. Even if it took us a few extra trips to get to where we are now, I’m so glad it was you. Is you. Will beyou.”

“Always,” I whisper.

He stutters a breath, scooting closer. His leg slides between my own, waking up my cock, and the little uptick of his lips tells me he knows it. Still, he doesn’t press for more. Not right now.

“Luck,” I say slowly.

“What is it?” he asks, hand trailing through the hair at the side of my head.

I close my eyes, the sensation soothing, even as his fingertips light a small blaze. “Would you ever…fuck me?”

“Do you want that?” he asks, the movement of his fingers never stalling.

I open my eyes. I think I do. “Want everything…with you.”

“Then yeah, El,” he answers easily. “We’ll do that. Anything you want. Everything you want.”

“There’s…a lot,” I tell him.

His smile is a little wicked. “We have time. Don’t we?”

Yeah. We do.

“Kiss me?” he asks.

Always.

His lips are smooth when they meet mine. He tastes of mint and smells of oranges, and the fact that he’ll be here for longer than a couple days makes it easy to sink into the kiss without the frantic urgency I felt the last time he was here. Having him back, getting this glimpse of what the two of us can be, settles me down to my core. It’s the knowledge that Lucky is in this with me. That I’m not alone in my feelings anymore. That, even though it’s impossible to know the future, I do know Lucky will be in mine.

The memory of us will be left in the pictures we take, the glass we repurpose. It will be in the wind and the floorboards and the walls of the silo. We’ll leave our mark on this world, and we’ll do it together because we’ve always been tied. Lucky came into my life at ten, but he’s not leaving.

And when I think of it like that, I realize there’s nothing to fear when it comes to us. Adventure can call. Time can, too. But neither will take Lucky from me.

He’s already written himself into my heart.

Chapter 30

Lucky

I find Ellis in the silo when I return from dinner with my parents. It’s my last day in Nebraska during this stop, and even though I’m glad I had time to catch up with my folks over the past week and a half, I want to spend my remaining evening with Ellis.

And only Ellis.

There’s a pinch in my gut when I think about going back to New York. To my empty apartment and empty bed. But I push it away for now and focus on the man in front of me.

Unsurprisingly, Ellis is shaping glass, still in his worn jeans and navy shirt from work. His body glows in the light from the brick oven, conjuring up the mental image of blacksmiths and knights. I could see Ellis as either. He’s always been strong, inside and out. Honorable. Dependable.

The muscles beneath his shirt bunch as he rolls the glass on the metal table beside the kiln. It’s such delicate work, yet theman himself is anything but. He’s solid and sexy, his movements sure.

With so much force it leaves me nearly breathless, I have the sudden, overwhelming urge to capture Ellis just like this—in his element, looking so confident and serene.

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