Page 75 of To Catch a Firefly

“Uh-oh,” Danil says.

“What?” I ask, sitting down on the edge of my own cot.

“You’ve got the face.”

“What face?”

“TheI’m-so-in-love-it’s-sickeningface,” Danil answers, earning himself a smack from my pillow. He laughs, snatching it and tossing it back. “You know I’m happy for you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Even if I’ve had to listen to youhi, babythis andmiss you, toothat for the past two weeks.”

“Mhm,” I mutter, raising an eyebrow. “You sound likesucha supportive friend.”

He snorts, tucking his palms under his head. “Although I do wonder at the distinct lack of sexy times.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Sexy times? Really?”

“Oh, fuck you, too,” he says without venom.

I shake my head. “I can’t believe you’d rather hear me having phone sex.”

“That’s not what I said. I wouldn’tmindit,” he clarifies, grabbing my pillow from the air before it can collide with his face again. He laughs, stuffing it under his head. “But if you’re holding off for my sake, you don’t need to. I can’t imagine the long distance thing is easy, especially considering the recent shift in your relationship.”

He’s not wrong. It’s been a hard couple of weeks away from Ellis, my craving for the man having reached an all-time high. I can’t seem to shove my feelings down, not anymore. Not like I used to. It’s almost scary, the intensity of my bone-deep desire to hear him, feel him, to be held in his arms. It’snotjust about sex, of course. Not in the least. But I won’t lie and say I don’t want that, too. Badly.

Still, I chew on my words before answering Danil. “I don’t think Ellis would be comfortable having phone sex.”

He gives me a pointed look. “Have you asked him?”

“Well, no,” I admit. But Ellis has never been particularly comfortable talking about sex.

Danil snorts. “You can be really dense when it comes to him.”

“Hey,” I grouse, wishing I still had my pillow, if only so I could smack him again. “How would you even know, Dani? You saw us together for, like, all of a hot minute.”

“Because I knowyou,” he answers, giving me a stern look. “And don’t try to tell me I don’t. You didn’t make it easy, but Iknowyou, Lucky. And you know me. Somehow, some way, we clicked. And I’ve seen the way you dance around him, even still, like you’re scared. You don’t have to be.”

“How can you be so sure?” I ask, trying to hide the quiver in my voice. The truth is Iamscared. The idea of losing Ellis terrified me before, but now… Now I can barely breathe past it.

Danil pins me with his dark gaze. “Really, Lucky-boy? That man has loved you for years. You told me yourself. You love him, too. You don’t have to worry about your heart when it comes to him.”

“Sometimes,” I say slowly, “you give me such bad advice.”

“And sometimes I don’t.”

“Sometimes, you don’t,” I agree.

He grins. “Call your man. I’m going to get some rest.”

With that, Danil plops my pillow on top of his face, leaving me in relative silence. Our room at the hostel is shared accommodations, but none of the other guests are here at the moment. I grab my phone, not because Danil told me to, but because I’m desperate to talk to Ellis. It’s early evening in Nebraska, and he answers quickly, a soft hum coming over the line that soothes my ragged nerves after being radio-silent for the past four days.

“Hi, baby,” I sigh out.

A snort has me reaching over and smacking Danil’s foot. He tugs his leg back with a hiss, and I walk away, stopping in front of a small window that overlooks the street.

“Luck,” Ellis answers.

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