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He held his hand out and Riley took it, allowing himself to be
pulled close.  You re a real romantic, aren t you?
78
His Every Breath
Trace gave him a hug.  Caught me. Don t go tellin
everybody,  cause I m only romantic for you. He brushed a
kiss to Riley s cheek.  Gimme a sec. Why don t you open the
wine? He flashed Riley a smile and ducked into the
bathroom, leaning heavily against the door with a sigh before
pushing away from it and pulling open the medicine cabinet.
A handful of pills later, he took a deep breath, flushed the
toilet to make it seem as if he d had to pee and washed his
hands, splashing some water on his face before heading
back out. The nausea and dizziness pills worked pretty fast,
he d be okay soon, but he couldn t believe he d nearly
forgotten. He supposed it d turned out to be a good thing
Riley had almost left, or else Trace might have passed out in
the shower.
 Hey there, he smiled, climbing up on to the bed and leaning
back on one hand, taking the glass of wine Riley offered him.
 Thanks. He couldn t drink it now though, so he feigned a sip
or two and set it aside.
Riley scooted over to give Trace a little more room. His smile
was teasing and his eyes wicked as he reached out with his
free hand to poke Trace s knee lightly.  So what? You re
worried about your reputation if I tell people you re a
romantic? What re you gonna do if I do it, huh?
Trace grinned and lay across the bed at an angle, Riley at an
opposite angle, the tray between them.  I don t know but I m
sure I can trust you to keep my secret. He reached for one of
the thin slices of cheesecake, smiling as he brought it to
Riley s lips and he took a bite.  Just like you can trust me to
not tell anyone you skipped out on work to spend a decadent
evening in my bed.
He took a bite of the cheesecake, thinking that Riley tasted
better but forced the thought from his mind before he went
down a path he shouldn t go down right then.
 Tell me something about yourself, darlin . Anything, I don t
care what.
Riley arched a brow, a grin playing around his lips.  You
mean you don t know it all already? Trace gave him an
admonishing look and Riley laughed lightly, nodding.
 Let s see& I wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger,
until someone pointed out to me that you need to be really
good at both math and science, which I never was. I watched
way too many cartoons with space heroes, I think.
 I think every kid wanted to be an astronaut at some point.
There was this movie in the mid-eighties about a bunch of
kids who went to Space Camp and accidentally got launched
into space. That cured me of my whole urge, seriously.
He rolled onto his back, tucking a pillow under his head and
reaching out to trace a fingertip up and down Riley s forearm.
 When did you realize you were gay? I was fifteen when I
figured it out, after too many failed attempts to get laid with
girls and realizing it wasn t them, it was me.
Riley tilted his head, sipping his wine as he thought about the
question.  I don t know. I never really looked at girls in a
romantic way, not even when I got to be old enough to. So I
guess I d say when I was about thirteen. I didn t actually come
out until I was fifteen though.
79
Fae Sutherland & Chelsea James
He looked up at Trace and grinned, his eyes sparkling.
 Somehow I can t imagine you having any problems getting
laid, with boys or girls. It just doesn t fit. You have this
confidence about you that s so utterly sexy, like you know
who you are and what you want and it s an incredible turn-on.
At least it is for me.
Trace grinned, inordinately pleased with that bit of
information.  Well, I wasn t born confident, darlin . Kind of had
to work my way up to it. And I ll tell you a secret&  He leaned
closer and lowered his voice.  At least seventy-five percent
of that ultra-cool confidence isn t nearly as cool as it seems.
Half the time I m sweating bullets. He grinned.  Especially
with you because you re more important than anything else.
Every wrong turn is a potential dead end and damn if I want
to hit a dead end with you ever.
He didn t give up but he didn t always believe he was going
to win whatever prize he was after. Hoped and tried but he
was never a hundred percent sure his plans would work out.
And Riley was definitely his most precarious balancing act.
One misstep and he was flying without a net.
Riley didn t say anything, toying with the stem of his
wineglass for a long moment before glancing up.  No one
would ever know. I mean, I ve seen you unsure of yourself but
deep down, that doesn t change anything. You are who you
are and nobody could take that away from you.
Sighing a little, Riley dropped his gaze again. Trace tilted his
head.  Is that what happened, Riley? Somebody made you
unsure? He wished he knew who, not that he could go back
and change anything but a good boot to the face was never
amiss when dealing with cruel assholes. He touched Riley s
cheek, turning his face so their eyes met.
 You re who you are too, darlin , deep down under whatever s
hurting you. Nobody can change that they can just make
you forget for a little while. He gave Riley a smile and
stretched across to brush a kiss over his lips briefly.  You ll
remember.
Riley shook his head.  No. He changed me. I never used to
question myself, never used to wonder if people looked at
me differently because I m a dancer. Now I do it all the time
because he showed me I was wrong, that most people are
going to let my job color how they see me. I thought about [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]