Take My Body (Curse Bound 2)

“You look so put together.” Gunner glanced at him with a little smile, and Caspian tried to assess whether it was flirting or not. He couldn’t tell, and making the wrong move might wreck the fragile friendship, which he so desperately didn’t want to lose. They had been joined in an experience they could only share with each other, so he never wanted them to lose touch.

“You think? Do I give off hot boss vibes?” Caspian asked and started the car.

Gunner laughed out loud, and… was he blushing? “You do. Already bossing me round. You haven’t even told me where we’re going, and I just follow your lead like a dumbass.”

Caspian licked his lips, on the verge of suggesting that he intended this to be more than a casual lunch, but in the end, he shrugged and briefly touched Gunner’s hand. “Food. Some tea. How about that café by the Grit library?” Caspian asked but stilled, suddenly remembering the rude way he’d been treated when he went there last time, while wearing Gunner’s body.

Shit.

“Actually… we can’t go there.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty expensive, isn’t it?”

It wasn’t expensive for Caspian, but he didn’t want to embarrass Gunner so he shrugged. “It’s more… look, I might have done something stupid there when I was still you, on the first day. There’s this guy who works there, and I’d seen him on Grindr, and I might have come on too strong. And also might have thrown coffee beans at the manager,” he added, fighting through the embarrassment twisting his insides.

Gunner laughed out loud instead of being mortified. “You did what? I didn’t know you had it in you. Then again… you did break Alexander’s nose,” he teased with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“We both made mistakes. But yes, the café is off limits for you, I’m afraid. What do you want to eat? Meat? Pizza?”

Gunner’s face brightened. “Oh, hell yes! Pizza. Are we celebrating something?”

Just… being in each other’s company.

Caspian, again, had the gnawing urge to touch Gunner in a way that would have made his intentions obvious, but what if it forced Gunner to reject him? They’d be stuck in this moving car.

“We can make it whatever we want it to be. Pick up a pizza and make it a picnic or eat indoors? Your choice.”

“We missed out on a picnic. We should do that in this great weather. People always stare at me when I go places. I’m kinda used to it, but I just wanna eat in peace, you know?”

Caspian did know, and this time he squeezed Gunner’s hand as they drove down the highway, heading to Grit. Gunner squeezed back, leaving Caspian in the limbo of not knowing what the touch meant. Were they two gay friends who were close enough to express their support for each other through touch, or was this a prelude to more?

After a while, Gunner spoke in a softer tone. “I liked that about being you. I could grab a strawberry Frappuccino at the mall, and no one stared at me because of it. But that’s probably not what you want.”

“No. Not really,” Caspian said and sped up.

Soon enough, they arrived at the only pizza place in town, which branded itself with a jungle theme and had a lion mascot. Caspian had to let go of Gunner in order to change the gears, and the warmth of their physical touch was gone as if he’d dreamed it.

But he didn’t want to cause any awkwardness, so he smiled at Gunner and led the way into the restaurant, which smelled pleasantly of dough and cheese. A roar accompanied their entry, and since Gunner didn’t want to stay, Caspian went straight to a pickup station set up between two artificial palms. He was about to press the toucan-shaped bell when a familiar face emerged from behind the tacky decoration.

Adam, the infamous barista of all people, smiled at him with recognition. “Oh hey, haven’t seen you in a while. I’m afraid we don’t do flat whites here.” He pointed to his hat, which bore the logo of the pizzeria.

“Oh, I haven’t been at the café since my friend got thrown out because someone there didn’t like him,” Caspian said without losing a beat and glanced over his shoulder back, leading Adam’s attention straight to Gunner, who’d just gravitated closer.

Adam’s stunned expression was as delicious as Katie getting flustered earlier. Caspian was so done with people judging Gunner for his exterior.

“I was there, you know,” Adam choked out and glanced toward the open kitchen, as if he were making sure he had backup. “That’s not exactly how it went down.”

“No? Then how?” Caspian asked and reached back to grab Gunner’s hand again, because he now actually had an excuse.

Gunner, who must have realized who Adam was, rolled his eyes. “Come on, it’s not worth it.”