Take My Body (Curse Bound 2)

“What about you? Now that you’re out… are you looking?” Caspian asked with ants crawling under his skin. Wouldn’t this be the perfect place to make a move? At the same school where they’d first met?

Gunner stared out into the football field as Caspian passed him a dainty cupcake. “Nah… I don’t think I’m ready. I wanna sort out my life first. Make sure I can handle the new job, get a place of my own and all that.”

Caspian had been wise not to say anything then.

While Gunner might not have realized he’d rejected him. The hope Caspian still held on to withered, and there would be no getting it back.

Gunner wasn’t interested.

Not in him. Not in anyone else.

So Caspian might as well stop clinging to the illusion and move on, regardless of how much his heart balked at the thought of pursuing another guy.

But he wasn’t a child and had long learned to hide his true feelings, so he picked up a cupcake of his own and bumped it against Gunner’s, as if they were holding champagne glasses, not food. “To a bright future for both of us.”

Chapter 32 – Gunner

After the first bumpy days of working for Barb, Gunner slowly eased into the job and got to know his co-workers. Even Lionel and Katie, who’d been distant at first, ended up warming up to him. While he didn’t always get along with everyone, or grasp every joke, once people got to know him, they could see the man behind his looks and background.

He wasn’t earning sacks of gold, but without bills to pay, he was able to not only help out Zahra and Noah but also replace the necessities he’d lost in the fire. The generosity of the Bradys overwhelmed Gunner at times, but he’d put his pride in his pocket, because any help he could get was a lifeline at this point.

Living at a house so lovely was a guilty pleasure, but any time he considered moving out, he stalled for reasons other than a piano and a kitchen that had two ovens. Leaving would mean seeing less of Caspian, and knowing it would eventually happen already gnawed at Gunner’s heart.

A month on from the swap back, Gunner missed Caspian more than ever, despite them spending so much time together. They’d watch trash TV after work, and even when tired, both of them always made the effort to practice the piano. Gunner was making some extremely basic progress, but playing also meant sitting close enough to feel the warmth of Caspian’s body and get a whiff of the cologne Gunner associated with the one man to ever give him what he truly needed.

Even if he found a toppy guy whose sexual taste aligned with his, that person would never understand him the way Caspian did. The experience they’d shared forged a bond that couldn’t be broken, but each passing day reminded Gunner that the fantastical adventure was over, and that he should be satisfied with having a friend willing to go to such great lengths to help him out.

Still, each time they were alone, sitting close, or when Caspian looked at him with the slight frown that reminded him of the bedroom eyes he used to give Gunner while they were still in the wrong bodies, he got a glimmer of hope that maybe he wasn’t the only one missing what they used to have.

“How’s it going, Gun?” Lionel asked, approaching him in a maroon blazer that brought out the color of his eyes.

While a bit of an asshole at times, Lionel wasn’t a bad events underboss. He was organized and on top of everything, even if a bit pedantic. Gunner had once witnessed Lionel losing his shit at a flower delivery company over the phone, and he’d been surprised at how persistent the fucker could be. They had those lilac roses delivered right on time.

“All good,” Gunner mumbled with a nail between his lips.

He was putting together a donut station for the Candyland-themed wedding. The bride was a baker, and the groom, a pastry chef, which explained a lot, though Gunner still couldn’t get over how much time, effort, and money some people were ready to spend on a single party.

The cost of this wedding could have funded a small house.

“I don’t know if working in wedding planning makes me feel more romantic or resent the whole thing,” Lionel said with a huff and waved his folder to produce a breeze His mid-length hair made up the perfect pompadour and wouldn’t fall out of place, surely held by some magical product.

Gunner hammered in the last nail on a board meant to hold donuts. “I guess it’s nice that people want to celebrate their love and shit. If they have the money, might as well. And they get lots of gifts.”