Out of Character (True Colors 2)

Well, that and your room has *you*

So you miss me? I wasn’t above making him say it, and I took way more satisfaction in the three dots that said he was replying than I should have.

So much. Is that cool to say? We left things kinda… He’d added an emoji of a guy with question marks over his head. My fault?

I exhaled hard and flopped onto my bed, coat and all. It was actually made, for once, Milo having somehow accomplished that even in the rush of getting dressed. It wasn’t his fault that I’d had a minor freak-out at the realization that I might be heading for heartbreak with someone unable to give me what I needed. I’d been so happy to find the card, but resignation had come fast on the heels of the initial rush. If he couldn’t tell Bruno that he’d messed up with the cards, was he ever going to come out to anyone else who mattered to him? It was one thing to sneak a few kisses in quiet spaces, and another to decide to live fully and openly. To be the sort of boyfriend I craved, the one I could trust with my heart.

We’re cool. I lied because as much as I was twisted up over him, I also wasn’t about to end this or to be the kind of guy who gave him an ultimatum simply because we’d shared some incredible hours together. My pillow still smelled like his shampoo, and my head danced with all the good moments of the last twenty-four hours. My gut might say we needed to have a serious talk, but my heart wanted to give him space to arrive at the same scary, wonderful place as me.

Good. His one-word reply would have further frustrated me, but he’d added an image. And my breath hung up on my rapidly expanding heart. It was him. Not a goofy selfie, but a cartoon-style drawing. Same sporty haircut, same winter coat, and a text bubble that said “I’m sorry.”

Boom. Forget hoping I wasn’t falling too hard for him. No, I was falling soft, landing in a vat of cotton candy, all sticky and sweet.

Thanks. Cute drawing. My heart wanted to say so much more, but my gut was still working itself out.

Milo’s reply came fast. I should have kissed you goodbye. Been thinking about that all afternoon. Another missed chance.

Sad Milo was back, and he wormed his way past my pitiful attempts to protect myself. There will be more chances.

That earned me a happy-face emoji. Soon?

I laughed aloud to my empty room. It felt smaller and colder without him in it. Wednesday after cosplay?

I owe you pizza.

I replied with a smiley face of my own. Wanna have it in my room?

There was a longish pause, but the wait was worth it because cartoon Milo was back, this time with heart eyes. I touched my phone, like that might bring him here sooner.

It’s a date. I started counting down the hours as soon as I sent the text, knew I’d be angling to see him even before that. I had it bad, and that was a huge problem. I should know better than to give Milo Lionetti extra chances, but here we were, and hell if I could pull back now.

* * *

“Looking good, Neptune.” I gave Milo an exaggerated once-over as I emerged from my stall in the men’s room at the children’s hospital Wednesday. He looked damn good in his toga, perhaps more so now that I knew exactly what he had under there. I could preach how superficial looks were all day long, but there was no denying Milo’s attractiveness.

“That’s Prince Neptune to you.” He nodded, expression all haughty and regal. Last night, he’d drawn cartoon Milo in the toga, and his chin had exactly that same tilt.

“Oh, is that how you want to play this?” I gently poked him in the chest. We were alone in the restroom, and I’d missed him for three days now. I’d earned a little flirtation.

“Maybe.” His mouth quirked like he knew exactly how my thoughts kept flitting to images of that toga on the floor.

“Remember that later.” I made him silent promises with my eyes that I fully intended to make good on. Three days with a lot of texting and an hours-long phone conversation last night had done nothing to quash my desire for him. I needed a Milo fix and soon.

“Counting on it.” His warm smile said that I wasn’t the only one with a craving, and he stroked a broad finger down the side of my face before dropping his hand.

“Let’s go find the others before I’m tempted to do something impulsive.”

“Like this?” He stole my breath with a fast kiss. Sure, we were alone, but this was also a far cry from lost in the basement stacks in the library.