Black Sky Morning by Dare Hanna

Author:Dare, Hanna
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hanna Dare
Published: 2019-07-15T16:00:00+00:00

As good as the sex was, there were still plenty of times when Jonathan rebuffed his advances. He often seemed so far away that nothing Xin could do or say would reach him. Several nights, Xin had to shift away from him because Jonathan was tossing and turning or feigning sleep so poorly that the tension radiated off of him. Some mornings, Xin suspected Jonathan hadn’t slept at all, his face drawn beneath the tan and freckles.

Xin would have liked to have smoothed out the lines on Jonathan’s forehead and asked what was wrong, but while his confidence was vast, he still didn’t feel he could pry into the other man’s thoughts like that. He kept hoping that Jonathan would tell him.

Xin woke up early, the dim light coming through the dome’s panels suggesting it was close to dawn. He was alone, but the spot beside him was still warm. Xin got up, scratching at the stubble on his chin and wondering sleepily if he should dip into his dwindling supply of depilatory gel and get rid of it.

He stepped out of the dome, shivering in the early morning air and expecting to see Jonathan by the fire. He wasn’t there, but Xin walked a little farther and saw him standing barefoot on the sand, in the wrinkled shirt and trousers he’d slept in. Despite the state of his clothes, there was something of the heroic Commonwealth in the way Jonathan stood, straight and unwavering in the brightening light. Xin wanted to be close enough to see his face, though, to see if the certainty in his posture was echoed in his expression.

“Morning,” he called.

Jonathan started, ever so slightly, but then he raised a hand to wave to Xin. With that hand he gestured vaguely at the forest, in the direction of the nearby bushes that they used to relieve themselves, and then walked away.

Xin shrugged and went over to the fire to poke it back to life. He rubbed the back of his neck, unsettled for some reason, but he told himself that Jonathan would be back any minute. He grabbed the canteen and filled it from the lagoon, expecting Jonathan’s return. Xin wanted to respect his privacy — and whatever intestinal issues he might be having — but then he realized that Jonathan hadn’t gone toward the bushes, but instead the way that led deeper into the forest.

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