Dust of Snow by Indra Vaughn

Author:Indra Vaughn [Vaughn, Indra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: humor, holidays, christmas, gay romance, winter, contemporary romance, office romance
Publisher: Indra Ink
Published: 2014-12-09T05:00:00+00:00

Just after three a.m. I startled awake, listening to the kind of silence that follows an unexpected noise in the dark. It took me a second to work out where I was as I blinked at the digital alarm clock. Ashley’s curtains were far more darkening than mine, and I didn’t immediately adjust to the near pitch black.

“Ashley?” I felt around beside me, but while the sheets were warm, the bed was empty. “Ash?”

I fumbled around the bed, searching for my phone. I couldn’t remember if he had bedside lamps. I swiped it on, and in the weak screen light I saw him standing in the corner of the room in his boxers. My heart skipped a beat until I saw he had his arms wrapped tightly around himself.

“Fuck,” he whispered and shuddered, clearly waking from his sleepwalking.

“Hey, it’s okay.” I stumbled out of the bed and went to him.

“God, this is so humiliating.”

“It’s really not. Come on. Come back to bed.” I took his bare arm and tugged a little. His skin felt damp and cold. “Were you dreaming?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so, but I forgot you were there and—”

I reached out and flicked on a standing lamp that emitted a soft orange glow. “I startled you. It’s all right. Come on.” I gently coaxed him back to bed. What should I say to him? Would he want me to hold him? I’d frightened him, but right then he seemed more upset over the embarrassment than anything else.

And I knew a thing or two about embarrassment.

“Now, I know I’m no underwear model,” I told him as I pulled the covers over our shoulders, “but I really didn’t think my face was that off-putting.” I pressed my finger into the dimple that appeared. “This is just a suggestion, but have you tried sleeping with a night-light?”

Ashley made a face. “No, but—”

I cut him off. “Nobody needs to know. If it helps, what does it matter?”

He stared at me, his eyes huge and dark in the soft lamplight. After a long silence, he said, “I figured you’d be planning your escape by now.”

“What? Why?”

“I’ve freaked out my fair share of people in the middle of the night. I mean, who wants to wake up to somebody screaming?” Ashley smiled tightly. His insecurities seemed to ease mine somehow. Or maybe it was just a matter of putting them into perspective.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Ashley made me feel brave. Confident. Needed.

He watched me without saying anything for a long time. Then he reached out to touch my cheek. “Your face is not off-putting. I think you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever met. And I don’t just mean on the outside.”

“Little old me?” I scoffed, even as my cheeks began to burn under his touch.

“You’re not little. You’re perfect. Perfect for this.” He reached for me, lifting the covers, and I went, settling into the home of his body. He was right—I did fit perfectly between the curve of his arm and the shape of his chest.

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