Freedom (The F-Word #5) - E. Davies Page 0,8

to be for longer trips, up to a week or two.”

“Yourself?”

“My own outfit? Nah, not yet. I’m working on it,” Henry said with a confident smile. “I’m just about ready. Until now, I’ve been happy to hang back and keep… well, a steady job.”

“Oh, that’s understandable.” Jaden seemed to be breathing better now, building his confidence.

“So you said your brother chose which raffle box to put your ticket into?” Henry prompted.

Jaden breathed out a quiet sigh, but the exasperation was affectionate as he rolled his eyes. “Yeah. We’ve always been pretty tight. He moved here to look after me.”

Henry was a little less worried that Jaden was pushing himself way too far to meet someone else’s expectations. He smiled. “Do you live with him?”

“Oh, God, no.” Jaden laughed, his eyes wide with horror, which made Henry chuckle. “We thought about it, but we’d hate each other instantly. We get in each other’s space too much.”

It was hard to envision Jaden getting into anyone’s space given how he’d spent half their time together so far shrinking back. But in the secure limits of his home, it made sense the real Jaden would come out. Henry drank in the knowledge eagerly.

“Oh, I see. Yeah. I’ve got a few sisters, and we…” Henry laughed quietly. “Yeah, did we ever fight growing up. About clothes, boys…”

The line never failed to get a grin, no matter what anyone knew about his history. Sure enough, it did the trick, and Jaden’s lips curved up into another of those rare, beautiful little smiles.

“We still call each other to talk about stuff,” Henry admitted freely. “Less about clothes, though.”

“More about boys?”

Henry grimaced and shook his head. “Haven’t had much time or energy.”

“Hence putting your ticket into…” Jaden gestured around as if to indicate their date.

“You got it.”

Jaden straightened up a bit and smiled. “So we’re both new to this. I’m not the ugly duckling. That’s good.”

“You’re not ugly at all,” Henry answered instantly, his eyes wide at the very thought. Then he blushed. That had been pretty quick. At least Jaden knew he was interested, right?

Jaden was red, too. He mumbled, “Thanks. I think you’re—I mean, you—you’re hot,” and stared out the window. He pressed a hand against his red cheeks, but he was smiling, too.

“Thanks.” Henry grinned, his own confidence soaring. Oh, boy. He was going to have to watch his mouth. He could get himself into serious trouble with this cutie, and they still had a few hours to go in the limo.

This time, when Jaden put his hand on Henry’s knee, Henry laced his fingers with Jaden’s gently. He didn’t say anything about it. He didn’t need to. It was clear from their body language and expressions that this was new for them both—or at least, the first time in a long while.

And it felt good. No need to push it further until they were ready. They’d started opening up, and they had so much more time together.

Henry trusted Jaden already, enough to tell him more about himself. Jaden wasn’t some alpha ad executive or suburban accountant with a trust fund. He’d been open and vulnerable, admitting he’d also been depressed, and Jaden hadn’t shot him down.

Henry’s fears were being put to rest, one by one, leaving him free to just enjoy himself like he hadn’t taken time to do in a long time.

Maybe this was exactly what he’d needed.

5

Jaden

Jaden had just left mile-high Denver for the first time since he’d fled there and shut himself away in his house. Even the dry heat crept into the car, and he was positive he was loopy from the altitude change.

In one way, breaking out of his comfort zone this way was the most terrifying thing he could imagine, but in another… it was exhilarating. He wasn’t rewatching Storage Wars for the eighth time.

The adrenaline crash would eventually come, and he knew he’d feel exhausted as shit, but he was going to enjoy himself here and now, goddamn it.

It was almost dizzying, letting go of his ideas about what he could do on a day to day basis. This was so far outside his everyday experience that his brain had stopped trying to dial the panic up. Now he just wanted to laugh hysterically, which was only slightly more fun than curling up in a ball.

He bit it all back and held Henry’s hand tightly as they walked to the helicopter pad. The desert sun assaulted them once more, even in September. The amount of sky and