Kevin’s apartment complex didn’t allow pets, and transporting Leeloo was always super stressful for her, so when Lukas needed Kevin to watch his babies, he just had his friend come to his house and stay.
Kevin wouldn’t be expecting him for hours though. He’d snuck out of John’s cabin around 6:00 a.m., so it was just after nine when he pulled into his driveway. He knew John was up because he’d received two missed calls and a text message while he was driving. There weren’t voicemails to go with the calls, but he glanced back down at his phone and reread the text.
John: I don’t know what the hell happened, but your ass is in so much trouble when I get my hands on it.
Lukas shivered once more at the promise in those words. God, he was so dumb. When he’d woken up, he’d immediately remembered what he’d said and how John’s whole body had stiffened like he’d wanted to bolt out of bed.
So, he’d run first.
He could barely remember what he’d scribbled in the note he’d left. Something about being sorry for pressuring John, and a thank-you for the wonderful week or something.
He yelped when someone tapped on his car window. His head jerked around, and he made eye contact with a smiling Kevin.
Throwing his door open, he was disappointed that his friend jumped back too quickly to get bumped by it. “That was mean.”
Kevin just laughed and sipped at the mug of coffee in his hands. He was wearing boxer briefs and an untied black satin robe covered in bright flowers. Lukas couldn’t help but smile as he took in the attire.
Raising a brow, Kevin slurped noisily. “What the hell are you doing here so early?”
“Ugh.” Mood effectively ruined once more, he went around to his trunk and grabbed his suitcase. “I’m an idiot, that’s what.”
“Hmm.” Kevin didn’t say anything else until Lukas closed the trunk with a forceful slam. “Last I’d heard from you—which was yesterday—you were pretty sure John was going to kill you with his dick, but it was okay because you’d die happy. So, what the hell happened?”
Lukas sighed and traipsed up the sidewalk, Kevin trailing behind him. As soon as he opened the door, Ruby was all over him, and he used her as an excuse to avoid answering Kevin, dropping to his knees and hugging his sweet girl as she tried to cover every inch of available skin in slobber.
“Lukas…”
“I told him I loved him after we had sex last night.”
“Oh shit.” Kevin didn’t say anything else, just hustled into the kitchen.
Lukas stayed on his knees, petting Ruby and pretending he hadn’t just ruined the best thing to ever happen to him. A couple of minutes later, Kevin was back and offering him a mug of coffee.
“Let’s go into the living room so you can tell me if I need to get my shovel.”
Lukas laughed wetly and followed him into his small living room, collapsing on his couch but careful not to spill any of his precious black liquid. He took a large swallow of the scalding coffee.
“No shovel necessary. I just… Fuck, I messed up so bad.”
Kevin frowned and sat carefully next to him, his back to the arm of the opposite end of the couch and one leg folded under him. “I’m sort of surprised he reacted so badly to you telling him. I mean, I wasn’t there or anything, but from what you’d been texting me… Yeah, I’m gonna stick with surprised. What did he say, babycakes?”
He bit his lip and didn’t meet Kevin’s gaze. “Um, he didn’t actually say anything.”
“He stormed out?”
“Noooo.”
“Okay, what the heck? Just tell me what happened.”
So, he did. He skipped over the mind-blowing sex and focused on what happened afterward and when he woke up. When he was done, he took a sip of his coffee and eyed Kevin’s frowning face.
“So, you didn’t actually give him a chance to respond and snuck out while he was sleeping? After everything that happened between you this week… Wow. I can’t even imagine how he must have felt to wake up and find you gone.”
Lukas looked away, his stomach souring. “Yeah,” he whispered, his eyes stinging.
“Lukas…” Kevin waited until Lukas turned back to him and met his eyes. “You know you messed up, right? I don’t have to give you the speech about you overreacting and letting fear get the best of you, do I?”
“What if this was it?”
“What do you mean?”
Lukas sighed and set his half-empty cup