MasukJamieJamie didn't sleep.Not properly.He lay in bed with the lights off, staring at the ceiling while the memory of Ryan standing in his apartment replayed itself over and over.This isn't going away.Jamie turned onto his side.He hated the certainty in Ryan's voice.Hated even more that some part of him believed it.The room was cool, but Jamie felt too warm.He kicked the blanket away.A few minutes later, he pulled it back over himself.Then kicked it off again."Jesus."He sat up.Something was wrong.Not dramatically wrong.Not yet.It was just a strange restlessness beneath his skin.A warmth that wouldn't settle.His heart was beating faster than normal.His body felt heavy.Sensitive.Uncomfortab
JamieJamie stared at the door.Ryan stood on the other side.He could feel him.That was the worst part.He could feel him without seeing him.The bond had gone strangely quiet the moment Ryan arrived, but Jamie's body remained alert, every nerve tuned toward the man standing just beyond the door.A knock sounded.Once.Jamie didn't move.Another knock."Jamie."Ryan's voice.Low.Controlled.Too close.Jamie closed his eyes."Go home.""I will."Jamie frowned.Ryan continued."Just give me five minutes.""No.""Five minutes.""I don't want to talk to you.""I know.""Then leave.""I will."A pause."After five minutes."Jamie a
JamieJamie knew something was wrong the moment Ethan walked back through the door.He could tell by the way Ethan closed it.Normally, Ethan would push it shut with his foot, complain about the weight of the takeout containers in his hands, and immediately start asking Jamie why he hadn't eaten anything he'd left in the refrigerator.Tonight, he closed the door quietly.Too quietly.Jamie looked up from the couch.Ethan stood there for a moment, keys still in his hand.Their eyes met.Something had changed.Jamie felt it immediately."Hey."Ethan didn't answer at first.Then he nodded."Hey."Jamie watched him put his keys down."Everything okay?""Yeah."The answer came too quickly.Jamie frowned.Ethan walked into the living room and
EthanThe drive to the address Ryan had given him felt longer than it should have.Ethan barely remembered leaving Jamie's apartment.He remembered standing in the doorway.He remembered looking back at Jamie on the couch, still holding the container of food Ethan had brought him.He remembered Jamie's sleepy smile.I'll see you later.Those had been his last words.Now they felt strangely distant.Ethan tightened his grip around the steering wheel.Ryan had said it wasn't about the engagement.It was about Jamie.That was all he had given him.Ethan had spent the entire drive trying to convince himself that there were dozens of explanations.Maybe Ryan had noticed something between them.Maybe he wanted to talk about Jamie's behavior at the engagement party.Maybe Jamie
EthanEthan let himself into Jamie's apartment with the spare key Jamie had given him years ago.He didn't knock.He never did.At some point, knocking had stopped being necessary between them.There were probably people who would have found that strange. Ethan didn't.He had a toothbrush in Jamie's bathroom. A phone charger in the drawer beside the bed. Two shirts hanging in Jamie's closet that had somehow never made their way back to his own house. There were pictures of them together scattered around the apartment, most of them taken without either of them realizing someone was holding a camera.Six years of friendship had left traces.Six years of being there.Six years of Jamie becoming so deeply woven into his life that Ethan couldn't remember where one ended and the other began."Jamie?"Nothing.Ethan closed the door quietly behind him.The apartment was dark except for the television playing at low volume.He frowned."Jamie?"Still nothing.He walked farther inside.Then he
Jamie returned to campus the following afternoon.He told himself he had survived worse.Six years ago, he had walked away from his childhood home with nothing but a backpack.He had survived university.He had survived discovering he was an Omega.He had survived heats, loneliness, heartbreak, and years of pretending that the person he loved most in the world was nothing more than his best friend.He could survive Ryan.The thought should have made him feel better.It didn't.Jamie stepped out of his car and looked toward his apartment building.He had barely taken three steps when he stopped.Ryan was standing beside the entrance.Jamie stared at him.Ryan stared back.He was dressed simply, in dark jeans and a black shirt, his hands tucked into his pockets.He looked like he had been waiting for a while.Jamie immediately turned around.“No.”“Jamie.”“No.”Ryan pushed away from the wall.“Please.”Jamie kept walking.“I don't want to talk to you.”“I need to explain.”“I don't car







