Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 140629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Still, she raised her voice at Noah. “Why aren’t you in your bed? Did you go out while I was sleeping?” She tugged on Noah’s shirt, pulling him to the door. “We will talk about this once I’m back.”
“It’s my fault—” Caspian tried, but she glared back at him with a deep frown that pinched her round face.
“I bet it is.” She wouldn’t have been so stern if she knew about the fire, but there was no point in letting her know what happened when she was on her way to work. She stared at them before clicking her tongue in exasperation. “Food’s in the fridge. Just don’t eat from the red containers. That’s for dinner,” she said and rushed off to her car.
She didn’t have the time to assess who Gunner was, but maybe he looked harmless enough to leave with her son and his half-brother.
Gunner would miss not being constantly perceived as a threat.
“Thank you,” Caspian called out and waved at her, but she was gone two seconds later.
Since it was still quite dark, Noah switched on the light inside and invited them in with a broad gesture.
The house was small and modest, but it was always clean and smelled of Zahra’s favorite spring-scented air freshener. The pale green walls of the living room were decorated with family photos and two framed posters depicting the Italian Riviera hung over a brown sofa with large potted plants on either side. The rest of the house remained dark, but Noah stepped through the nearest door, into the kitchen.
“I’m off to sleep. Do you want anything?”
“No, thanks, we’re good,” Gunner said, approaching the sofa. He’d stayed here enough times to know how to unfold it into a bed. “Where’s Fluffer?”
Noah snorted. “On the counter by the microwave. He decided to fall asleep in the fruit basket.”
Gunner exhaled, fighting off the instinct to run to his pet. This might as well be his last night in this body, and he wanted to spend it with Caspian.
Noah whistled at the dog, but Dingo stalled and stared at Gunner and Caspian with the eyes of a sage, who’d seen it all. Gunner froze, but Noah didn’t seem to notice anything amiss and showed Dingo a piece of ham.
The sage transformed into a pet, immediately losing interest in Gunner and Caspian.
“Goodnight,” Noah said before slamming the door of his room shut as soon as the dog ran inside.
Silence dawned on the living room, and Gunner rubbed his shoulders, suddenly cold.
“That was… an eventful day,” Caspian muttered, gravitating closer with both hands down his pockets.
Gunner returned to setting up the bed. They’d touched and kissed since their argument, but he still wasn’t sure where they stood or whether that mattered, if the dog saliva was to swap them back. “Too eventful, if you ask me.”
He’d wrecked a fancy party, broken Alex’s nose, got a tattoo and two piercings, argued with Caspian, got outed, outed Caspian, almost died because of a stupid Snickers bar, and was now about to sleep at Zahra’s because his trailer had burned down.
Fucking mayhem.
At least he would have a sofa to sleep on until he managed to get a place of his own. Many people in his position couldn’t count even on that.
The pregnant silence weighed on Gunner’s shoulders, but he said nothing despite Caspian’s eyes burning his back as he spread the bed sheet over the unfolded sofa.
“Can we… I mean, how big is the shower?” Caspian asked.
Gunner licked his lips, frustrated by the awkwardness between them when this could be their last morning together. He took a deep breath and turned around to face Caspian when he finished setting up the bed.
“Big enough for two.”
The frown pinching Caspian’s forehead relaxed. He placed his hands on Gunner’s hips and pulled him in, as if this might not be the end of their dream.
“I’ll give you a sponge bath,” he said and flicked his finger against Gunner’s swollen nipple.
Gunner chuckled, relaxing. “Dumbass. They’re sensitive, okay?”
“How sensitive exactly?” Caspian leaned in, taking hold of the piercing and applying the smallest amount of pressure to the sore flesh.
“Very. Now come on.” Gunner pulled on Caspian’s hand, leading him toward the bathroom. “Will you keep them? If… you know, if we swap back?”
Caspian remained silent until they entered the dark room, which still smelled of the shower Zahra had taken before driving off to work. The bathroom had been designed without a shower stall, and instead had a floor that gently sloped toward the drain in the corner.
“Do you think we will actually turn? Because a dog licked us? I’ve gotten used to the fact that this fantastical thing happened to us, but still… wouldn’t that be simply… too easy of a solution?” he asked and switched on the light.
Gunner shrugged as he peeled off his T-shirt. “We’re kinda low on ideas, so magical dog it is. Who knows, maybe Noah will win the lottery too. Or did Madge’s moonshine cause all this? We’ll never know,” he finished in a whisper.