I haven’t written anything in months so...
Here’s a sneak peek of the edited version of HB5 that will be out... eventually.
As Isaac stripped off his damp t-shirt, he reached his arms over his head, groaning at the stretch. His muscles ached with a sweet, homey sort of burn, one that didn’t come from fighting or running. He’d been conscripted into helping Edrissa today: first climbing up on the rickety ladder and cleaning the gutters, then moving wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of earth from one end of the back yard to the other – “to level it out for when I plant the corn next year,” she had said – to finally kneeling in the dark soil of the garden with her to pluck the weeds that, to him, looked exactly the same as the herbs he was told to spare. The only break he’d taken all day was to have lunch and a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade to stave off the heat of the almost-August day. But Edrissa hadn’t taken any other breaks either, and Isaac was happy to help. Happy to be needed, for something other than what he’d spent most of his life being needed for.
He must have groaned again, because Gavin chuckled. Isaac flushed and turned to look at him across the bed, stomach fluttering as it always did at the deep greenness of Gavin’s eyes, the smile that curved at his lips, the planes of his bare chest. Isaac’s throat tightened. He swallowed and tried to clear his throat.
“What?” he croaked, unable to stop the smile that tugged at his mouth. He couldn’t tell if the heat in his face was from his day in the sun, or from the warmth of Gavin’s gaze.
“Just looking at you,” Gavin said, and that only made Isaac’s cheeks blaze more.
“Well… stop it,” Isaac said, lips aching from trying to suppress his smile. He snatched a pillow off the bed and flung it at Gavin.
Gavin caught the pillow and tossed it away. He crawled onto the bed, reaching for Isaac’s hand. Isaac let Gavin pull him down and they fell into bed together, a tangle of limbs and laughter.
“Stop looking at you?” Gavin said with an impish grin. “Impossible. Have you seen you?”
Isaac didn’t think he could blush any harder. “Stop,” he said, smiling, and covered Gavin’s mouth with a kiss. Gavin sighed and tipped his head back against the mattress, pulling Isaac close. His hands traced the healed cane marks on Isaac’s back. Isaac shivered at the touch and let his eyes fall closed. He kissed Gavin until he was breathless.
“You get freckles when you tan, did you know that?” Gavin said against Isaac’s lips.
Isaac huffed out a laugh and pulled back. He braced his elbows on either side of Gavin’s head, their noses almost touching. There was a softness in Gavin’s eyes that made the strength run right out of Isaac’s body; he was grateful he was already lying down.
“I don’t know if I knew that,” Isaac confessed. “Haven’t owned a lot of mirrors in my life.”
“I’ve probably owned too many,” Gavin said. The smile was still there, but… tight. Frozen. There was guilt there, and Isaac’s heart ached with it.
He cleared his throat. “Well…” The room was suddenly colder; the warmth that had enveloped them only seconds ago was trickling away, extinguished by the heavy blanket of their shared past.
Gavin’s smile was bittersweet, now, but it was real. “What’s the next project?” he said weakly.
Isaac rolled off of Gavin, grateful for the change of subject. “Outside?” he said, leaning on his elbow. One hand caressed Gavin’s waist. His palm tingled where he was touching Gavin. “Next we’re going to dig some holes for fence posts.” He stroked Gavin’s ribs with his thumb. “Gray wants to build a fence around the yard.”
“That would be nice,” Gavin said gently. “A little, um… extra safety. And… and privacy.”
Isaac’s smile was tight. “A privacy fence,” he said, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Gavin’s lips. “For the house that has no neighbors for miles and miles.”
