Fire and Rain by Andrew Grey Page B

“Just let yourself believe it and give up some of the worry for now. I think you’ve been doing it for so long that you aren’t sure how to let it go.” Kip moved back slightly but didn’t stop touching him. His hand did a little dance away from his lips, but Kip teased it around the side of his neck and just held it there, like if Jos became too tired, Kip would support him and hold him up. “Drink your tea. It’ll help you sleep.”
    “What if I don’t want to go to sleep?” Jos asked, lifting his gaze to meet Kip’s. He saw a well of heat ready to spring up and engulf him. That was what he needed—heat and passion to burn hot and rise up around him, to take him away and make him forget everything if only for a while.
    Kip leaned close enough that hot breath, scented with tea, ghosted over his lips. Without thinking, Jos licked them in preparation for the kiss he hoped was coming. “You need to. Part of the reason you’re on edge is because you haven’t really rested in a long time.” He didn’t move back, and Jos wondered what Kip was thinking.
    Just when he figured Kip wasn’t going to make any sort of move, he leaned in farther and Kip’s lips touched his. Jos wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting. In books, the first kiss was always electric and eye-opening. This one was nice—soft and gentle. It didn’t incite an all-encompassing passion, but Jos’s heart beat faster, and he was warmer. Kip pulled back, and Jos opened his eyes. Their gazes held fast, neither of them moving.
    “You should finish your tea and go on up to bed,” Kip whispered.
    “But…,” Jos began and stopped. He was not going to ask Kip to take him to bed. Yeah, Kip had kissed him, but maybe he wasn’t interested in him and that had been just some kind of pity kiss. Something to make him feel better, and nothing more. “Yeah, I should go upstairs.”
    His tea had cooled off some, and Jos drank from the mug, turning to sit at the table, which provided a barrier so Kip couldn’t see how excited he was. It also gave him something to look at other than Kip’s honey-gold skin. He still found himself sneaking looks every now and then, huffing to himself. Once he finished the mug, Jos took it to the sink and rinsed it out before saying good night to Kip and going upstairs.
    Isaac didn’t even stir when Jos got back into the bed, and he heard Kip come up the stairs a little while later, a few floorboards creaking as he passed the door. Jos rolled over, staring up at the white ceiling. He couldn’t help wondering what that kiss had meant, if it actually had meaning or was just something Kip had done to comfort him. Kip had said he was beautiful, and he was pretty sure Kip didn’t go around saying that to a lot of people. He decided to be happy about the kiss and try to let it go at that.
    “You’re turning into a teenage girl,” he whispered to himself. Isaac snuffled in his sleep and rolled over without waking. At least he was able to sleep. Sometimes being an adult stank. If he were a kid, he’d be able to take the kiss at face value and be happy about it. Instead, he was lying there, wondering and worrying instead of being happy that Kip had kissed him at all. Eventually the wheels in Jos’s head settled down and exhaustion took over.
     
     
    THE FOLLOWING morning Jos was at loose ends. He heard Isaac laughing with Kip, but he was tired and pulled the covers up to his neck and closed his eyes once more. A scream had him up and on his feet within seconds, but as soon as he reached the stairs, he realized it was laughter and glee. Whatever Kip was doing to Isaac, it was something he hadn’t been able to do, because laughter had definitely been missing from his brother’s life.
    Jos went back to the room where they had put their bags and rummaged until he found something he could wear. Once he was dressed, he grabbed the bags and carried them downstairs.
    “Everything you need is in the basement. Help yourself,”