Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 8

He stared into Josh's eyes, until Josh stilled. There was no room for the anger or the hurt when he was filled with the sight of Trey's intent gaze.
    Josh sighed and relaxed, spooning in against Trey's side. "With you I can just be me. I'm home." And it felt like truth down to the center of his being. He was finally where he belonged.
     
    EPILOGUE
    The goddamned plane was late. Trey paced, walking an arc to avoid the squealing girls who were bent over a smart phone in some kind of a group orgy of giggles. An old woman in a wheelchair gave him a look of annoyance as he pivoted on his heel for the forty-seventh time. He shrugged in rueful apology.
    Another glance at the monitor showed that the plane was now supposedly on the ground. Finally. His imagination followed it. Landing, taxiing in, deplaning, jetway, hiking through the fucking terminal, escalators. At least another fifteen minutes. Maybe more, because knowing Josh, he'd probably bought the cheapest ticket available and was practically seated in the rear bathroom where it would take half an hour just to get off the plane. More than half an hour. Trey figured he really should just take a walk over to the snack bar and come back. But he couldn't get himself to move away from carousel number three.
    He touched his pocket, feeling the folded paper in there crinkle slightly. That was his contribution to moving them forward. A signed lease on the bigger condo at the other end of the complex, with a second spare room for a study for Josh, and a bathroom with a walk-in shower and Jacuzzi. It was out of Trey's budget if he were renting alone, but if the biotech interview Josh had lined up panned out... This was Trey's declaration of faith.
    He turned back to the monitor again. Flight at the gate. But it had said that before and then gone back to delayed. He wasn't sure what to believe. He pivoted irritably and rocked back hard on his heels. Because there was Josh, standing in front of him.
    For a moment Trey just stared. They'd managed two visits in the last three months, most recently an intense week crammed into Josh's little studio, and they'd done a ton of Skyping since then so it wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other. But somehow he'd forgotten just how gorgeous Josh was. His hair had grown out a little from the summer's close crop, and it showed gold highlights under the terminal fluorescents. He was still slim, but in a jacket over a button-down shirt his shoulders seemed broader. His dark eyes shone as he looked back at Trey.
    Trey took one step to close the distance and then hesitated, not sure what Josh would be comfortable with in public. Josh set down his carry-on bag, reached out and pulled Trey into a tight hug. They swayed together. Trey rubbed his cheek against Josh's hair, softer now that it had some length but still smelling of Josh's drugstore shampoo and familiar man.
    They separated enough to look at each other in satisfaction. Josh firmly clasped Trey's arms with both hands, shaking him back and forth slowly. Trey smiled. Suddenly Josh leaned in and kissed him, quick and dry but sweet and completely public. Trey thought his grin might crack his face. "So how many bags did you bring? Should I get a cart?"
    "Not unless you've quit working out. There's just one."
    Trey hesitated. "I thought you were moving all your stuff here, regardless of how this job works out."
    "I am. But I found a college student who's transferring schools and he's driving a truck out here, and had some room in it. It was way cheaper. The airline charges twenty-five bucks for every damned bag. I brought enough for a few weeks."
    "In one bag?"
    "Just because you're a clothes freak doesn't mean I have to be."
    "Heaven forbid." Trey looked Josh up and down. His jacket was threadbare and old, his shirt was a plain white, his jeans were loose-fitting and probably from Target, and he still looked hotter than any man had a right to. Trey smiled. "We can always buy you a few things."
    "Maybe," Josh said warily. "After I land the job."
    Trey raised one eyebrow, because they'd had this talk about how different they were with regard to spending money. Josh had claimed he wanted to break out of his father's parsimonious habits. At least a little bit. Slowly.
    Josh's lips curved in a reluctant smile. "Maybe I could buy a few things right away."
    Trey's laugh broke free, in pure appreciation of the moment and having Josh here at last, loudly enough that people turned to look. Most of them