“Yes, when it becomes poisonous to everyone but you,” Gray said, passing his elegant motorbike on the way to the stairs that led to their room.
“I’m just trying to get to know you. Now, if I were to get you a gift, I’d know you like white, black, and gray, and you don’t wear earrings.”
Gray stopped midway to the landing and looked down at Shadow. With the streetlight creating a distinct contrast to shadows, he was like a beautiful statue, his limbs strong, torso and shoulders rigid. “A gift? My birthday isn’t in another couple of months.”
Shadow carefully reached for Gray’s hand, pushing away the thought that he wouldn’t be here long enough to celebrate Gray’s birthday. “I don’t need an occasion. It would be a token of my appreciation.”
Gray opened his lips, but unlike many of Shadow’s other friends, Gray didn’t like to express his feelings. His face was usually serene, as if he were posing for a portrait. It made each of his smiles a rare yet beautiful event worth remembering.
“You don’t have to do that. I appreciate your help,” Gray said, moving upstairs again until he reached the second floor.
How could one human cause Shadow so much anguish, and so much joy all at once? Any hint of approval made Shadow’s heart beat faster, and any scowl made his eyes itch with tears. Reining in his emotions was a daily battle. He was a stormy ocean, but Gray was the moon that controlled the tides.
He followed Gray into their small room. Unlike Gray’s pristine living space at the clubhouse, it smelled pleasantly dated, and featured a patch of mold on the bathroom ceiling. Whoever decorated it must have loved patterns, because there were different ones on the carpet, curtains, and beddings. Shadow thought it looked lively, but Gray, with his love for solid color, had been much less impressed when they’d first moved in.
Gray put down the backpack that contained the surveillance equipment and sat on one of the two beds, holding a protein bar, which he’d pulled out of his stash in the bedside table.
“Can I have one?” Shadow asked.
Gray sighed, leaning forward until his elbows rested on his knees. “You know they make you sick.”
Shadow started unbuckling his jacket with resignation. He was doing his best to get to know Gray, to find out what he ate, what he liked, how he smelled, and yet it felt as if he wasn’t getting anywhere at all. There was a missing piece, a key to Gray’s heart that he couldn’t seem to find. Maybe he was destined for failure?
Gray pondered on it while quickly chewing through the bar, as if he wanted to just get it over with. “Are you hungry?”
“I know you don’t like to watch me eat. I can wait.” But Shadow was in fact hungry. The cockroach had been delicious but barely enough to whet his appetite. There were more important things than eating, though.
Gray opened the drawer of the nightstand again and pulled out a small plastic package painted with bright colors. “I remember you said this smelled nice when we were out shopping. Maybe you’ll end up liking it.”
Shadow sat up straight, and something strangely pleasant curled up his insides. “For me?” He grabbed the bag and greedily unwrapped a whole bundle of black, rubbery sticks that smelled like the comfort of curling up with the Others in a space where time didn’t exist. They kind of reminded him of giant spider legs. The taste was strangely bitter and salty, but had just the right undertone of sweetness.
Gray watched him with one of those rare smiles that seemed completely genuine and not for anyone else’s benefit. “You like it? It’s called liquorice,” he said, getting up and kicking off his boots.
“Thank you. It’s delicious. Strange. But good.” Shadow grinned and chewed on the black food. But even as the new, pleasant flavor melted in his mouth, his gaze kept following Gray.
Shadow had seen Gray take off his clothes many times and yet wasn’t allowed to touch. In fact, he’d very quickly learned that Gray didn’t want him too close when he undressed, so Shadow stayed on his own bed, chewing through the liquorice.
Gray was fast. He took off his shirt first, then socks and jeans, remaining only in tight black underwear that revealed the shape of his cock. Shadow tried not to stare, but that pale, muscular body was tempting as if it had been created just for the sake of making him suffer.
“I’m a bit like liquorice,” Shadow said, his tone coming out lower than he’d anticipated. “Strange at first, you might even be apprehensive about it, but in the end you love it.”
Gray smirked and shook his head, on the way to the bathroom. “It’s just one of those things. Some people love it. Some people hate it.”