James’ POV

“So this is the place,” Dev asked, his lip turned down into a small frown as he stared at the abandoned house. Disgust covered his face as he gripped the bag slung over his shoulder tightly.

“Not too late to turn back, I’ll walk you back.”

“No it’s fine,” he said as he wiped the look of his face and tried to make a smile cover the obvious regret. “I’ll get used to it eventually. I’d rather be here with you than there.”

“You say that now but wait til you see the inside,” I teased as I took his hand and led him inside. “Should I carry you over the threshold?”

“I think that’s reserved for married couples,” Dev said with a small smile, almost shyly. 

“Well it’s going to happen eventually, we both know it. Why not get a head start?” I don’t wait for his answer as I bend down to wrap my arm around his legs and back. He attempted to put up a small fight but as I took a few steps closer to the door he simply gave up and let it happen.

The door had long since been stolen or simply ripped off the hinges while the wind carried it off but the worn out tarp kept the inside hidden but the second I pushed it to the side and carried Dev inside that small smile was wiped off his face.

“You slept here last night,” he asked with a grimace as I slowly let him down. His hand wrapped around my shoulder as he held it tightly and looked around the mold ridden house. “James this isn’t safe. We’re going to catch pneumonia or something.”

“Well it’s the best I could do in such short notice. It was either this or a dumpster behind the Chinese place and they didn’t seem too pleased with me when I was scooping it out earlier. We’ll find a better place in a few days but for now it works, it’s keeping the wind out at least.”

“Definitely temporary,” he agreed as he stepped further inside, taking in the rotten steps leading to the upstairs, the mold in almost every corner of the house, the mildew stench that filled every room. It certainly wasn’t the best house on the block but it’ll keep the elements out so until I can manage to get a job and find a better place.

“I know I said I’d let you decide if you wanted to come with me but you really don’t have to stay here. We can make it work. If you want to go home I’ll let you come visit, we can try little dates out here, I won’t push you away or anything. I just can’t see you having a good time here.”

Dev had always been one of those preppy rich kids. Nannies, personal chefs, and maids were all normal for him. The whiplash was going to be hard for him. The only reason we had met in the first place was because I happened to be playing in the same park as him when we were kids and his nanny of the month thought it would be good for him to have friends that weren’t all spoiled, stuck up brats. By the time his parents fired her he didn’t care enough to listen to them when they told him to stop hanging out with me.

“And leave you here by yourself? Absolutely not. Besides, anywhere with you is better than a house where no one notices you’re gone. So, what are we going to do first? We need food obviously and sleeping bags or something would be nice because I am not sleeping on that couch. There is no telling how many diseases are on that thing.”

“So max out your dad’s credit card before he cancels it?” For the first time since we left his house a genuine smile crossed his face as he dug into his back pocket and pulled out the card he had stored away in his far too fancy wallet.

“There’s a 5,000 dollar limit on it. Blow it all tonight and see if he pays it off before ditching it. He might just think I’m trying to show out with the snobs. Do you think it’s safe to put my bag down?”

“Probably not, take it with us and if people give us weird looks just give them the finger.” My hand grabs his as I lead us out the door. 

The closest store was a few miles down the road and the walk was cold and long and I hated every step I took; the only good part being Devon’s hand was in mine.

Turns out it’s not as hard to spend $5,000 as I thought it was going to be. Without a fridge, running water, or any sort of power most of our food ended up being canned, we got sleeping bags and a lot of blankets since it seems like Devon is always so cold, a small fire pit so at the very least we could get heat up our cans, a few cases of water, and other essentials hoping to build a decent stock while we still had money to mooch off of.

Later that night after eating stew straight from the can the two of us crawled into the sleeping bags that we zipped up together to make one large bag. My arm was slung around his side as I hugged his back close to my stomach. 

“We’re going to be fine, right,” Dev asked as he stared out into the dark living room. “Like we don’t have to worry about this going too horribly wrong right?”

“Well I am involved so anything could happen,” I teased as I held him tighter.

“I’m being serious. I’m not leaving you regardless but I need to know that you have a plan. I need to know that we aren’t living like this for the rest of our lives. I need to know that you aren’t okay with us living out of condemned housing for the rest of our lives.”

“No,” I said a bit too harshly. “We’re getting out of this. I’ll get a job, we’ll get a house that actually has power in it, and this will all be a long sad story we’ll tell our kids some day when they threaten to run way with the bad boy gangster we told them to stay away from.”

“We’re going to have kids,” he asked as he turned around to face me, his hand grabbing mine while the other arm wrapped around me, our legs tangling in the still too small sleeping bag.

“Isn’t that what you do when you get old with someone you love? You have kids and raise them to better than you?”

“Why are you asking me?” His light laugh bounced around the room. “I’m younger than you, I should be asking you this.”

“Then it looks like we’re royally fucked,” I teased, holding his closer.

“And where are we going to have this house?”

“Somewhere far away. We won’t even have to look at this shitty ass town.”

“In the city then?”

“I’m thinking a bit farther out. I don’t want to have to deal with big city traffic.”

“So out side in the woods then?”

“That sounds so much better doesn’t it? Surrounded by trees instead of people, have a few kids and dogs running around, maybe a pond or lake or something. Just being out where no one can bother us.”

“It sounds nice. I can’t wait for that day to come. Just the two of us in our own little world. Sounds like heaven.”

I could barely see his face in the dim light but the smile on his face almost lit up the room around him. Light freckles dusted his face, a small blush covered his cheeks, an innocent grin pulling his dimples into place. 

The hand around his waste moved up to his hair to push a loose strand out of his brown eyes before cupping the back of his head and pulling his face closer to mine.

“I’m going to kiss you,” I said as I shifted a bit closer.

“I was hoping you would. It’d be a bit weird for you to not considering how close you are-“ I don’t let him finish his nagging before I connect our lips. His lips were always so soft and smooth compared to what I assumed my chapped ones must feel like but he’s never complained.

I loved the feeling of him melting into every inch of my body as his hand cupped my chin as he slowly licked the seam of my lips. My mouth opened to allow his tongue to slip in. A soft groan left my lips as he pulled back and rested our foreheads together.

“I can’t wait to have a little family with you.”

“What dog should we get first?”

Last updated January 15, 2024