Free Dance by Teodora Kostova Page B

dawned on him, his eyes sparkling
mischievously.
    “Are
you jealous?” he asked, grinning.
    “No,”
Fenix denied on an instinct, making Jared laugh.
    “You
are!”
    Fenix
hadn’t expected Jared to laugh wholeheartedly at that and pushed his hand away,
flopping onto his back. Jared followed him immediately, stretching on top of
him and forcing him to meet his eyes.
    “You
have no reason to be. Adam and I are friends; we’ve always been friends, even
when we fucked,” Jared said softly, his gorgeous, pink, wet lips just an inch
from Fenix’s. His jealousy flared even more.
    “You
said he was your first. That kinda leaves a lasting
memory,” he said.
    There. Proper jealous boyfriend routine.
    “But
that’s what it is – a memory. If we wanted to be together, we would have been.
We just don't want to.”
    That
did nothing to ease Fenix’s mind. He felt stupid and irrational and out of line
for even mentioning it. He hated that he’d even opened his big mouth, and he
was afraid Jared might hate it too.
    “Baby? There’s more, I can
see it in your eyes,” Jared said, his voice so calm and gentle. No judgement.
No impatience. Fenix decided to let it all out, and if Jared decided it was too
much to handle, then so be it. But he could not spend the next three weeks
keeping all that inside. He opened his mouth and ranted without even pausing
for breath.
    “Yes,
I’m jealous. Even when you say that you’re nothing more than friends, I’m still
jealous. He was your first lover and you’ll never forget that. He’ll always be
special to you. But what I hate even more than that is the fact that I feel
this way, because we just met two days ago! I have no right to feel this way,
we’re not in a relationship or anything, we don't know
anything about each other. And yet, the thought of not spending a single night
with you drives me crazy, let alone three fucking weeks. I want you to stay
with me, not with Adam. I want to tell you that I don't want to fuck anybody
else and I don't want you to fuck
anybody else either. I want...” Fenix paused, his voice growing quiet at
Jared’s expression. He had not expected that. “You. I
want you, Jared. How can I want you so much after two days? It scares the hell
out of me.”
    Jared
stared at him. He was shocked, but he wasn’t angry. He wasn’t pulling back as
if he thought Fenix was crazy. That was a good sign, right?
    “You
want me to stay with you?” he asked finally.
    “Yes.”
    Jared’s
lips pulled back in a stunning, happy grin. His eyes danced as he kept staring
at Fenix as if searching for a sign he was leading him on.
    “And
you want to be exclusive?”
    “Yes!”
Fenix confirmed, unable to stop the joyful grin appearing on his own lips.
    “I
don't care how long we’ve known each other, Fen. This feels right. I want you,
too. I want everything with you,” Jared said as he kissed him, tangling his
hands in Fenix’s hair and relaxing his body on top of him. All too soon he
pulled back and rested on his side again, tugging Fenix to follow him. When
they were facing each other again, Jared moved even closer, leaving just an
inch between their lips. “You know how in books and movies at the end, just
before the happily ever after, they always say, ‘I knew you were the one the
moment I saw you’, or ‘I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with you
when I first met you’?”
    “Yeah?”
    “I
don't wanna waste that time – the time between
realising that and actually saying it. I don't wanna bend to society’s rules about how long we should be together before I tell you
‘I love you’ or before I know you’re it .
Because I knew it the moment I lay eyes on you, Fenix. Something inside me woke
up and jumped and pointed at you and shouted: ‘That’s him. That’s the guy for
you.’ You’re it for me, love. I know
it here,” he took Fenix’s hand and placed it on his chest, right over his
heart. “And I don't care what anybody else