Heartsville 05 - Bloom Box (Cate Ashwood) (8 page)

Will’s head swam, his emotions pulled in warring directions. Milo won out over the rage he felt for Spencer. Pushing his ex from his mind, he concentrated on pulling Milo as tightly against him as he could.

“Are you okay?” Milo asked.

“I am. I wish that chapter of my life would just be finished already.”

“You don’t want to get back together with him?” Milo asked gently. “He sounded pretty torn up.”

Will pulled back to see if Milo had somehow sustained a head injury in the brief time he’d been gone.

“Are you crazy? Actually, I think I might be the crazy one. I don’t know what I was thinking ever being with him. I should have known there was something going on, and maybe in some way I did, but I just didn’t want to see it. I was living in this neutral space of homeostasis and I was totally blind to what a douche he is.”

“So you’re happier without him?”

“Infinitely.”

“Will… I have something I need to—”

Milo’s serious tone was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing. Will shot him an apologetic look.

“Hold that thought,” he said, crossing the space behind the counter to retrieve the phone.

“Bloom Box, this is Will.”

“Hi, Will, it’s Walt.”

“How are you? How’s Victor?”

“We’re both hanging in there, keeping a positive outlook. It’s tough some days, but if Victor only has a limited time left, we don’t want to spend it wallowing together.”

Will’s heart broke a little then, imagining what his life would be like without the man he loved. He knew he loved Milo. He’d known for a while.

“Listen, I’ve got some good news for you,” Walt continued, his voice bright.

“What’s that?”

“I’ve found someone to take over the lease. It’s not until November first, but it’s something.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Will said with an enthusiasm he didn’t feel in the slightest.

“I thought you’d be pleased. I’m going to miss having you as a tenant, though.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

“We will keep in touch, though. It’s a ways off, but Victor and I are hosting Thanksgiving at our place this year, doing it up right with more food than anyone could ever eat. Of course, you’re welcome to come and bring a friend if you’d like.”

“That’s very sweet of you. I will definitely take you up on that.”

“It’s settled, then. I’m sure I’ll be speaking to you before November, but take care in the meantime.”

“You too.”

Will hung up the phone and turned to face Milo, whose complexion had paled in the few minutes Will had been on the phone.

“I suppose he found someone else to take over the business.”

“He did. They move in November first.”

Milo was silent for a moment before he spoke. “Does that make you happy?”

“I don’t know. I suppose. This was the plan all along. It was a temporary solution. Besides, you’ll be heading back to class tomorrow and moving on with your life. Unless I hire someone else, I’ll need to be here more hours, which leaves less time for my actual work.”

“And you’re going to look for another place to live?”

“Yeah. I guess I should get started on that. I have less than two months.”

“Will?”

“Yeah?”

“What about… this?” Milo said, gesturing between them.

“I don’t know.”

“Okay,” he said sadly.

He turned and walked into the back. Will stood in place, unable to move. In less than five minutes, his whole life had shifted. He knew this was coming, and he should have better prepared for it, thought it through, but the longer Milo was out of sight, the worse Will felt. He could hear him moving around in the back, the snip of the scissors as he clipped flower stems, the crinkle of the cellophane as he wrapped them.

The more Will considered what the next few months would be like, without the shop and without Milo, the more dismal he felt.

By the time the shop closed that evening, the divide between them had become monumental. Will didn’t know what to say to make it better. He knew Milo was upset. He was upset. Everything was up in the air, though. Seeing Milo every day had become a huge part of his life, but it was tied to the store. Without Bloom Box, what would hold them together?

Milo would be busy with classes and homework and exams. He would be spending time at pub night and going to parties on campus. There would be football games and frat nights and binge drinking, and where did Will fit into that?

He knew that he would miss Milo terribly, but having him drift slowly away, to watch the spark fizzle and fade would hurt more in the long run than ending things now. He needed that closure, that finality of the good-bye, but he couldn’t bring himself to say so.

Classes started the next day and it was the perfect breaking point for them. All he needed to do was give Milo his final check, kiss him good-bye, and watch him walk away.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he followed Milo up the stairs, just as he’d done every night since Milo moved himself in.

Will followed willingly, unsure of what was happening but wanting nothing more than to be with Milo. That small contact, Milo’s hand in his, was enough to start his heart beating again, warmth spreading through him. He tightened his fingers, wanting to imprint the sensation of their hands, palm to palm, in his mind forever.

When they reached the little apartment they shared, Milo turned and looked at Will.

“I’m sorry I shut down on you today. I needed some space to gather my thoughts.”

“It’s okay. Today was big. There was a lot to process. I’m sorry, too, that everything feels uncertain right now. To be honest, I don’t know what to do.”

“You told Spencer that this was the happiest you’ve been in years.”

Will nodded.

“Then be honest with me,” Milo said. “Why is that? Is it simply because you’re no longer with him? Is it the independence of being free of him? Or is there more to it than that?”

Will paused. In his heart, he knew there was more to it than just breaking it off with Spencer. Milo and Bloom Box both were a huge part of why he felt so light.

“There’s more to it,” Will admitted finally.

“I want this to work, Will, you and me. The thought of losing you scares the shit out of me.”

Will took a deep breath and steeled himself. “I don’t want to lose you either. But what if you wake up one day and realize you’ve missed out on so much?”

“I wouldn’t be missing out, Will. I love you. I know it’s quick and this is the first time I’ve told you, but I mean it. You mean more to me than anything.”

“I love you too.”

The smile that spread across Milo’s face when he heard those words melted away any remaining reservations Will had about trying to make things work.

“So what now?”

“I don’t know. We find a new place to live, I suppose. We can look together, maybe something close to campus for you? I can work anywhere.”

“Okay,” Milo said, his voice lit with an excitement Will felt too.

They hadn’t been together long, but it had been more than long enough to learn how to tempt and tease into flustered desperation. There was no teasing then, though. Milo fit easily against Will as he captured Will’s mouth with his own. Will slipped his fingers beneath Milo’s shirt, needing to feel connected with him, skin to skin.

In a series of fluid movements, they were both undressed and Will was lowering Milo onto their bed. Nuzzling against the tender skin at his throat, Will was rewarded with Milo wriggling beneath him making those sounds that had become so familiar, yet still set Will off in a way nothing else did.

He loved the way Milo responded to him, as though every contact was pushing him deeper into pleasure. Will felt like a fucking king when they were together, and Milo’s need always ignited his own.

Reaching over and into the drawer, Will pulled out the condom and lube, placing them beside Milo’s head on the mattress before returning to his task of driving Milo into a fevered frenzy. It didn’t take long before Milo was a puddle of broken words and incoherent babbling beneath him.

Taking his time, he slicked his fingers before reaching down to carefully slide one inside Milo. They’d done this a hundred times, but the way Milo’s body opened for Will, easily accepting him inside to push deep to hit that spot that had him spiraling into ecstasy.

One finger became two. It wasn’t enough and Will carefully withdrew his hand, then with deft fingers, rolled on a condom. He returned to Milo, lining himself up at Milo’s entrance and slowly pushing forward.

It never failed to amaze him. Will couldn’t help the thought that Milo was made for him, as though his body was specifically designed to be loved by Will. And that’s exactly what he did, whispering promises of love and faith and forever in Milo’s ear as they moved together, hips rocking, muscles quaking. Will’s grip on Milo’s hip tightened, and Milo’s breathing quickened as they pushed one another toward the edge.

Will could feel the pleasure pooling deep inside him and as his rhythm faltered and broke, Milo came, back arched and crying out, warmth and wetness spilling between them. The sight of Milo’s skin flushed with pleasure, the tightness of Milo’s muscles spasming around him, and the sound of Will’s name falling from his lips as he tumbled into orgasm was just what Will needed to follow him right over, thrusting hard and coming inside him.

“I love you,” Milo whispered in the dark as Will pulled out with great care, then gathered Milo into his arms, pulling him tightly against him.

He pressed a kiss against Milo’s dampened temple. “I love you too.” This wasn’t the first time tonight they’d said those words, and God knew Will had thought them a thousand times before, but this time felt like a promise, and one Will intended to keep.

Chapter Ten

The days left in September slowly dwindled. Milo began his classes, and they’d spent the early evenings after the shop closed house hunting. It proved to be more difficult than either of them had anticipated, and although Will looked forward to the prospect of officially living with Milo in a space they’d picked out together, none of them seemed to fit.

Every time they returned to the cramped little studio above the shop, it felt more like home.

“I wish we could just stay here,” Milo said one evening as they arrived home from yet another fruitless night of searching.

“I really am going to miss this place come November,” Will said.

“Maybe we don’t have to go….”

“We do. Walt found someone to take over the lease. We have to go.”

“But, just to play Devil’s advocate, what if we didn’t?”

“Didn’t go?”

“Didn’t have to go.”

Will thought about it. The closer the deadline loomed, the more anxious he felt about leaving Bloom Box. It had become as much a part of him as Milo had. He found that he looked forward to going downstairs in the mornings, and their trips to the flower market twice a week had become their ritual. Despite Milo’s assurances that their trips would be quick with everything they needed preordered, it still took them three hours to get through the market, stopping to look at things in almost every corner of the warehouse. And Will loved it. He loved working with plants and the looks on the customer’s faces when the arrangements or bouquets were delivered.

He didn’t know when it had happened, but he’d fallen in love with the business as much as he had with Milo.

“Maybe I could call Walt in the morning,” Will said, his words delicate with hope.

Milo threw his arms around Will’s shoulders, knocking him back onto the bed. “Really?”

“Yeah. You love this place, right?”

“I do.”

“I do too. It kind of feels like ours, huh?”

“It does. If we could stay, this could be our home and our business and our neighborhood, and it would make me so happy.”

“I’ll call Walt in the morning,” Will repeated, feeling more sure about the decision. “That still doesn’t solve our living situation problem. We can’t stay in this little apartment forever.”

“I have a crazy idea.”

“What’s that?”

“What if you talked to Walt about becoming part owner in the building? He could use the influx in income that came from selling half the building, and we could buy this place and the place next door and look at tearing down the wall between the apartments. It would give us more than enough living space, and we would have space to expand the shop if we ever wanted it. Or we could look at doing a partnership? We could rent the space to someone who aligns well with Bloom Box, like a party planner. One-stop shopping, sort of, for weddings and other events.”

Will leaned forward and kissed Milo on the nose. “You’re pretty smart, you know that? It’s an excellent plan, but I don’t think I could afford to buy even part of the place from Walt.”

“But I could.”

Will looked at him like he’d gone insane. “What?”