Page 41 of Inevitable

“I’ve always played. I was a lone child in a big house. My parents are very focused on their respective careers. One of my nannies was a girl from Ukraine. She took a year off from the conservatory to work in the states and earn money, so she taught me the basics. I caught on quickly. Apparently I have an affinity for music.”

Bas shrugged like it was no big deal.

“Drew says you’re incredibly talented.”

“Drew says a lot of things that make me come off better than I actually am.”

“You make a living as a musician. At least some people must agree with him.”

Bas made some kind of a noise. It was impossible to decipher if it meant he agreed or not.

“Can I ask you something?” Ezra asked. He’d closed his eyes. Everything felt sort of dreamlike as Bas kept working on his hands.

“Fire away. I’m an open book.”

“You said you date sometimes.”

Bas’s fingers stilled.

“Why? Are you planning to make a move?”

“You can do better than me. I was just curious about something.”

“It happens every once in a while. Sometimes when the prospect of being alone for the rest of my life gets to me.”

“Well then… how is it different giving some random person a chance but not Drew?”

By the long silence that followed, Ezra was sure he’d overstepped. But Bas’s hands were still on his.

“Stakes are much lower,” Bas finally said. “Driving some random person away with my… peculiarities costs me nothing in the long run.”

Ezra didn’t know what to say to that, so he just dropped it after that.

The pressure disappeared from his hand, and a moment later, Bas’s fingertips started moving over Ezra’s forehead, gently pressing down between his eyebrows. Ezra sank deeper into the bed and groaned as Bas’s touch slowly chased away the worst of the pain.

“You’re hired,” he mumbled.

“As?”

“My personal head masseuse.”

“What are my hours?” Bas sounded amused.

“I’ll call you when I need you, so flexible. No benefits, though.”

Bas chuckled softly, fingers still moving over Ezra’s face, thumbs sliding beneath his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Better?” he asked after a while.

Ezra nodded, and it definitely didn’t hurt as much anymore. There was still the dull throbbing at his temples, but that he could handle. At least he didn’t feel like squeezing his head until it exploded like a watermelon and ended his misery.

“Thanks,” Ezra said. He missed Bas’s fingers as soon as they had disappeared. Considered pulling them back to him. Abandoned the plan with regret.

Bas cleared his throat.

“What do you have planned for the rest of the day?”

“I have a big test coming up, so I have a bunch of reading to do.”