The warm breeze fluttering his curtains wasn't enough to cool Lux down. During the warmer months, he slept with a thin sheet on his bed and almost completely nude save for the tiny shorts he wore. He screwed his eyes shut, willing his insomnia to pass so he was able to sleep. He went to bed at a decent hour, making sure he was more than well-rested for a book signing event he had in the morning, but after three hours of staring blankly up at his ceiling cursing the sweltering heat, he decided it was time.

He kicked the sheet off, stepped into his slippers, and stood in front of his thermostat, bottom lip held between his teeth. He had strict rules about only turning the air on when absolutely necessary, so as to reduce his bill, and usually "absolutely necessary" was a bit later in the month. Lux had already swept his hair into a pineapple, had all of the windows in his room opened, and was contemplating removing the shorts to sleep naked, so yeah, now was the time. He adjusted the thermostat and headed back to his room, closing his windows before crawling back into bed.

When sleep still evaded him an hour later, he kicked off the sheet and climbed out of bed again, pulling a shirt on as he walked down the hallway. He ended up in his office—no surprise there—and sat in front of his computer. Lux stared at the screen, his mind going blank as soon as he opened the document.

Well, it wasn't so much that his mind went blank. He was thinking about the last conversation he had with Rhys. He didn't want this to come up again, so Lux did something completely uncharacteristic of himself, and reached out to Rhys first to explain, as vaguely as possible, his discomfort.

Sender: [email protected]

Recepient: [email protected]

(No Subject)

I do not wish to have this discussion again, so I thought it best to reach out to you. Intimacy can be expressed in many forms, not just sexual. I'm wanting to convey to my readers the

Lux deleted what he wrote and tried again.

I'm only emailing you because I do not want this to come up again. Intimacy can be expressed in many forms. I choose to focus on sharing the different ways in which that is possible with my readers.

Lux

Feeling confident that his explanation wouldn't be challenged, he hit send and decided to spend at least an hour working since he was already up and at his computer. Within a few minutes, the familiar whoosh of an incoming email startled Lux. Seeing it was from Rhys, he opened it, bracing himself for push back.

Sender: [email protected]

Recipient: [email protected]

Re: (No Subject)

I'm surprised you're awake right now. Don't you have a book signing event in like, six hours?

I can respect that, Lux. And since you've shared that with me, I can make sure I relay that message to the big bosses so neither of us catch any flack. See what happens when you're willing to play well with others? It makes both of our jobs so much easier 😉

Rhys

Lux blinked at the screen. He...wasn't expecting that Rhys would readily accept his reason why. Tension ebbed from his shoulders, making him realize just how heavily this had been weighing on him. After he basked in the feeling of relief, he read the email again, scoffing loudly. What type of professional used an emoji in an email?

Sender: [email protected]

Recipient: [email protected]

Re: Re: (No Subject)

What type of professional uses an emoji in an email?

I do not care to "play with others". I believe in working smarter not harder. If that means your job becomes easier as well then, you're welcome.

I have to be at the book signing at noon. My wakeup call is 8am.

Lux

Lux returned his attention to his manuscript. He pulled a spiral bound notebook out of the desk drawer and grabbed his favorite fine tip pen. He read through the manuscript and wrote down a few notes.

Whoooosh.

Sender: [email protected]

Recipient:

Re: Re: Re: (No Subject)

The type of professional that does not align with the idea of professionalism. What does that even mean? Professionalism is different from industry to industry, job to job, so I'd forever be changing myself to fit in with some ideal that I don't even agree with. To ensure I'm continuing to rebel against the system, I like to use an excessive amount of exclamation marks and emojis. Kind of my way of saying "fuck you" to the man.

Work smarter, not harder. I like that!

I hope you have a great book signing! You should probably get some sleep though.

Rhys

Lux rolled his eyes, scoffing softly at his explanation for improper email etiquette.

Sender: [email protected]

Recipient: [email protected]

Re: Re: Re: Re: (No Subject)

You're utterly ridiculous. Just say you don't fuck with appropriate email etiquette and go. That would have been much easier, no?

Lux

He sent the last email, yawning loudly. His eyelids finally felt heavy enough for him to chance laying down again. Lux didn't bother removing his shirt before he fell face first onto the bed.

***

Lux's hand snaked out from underneath his pillow, searching blindly for his phone. He turned off the alarm, not bothering to move from underneath his covers. He could skip a book signing event. He could tell the organizer he fell ill. That usually worked.

Except, he wouldn't have the chance to even lie thanks to the sheet being pulled off his bed and blinds being yanked open.

"Morning Sunshine!" Kerin's annoying voice sliced through Lux's sleep foggy mind, making him almost fully alert, irritably so.

Lux chucked a pillow at him, sitting up. He rubbed at his eyes and scratched his belly, yawning, "What if I had been naked, Key? Then what?"

"It's nothing I've never seen before. You act like you didn't spend almost the entire first year after top surgery walking around shirtless."

Lux poked at his pecs, flashing a sleepy grin. "I worked hard for these. Why not share them with the world?"

Kerin rolled his eyes as he faced Lux. "I, for one, did not care to see you topless damn near every day."

Lux gasped, scandalized, his hand fluttering to the base of his throat. "You prefer to see me bottomless?!"

"Oddly enough, I prefer when you're an irritable, insufferable asshole over whatever this" —Kerin gestured to the length of Lux's sitting body— "is. Hurry up and get dressed. You're already behind schedule." Kerin pulled Lux from the bed and pushed him towards the bathroom, keeping watch by the door to not only engage him in conversation, but make sure he didn't drag ass.

They arrived at the bookstore with a few minutes to spare, giving Lux some time to meander about. He walked through the narrow aisles, eyes skimming the shelves as he looked for new releases from his favorite authors. He found a few books he wanted to purchase and gave them to Kerin right as the event organizer came to guide him to the table.

"We're so glad to have you in our store, Mr. Broussard. Thank you so much for coming. It means so much to our community to have you share your inspiration for Eternal Spring."

He was shown to his seat, the organizer scampering away to address the crowd. This wasn't his first time doing a book signing event in which he also did a question-and-answer segment. However, this was his first time doing an event that was specifically for the LGBTQIA+ community. He was a smidge more nervous than he usually was when doing one of these, but he was able to school his nerves as he took his seat, glancing out into the crowd. He spotted Kerin in the back, waving wildly, and felt a bit calmer.

The organizer faced the crowd and tapped the mic, testing it. "Hello all! I'd like to thank you so much for attending our bimonthly spotlight and Q&A. This time, we have the immense pleasure of having Lux Broussard, author of Please Don't Let Me Go, Find Your Rest in Me, and Eternal Spring. Please give him a warm welcome!" After the audience settled, the author went over the guidelines for the event. Once everything had been structured, she took her seat, staring up at Lux.

"Thank you for having me. I'm honored to be here this afternoon. I'd like to start by reading one of my favorite excerpts from the book." Lux cleared his throat softly and began reading.

When he was done, Lux closed the book and placed it off to the side. He lifted his gaze to meet the crowd, his heart immediately leaping into his throat. Standing in the back, talking to Kerin, was Rhys. He looked... better than he did the first day they met, and Lux questioned how that was possible. Rhys turned his head in Lux's direction and smiled, a beautiful, bright one that lit up his entire face and made his eyes crinkle in the corner. His hair was free, the locs wavy and adorned, this time, with silver jewelry and a few dangling wire wrapped amethyst crystals. He wasn't at work, so Lux didn't know why he expected to see Rhys dressed similarly to the way he was before. To be honest, Lux probably would have fared much better if Rhys had been wearing the forest green shirt and distressed jeans that showed off the tattoo of multiple sunflowers on his thigh. Because, when he saw that Rhys had on a midriff top that allowed for an expanse of hard, muscled abs to peek through with every movement he made and black jeans that were slung precariously low on his hips, Lux's mind went completely blank.