When they’d first started working together and Dee had been flirting, making comments, pouncing, and kissing him, Ryo had been sure his new partner was just joking around. He’d seemed like that kind of guy. Good looking and confident, trying his luck with anyone he considered attractive, getting what he wanted, and moving on, and that was if his flirting could even be taken seriously, which Ryo had doubted.

But Dee had gotten annoyed every time Ryo had brushed off his advances as a joke, insisting he was serious, and Ryo had been forced to reassess the situation. He’d liked Dee, enjoyed spending time with him, but still he’d had his doubts, because Dee was so good looking, he could have anyone he wanted, and why would he settle for someone as ordinary as Ryo considered himself to be?

Perhaps that had been the problem all along, not so much that he’s doubted Dee but that he’d doubted himself. It had to be a fluke that he’d attracted Dee’s attention, so how could he ever expect to hold his partner’s interest? If they got together, Dee would soon become disillusioned, realise that Ryo wasn’t as interesting as he’d first thought. Was it even worth taking such a risk if he’d just get tossed aside the moment someone more attractive came along?

Looking back, he’d been a fool, not for letting Dee wear down his resistance, but for doubting his boyfriend in the first place. Ten years after that first meeting, here they were, living together, and Dee still looked at him like he couldn’t believe how lucky he was. He certainly didn’t seem bored, or disillusioned, and Ryo wasn’t either.

Every day with Dee was an adventure. Ryo couldn’t wait to see what the next ten years had in store.


The End