Chapter 2

But whether it had been love or lust at first sight, Royce worried that a pandemic and a quarantine and social distancing mixed with learning to live together would throw them out of sync. His worry, however, had been for naught. If anything, it’d brought them closer together.

Royce was teaching Jack how to speak French. He helped Jack redo his entire home office—which was good since he was now spending twenty to forty hours a week in there. They were putting together a lot of puzzles. In addition to teaching him to paint, fold origami, and tending to his bonsais, Jack also painted Royce’s fingernails and toenails and applied his make-up with those steady, artistic hands. While Royce had justenough self-confidence to feel pretty on female days, when Jack did her make-up it made her feel like a work of art.

Phone still in his hand, Royce debated whether he wanted to text Jack.