10-01-2025, 06:55 AM
Inside the elevator, Bobby loosened the knot of his tie, the silk sliding through his fingers with a soft hiss. His mind was a frantic inventory of his apartment. <i>Dishes in the sink? Probably. Laundry on the floor? Definitely. But was it a disaster?</i> No, it was… lived-in. It would have to do.<br><br>Remy’s question, laced with that irresistible charm, hung in the air. Bobby’s gaze dropped to the magician’s mouth, then back to his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips. <b>"They'd think Santa came early for the guy in 6B,"</b> he quipped, his voice a little softer than he intended.<br><br>Then Remy was there, a breath away, the scent of leather, bourbon, and spice filling the small space. The chill that naturally emanated from Bobby’s skin seemed to intensify, a reflexive, nervous response. He could feel the phantom warmth of the other man, a tantalizing promise just beyond the threshold of his own personal winter. Bobby’s stomach tightened. He was so out of his depth. Remy moved with a languid, practiced confidence that spoke of a thousand such moments in a hundred other elevators. Bobby, by contrast, felt every nerve ending firing at once, a chaotic, internal blizzard of anticipation and doubt.<br><br>