âyâknow, iâve never gotten more compliments on my look than when iâve worn a hades original.â that was very true. any time heâd been at a Formal Gathering and needed to look his absolute best, jem had gone to chuck for a proper suit and tie. and any time heâd shown up at said Gathering dressed to the nines, he got nothing but admonishing nods and the occasional look of surprise. insulting? endearing? who knew. jem grimaced, deliberating on whether or not he was drunk enough to talk about his infamous ex. a touchy subject, even four years later, but eh, itâd have to come out sooner or later, right? âokay. but only because i want a story in return.â jem sat up a little straighter, fingers wringing together in his lap. âuh, i was with my ex girlfriend for four years in high school. we were, like. proper in love and shit, right? always talking about getting married and living together and having a family â all that shit you talk about when youâre young and stupid and think you know everything.â jem cleared his throat, chewing on his lower lip for a moment before plowing on. âsome stuff happened, i guess. i donât know how long for sure, but some stuff was going on behind my back. and she, uh. she left me. i was planning to move us both up here and start our life together and she wasnât. and thatâs- thatâs all i can really say right now. or all i want to say right now. get more alcohol in me and youâll know more.â jem shrugged, looking back up at chuckâs face. âso iâm not trying to get too ahead of myself here, or go too fast. iâm just here.â a smile tugged at his lips as he nodded, glad to be taking the subject off his ex. âof course. youâll get your shout-out, no worries.â jem didnât miss the way chuck was looking at him, or the hand on his thigh, fingers splayed out on his body. he waited a moment, then let out an amused exhale. âwell, if youâre not gonnaâ do it,â he managed, before leaning in and closing the space between them to lock their lips together in a featherweight kiss.Â
ânaturally...â chuck said without thinking before coughing a little bit, âi mean...wow, thatâs great news, jem.â he corrected himself. jemâs story sounded really sad. for a moment he hoped his own was more about something like that and less about terrible things he did. âdamn...that mustâve been really hard to say the least. iâve never been in love...i think? so i wouldnât know what itâs like but it sounds horrible. iâm sorry.â he offered him a half smile. âfour years is a long time, plus, they were four important years in a personâs life since you were young and all. what was her name?â he asked as he served him more whiskey. of course he wanted more details who was he kidding. âthanks, iâll be expecting it. you need to make me look good, say something nice about my eyes like you said earlier.â he teased. chuck sighed in faked annoyance as jem kissed him, âi was going to do it, you just beat me.â he said before kissing him back, his hand moving to cup his cheek. jemâs lips were very soft, even more than he imagined. it was crazy to think about the position they were in right now after so much waiting and then giving up on having anything with him. but right now all he could think of was cherishing the moment and how much he wanted it.Â