By dinner, Caiden was back to his old awkward self around Michel, second-guessing the feelings that he'd had and wondering if it was just a wham-bam-thank-you-sir kind of thing and Michel noticed it. He set down his chopsticks and stared at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Bullshit. You look guilty." The way Caiden turned his head convinced Michel that he'd hit the nail on the head. "Are you rethinking our dalliance?"
"No."
"Reliving it?"
The wry smile on Michel's handsome face made Caiden blush and he grinned, looking down into his bowl of miso soup. "Yes. Many times over ... but ... "
"But what?"
"But I don't know how I feel about it."
"You don't know how you feel about having fucked a hot boy?"
"No, silly." Caiden appreciated Michel's humor but it was getting in the way of the serious feelings he wanted to express. "I don't know how ... I mean, I want you and everything but ... "
"You feel strange wanting to bone someone now that Hardy's gone?" When Caiden shook his head, Michel reached across the table and took his hand. "I know how much you loved Hardy, but if he was in this same circumstance, what do you think he'd do?" Caiden hesitated, an answer on his lips. "And be honest."