Only You by Jerry Cole (the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT) 📕

“Hey...” Sherman gave Bradley a kiss on the cheek. “I’m looking forward to living with you.”

“Yeah...” Bradley smiled. “Me too.”

The words were the right ones, but the tone of his voice was all off. Sherman didn’t let that get him down though. This was exactly what he wanted and he was sure that come two months from now, not only would they both be happier than they’d ever been, but that they’d decide to extend it from two months to permanently. Sherman had no doubt.

***

The first week of lockdown went exactly as Sherman had predicted, as in perfectly and without worry. Really, he couldn’t pinpoint a single moment that he would take back. It really was that good!

It started with the sleep-ins, of which there were a lot. Neither man had worked that week, so neither man had any reason or inclination to leave bed. When they woke in the morning, they had sex. Then they went back to sleep. Then they woke again and had more sex. Then more sleep and on and on it went. If this was how all of lockdown was going to go, then Sherman counted himself very lucky.

It was around midday that both Sherman and Bradley managed to drag themselves from bed, and this was just because they had to eat. One thing that Sherman had been worried about was the food scenario. He was no chef – or anything close to – so he feared he’d be living off a diet of takeout and leftovers. With Bradley here, he didn’t have to worry.

“How did I get so lucky?” Sherman marveled the first morning – although it was in fact midday – as Bradley whipped the two up an omelet each.

“You didn’t,” Bradley joked as he whisked the eggs in a bowl. He was completely naked as he did this; there was no need to put clothes on seeing as they were the only two in the apartment. Sherman had no complaints. “I’m assuming this is all a dream and you’ll wake up soon.”

“Well, be a lamb and finish up those eggs before I do. I’m starving and want a taste.”

This was how it went down for that first week. Every single day. Once the two men saw fit to pull themselves from bed, they marched to the kitchen where Bradley fixed them a late breakfast. While Bradley cooked, Sherman watched and peppered in compliments when he could, and then the two ate happily.

Seriously, it was that first morning as the two men were eating across from each other that Sherman truly appreciated how lucky he was. Even without the personal chef at his disposal, the fact that he had Bradley here living with him for at least two months was... well, like Bradley had said, it was a dream. Now Sherman just had to hope he never woke up.

After breakfast, the two men took a little time to themselves. For Bradley, this meant rehearsals in the reading room. He would disappear in there by himself for an hour or so and work through his lines. Sherman tried to sneak in and watch him the first day, but was ordered out of the room.

So as this was going on, Sherman spent the time working on what his moves would be after Covid went away... or rather, that’s what he was meant to be doing. DreamLine Travel was in the toilet and it would take a miracle to revive it. Unfortunately too, it was up to Sherman to work that miracle. The first morning he sat down, opened his laptop, was going to start working on the problem... but then balked. He had two months, so no need to start right away.

The next day was the same, and the one after that. By the fourth day of lockdown, he actually got as far as answering emails and looking over budget reports. He had to find a way to save DreamLine Travel as much money as possible, without giving himself a huge pay cut. But when he started crunching the numbers his head hurt.... so, he decided to save it for week two. This was the first week after all, so really it was a freebie.

Once Bradley was done with his rehearsals the two men would meet up again. Often this was in the kitchen for snacks, sometimes they went right to the liquor cabinet and began drinking early, or maybe they would just settle in front of the television and prepare themselves for a night of binging? That first week, anything was possible and seeing as they had all the time in the world, there was never a rush or any sense that they were wasting time. That was impossible.

And then night would come. Every night of that first week they retired to bed early, knowing that they wouldn’t be getting any sleep for hours. All they seemed to do was fuck. Sherman didn’t know if it was the boredom of lockdown, the excitement of living together finally, or just the raw attraction the two men felt toward one another, but for that first week they could not keep their hands off!

Sleep came eventually, as it always did. And as always, it was Bradley acting the big spoon, wrapping Sherman in his arms and holding him tight as the two men drifted off into a deep slumber. It was heaven.

When lockdown had first been announced, even Sherman had wondered if it actually would be a good idea to ask Bradley to move in with him. They hadn't been dating that long and two months of non-stop contact might ruin them. But he had gone with his gut instinct and insisted that he move in. It was the right choice he knew, and getting Bradley to agree was all that mattered.

Well, now Bradley was locked in with him