PAUL SHOULD STOP ANSWERING the phone. But he can’t bring himself to. Alex’s pull on him is as magnetic as it’s ever been, even when he’s three thousand miles away and continued contact is an extremely bad idea.
As eager as he is for Alex always, he’s not always successful at reigning in his own temper and snappishness when Alex gets reticent and bitchy. But the nights when Alex isn’t happy and doesn’t get pissed and doesn’t talk — when he’s just a distant breath on the other end of the line — are the worst. Sometimes Paul hangs up at the end of a call wondering if he’ll get another. Somehow, he always does.
The night the phone rings around two a.m., Paul is grateful Craig is a sound sleeper, and he slips out of bed with a kiss to his shoulder. While Alex often calls late, it’s usually no
