Be with Me — Meyari McFarland

August in the city was the worst time of year in Yuseulf's opinion; the heat made everything unbearable. While Yuseulf spent his time trying to avoid the heat, his lover Izai delighted in it. Both recently freed debt slaves, Izai and Yuseulf didn't have many material possessions but their freedom made up for it. Izai's creativity made up for the heat. He knew exactly how to excite Yuseulf enough that he didn't care about what other people thought or where they happened to be. And fortunately for Yuseulf, August was the perfect time for Yuseulf's favorite sort of play: bondage and ice. Starting their lives over again after paying off their debts wasn't half as important to Yuseulf as spending as much time as possible with Izai. Yuseulf didn't let himself think about all the things that he dreamed of in the privacy of his tiny apartment. Whenever he spent time with Izai, there was too much laughter for his hopes and his fears to overwhelm him. But one hot August evening might just show Yuseulf that the things he'd dreamed of were far more attainable than he'd thought and that his fears were far less justified than he'd believed.