"Would you miss me?" Carlos asked as he rolled to one side and propped himself up on his elbow, his eyes heavy-lidded as he looked over at Gael. "I mean, I'm not planning to expire in the near future, you know. But I've always responded well to motivation."

And Gael could be very motivating, he thought. "I could be inspired to keep going with the right impetus," he murmured as he leaned in to brush his lips against Gael's in a feather-light kiss.