Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“Ah, hell. I don’t know. Yes and no. Sometimes because I didn’t want women to get the wrong idea. It could be nice, but…stressful too.”
Vince frowned, unsure what Colby meant. It seemed to circle back to the intimacy thing, making him wonder again if Colby was on the ace spectrum. But then sex and intimacy weren’t always the same, and cuddling wasn’t either. “How so?”
“I, um—” Beep! Beep! Beep! The phone alarm went off, stopping Colby from saying whatever it was he was going to say. “We should get ready for work.”
“We have a few minutes if you want to talk.”
Colby wrinkled his nose. “There’s nothing to talk about. You got hard cuddling me, is all,” he said playfully. If he was bringing up the erection, he definitely didn’t want to talk about anything else.
“You’re hot, and I’m a gay man. It happens.” They both stood.
“Damn, I’m hot, huh?”
Vince rolled his eyes, the two of them heading for the door, then back to the house. “Please, like you don’t know you are.” Colby didn’t reply right away, prompting Vince to ask, “Wait. You know you are, right? I noticed you right away, babe.”
Colby looked at Vince over his shoulder, smiling practically ear to ear. He might not be queer, but he clearly enjoyed being considered good-looking, even if it was from a queer man.
“Shut up.” Colby waved him off.
“You shut up. You’re smoking hot. Great body. Love the big pecs.”
Colby covered his chest. “What? My pecs are normal.”
“Your pecs are fucking great.”
Colby shook his head, but again, Vince could tell he was enjoying this, which made Vince enjoy it even more. Making Colby feel good lit something up inside Vince but also soothed him. He wasn’t sure if that made sense, but it was how he felt. Vince liked being his friend, making him smile. It was an unexplainable rush.
“I can’t figure out what to do with you sometimes.” Colby opened the house door for them. “You’re so different from anyone I’ve ever met.”
“That’s probably a good thing. Two of me might be a bit much.”
“It’s definitely a good thing, but not for that reason. You’re…fun.” Colby looked away, almost like he was embarrassed.
“You’re fun too.”
“Oh yeah. Real exciting.”
“Hey.” Vince held Colby’s chin, which was lightly stubbled, not having been shaven yet today. “You are. I have the best time with you. It just feels…natural.”
Colby breathed deeply, hesitated a moment, then said, “It feels natural for me too.”
Which was different for Vince but also not. He was the kind of guy who could adapt to almost anything. He was a people person, confident in who he was, and he liked being who he was. So it wasn’t like he struggled with people or anything, but being around Colby felt extra natural for whatever reason.
“We should go shower,” Colby said, before his eyes widened. “Not together, perv.”
Vince held up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t say a word. You’re the one who went there. I was thinking nothing but innocent thoughts.” Nah, really, he would love to shower with Colby, to look at him and touch him and make him feel good, but that wasn’t in the cards for them. “I’m a good boy,” he added, then swept past Colby, down the hall and to the bathroom.
He hoped like hell he had time to jerk off before they had to leave.
The next two weeks went by like most of the time in Briar County did—at a slow pace, filled with hard work and good people. Vince and Colby had fallen asleep together two more times—once in Vince’s bed and once in Colby’s—both times after watching a movie together. The second one, they’d woken up with Vince’s arm around Colby. He must have gravitated toward Colby in the middle of the night. There was enough space, and they’d each fallen asleep on their own side, but by morning, Colby had been on his back, Vince on his stomach with a leg and an arm thrown over him.
They’d joked about it, not making a big deal of the situation. Again, that was something Vince was thankful about. For him it was nothing, but that didn’t mean it would feel that way for Colby.
They’d checked the beer often while it was fermenting, tasting it at different steps to see how it changed. It wasn’t the best yet, but that was all part of the process.
Today was beer day, and then this weekend was their Asheville trip, both of which Vince was excited about. Technically, they should bottle the beer and let it sit a bit before they drank it, but they were too impatient for that. They figured they could taste it now, bottle it, then compare when they returned home. Vince had purchased special beer mugs for the occasion, ordering them online and having them engraved with Colby’s name. He’d worried they wouldn’t arrive on time, but they’d come that morning. He couldn’t wait to see Colby’s face when he opened them.