Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 93096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“Yup. Left yours black. And Heidi brought muffins by. I saved you some.”
“Mmm. Breakfast in bed brought by the hottest guy in the county. Not sure what I did to deserve that.”
“You didn’t have to do anything. Just be you.” It was a simple truth but a deep one, one that had defined so much of their friendship. Yes, Luis was attractive and smart and funny, all the sorts of things that made him a popular friend, but there was something more there, always had been. Just him, just whatever unique glow made him Luis was enough to inspire devotion from Tucker.
“Sweet talker.” Luis pulled him in for a kiss, and Tucker’s toes curled against the sheets. He was even more sure that they needed to talk. But not now. Not quite yet. Not when everything was this perfect and good and he could pretend a little longer.
Chapter Nineteen
“This feels weirdly like high school,” Luis grumbled as they looked for parking on Garrick’s street. He’d made noises about whether they should arrive separately, but Tucker’s points about tight parking had won out over trying to be discreet about their friendship. “Hoping the cool kids won’t notice us crashing their party.”
“High school didn’t have this quality of food.” Tucker gestured at the crudité platter they’d made—sliced vegetables, homemade dip, olives, artichokes.
“True. And unlike the two bottomless pits you call kids, we’re actually in a position to slow down and enjoy the eating part.” Luis tried to pump himself up. He wasn’t usually this grumpy about being around people and generally liked getting out, but like Tucker, he’d been in a mood ever since yesterday. He wanted to hide away with Tucker, pretend the real world and all its obligations didn’t exist.
“The socializing part will go fine too. No one here is going to try to get us to play that stupid five-minutes-in-heaven game.”
“I don’t know.” He made an effort to laugh, give Tucker a grin as he finished parking. “I’d play that with you.”
“Wait till later.” Tucker’s look could melt an entire ice cream stand. “I’ve got more than five minutes in me, guaranteed.”
“Counting on it.” Luis congratulated himself on not suggesting they skip the party and go right to the sex. The boys were both out of the house, and anticipation for later made his pulse thrum. Last night, the twins had been up late, prepping for the test, and neither he nor Tucker had been confident enough in their ability to stay quiet enough to have sneaky sex. So they’d ended up cuddling in bed with a movie, which had been its own sort of cozy, and their morning make-out session had more than made up for any lack of sex, but he still wanted more.
He was fast coming to the conclusion that he was always going to want Tucker, wasn’t ever going to get enough of him. This wasn’t some random itch to scratch and get out of his system. No, this was the sort of desire that didn’t have an easy cure, and what was worse was that Luis wasn’t even sure he wanted one. Being turned on by every little thing Tucker did felt too damn good, this permanent state of arousal and appreciation.
“Come on. Promise I’m not throwing you into the tiger pit.” Tucker led the way up the walkway and short ramp to Garrick’s front door.
“Tucker. You made it! And you brought the new guy from work Garrick mentioned.” A younger man answered the door in a lavender shirt decorated with the cartoon ponies Luis’s nieces loved so much. Luis recognized him as Rain thanks to all the photos on Garrick’s desk.
“Yup.” Tucker was matter-of-fact as introductions were made, and after that, Rain escorted them outside. The house was a smaller remodeled ranch with a living area that opened to an expansive backyard patio with hardy plantings and a couple of seating areas, including one with a picnic table loaded with food.
“This is Garrick’s dad.” Rain introduced them to a big guy manning two grills.
“You’re the Californian, right?” the older guy asked, gesturing with a pair of tongs.
“Yeah,” Luis said warily, not sure where this was going. Many locals had decided opinions on transplants from other states moving in, as he’d found out as a kid. They were all about the tourist dollars, but not so much about Californians and New Yorkers and such taking up residence.
“Vegetarian? Half your state seems to be, I found. I’ve got mushroom caps and veggie kabobs, but also plenty of steak.”
Oh. That was easy. “Can I have a little of both? I’m not vegetarian, but I do love grilled vegetables.”
“Sure thing.” And with that, Garrick’s dad went back to his grill duties and Rain continued introducing them to different people, including a couple of coworkers from his hand crew. Garrick was in conversation with Lincoln Reid and his boyfriend, which was still such a strange sentence that Luis couldn’t help but smile.