Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Unless I was dreaming?
But I felt Drew’s muscular body behind me, and his forearm was clamped around my waist. It was actually really comfortable being in his arms, although normally, I hated sleeping on my side.
Which wasn’t the point. The point was… we’d actually done that. Even though I pretty much lived like a nun.
It didn’t make any sense.
Yet, I didn’t regret it. That realization came to me as I enjoyed the warmth of his body pressed against mine for a minute longer. We’d touched each other and came together, and I didn’t regret it at all.
Hopefully he wouldn’t, either.
As comfortable as it was, being snuggled up against him like this, I knew I’d never be able to fall back to sleep if I didn’t get up. Decades of experience had taught me that.
Somewhat reluctantly, I lifted his arm off my stomach. It was heavier than I expected. I squirmed off the couch and onto the floor without waking him. The moment I let go of his arm, he shifted positions, turning onto his back with one leg hanging off the sofa, just like last night. Had that really only been one night ago that I’d peeked at him lying there and wondered what his cock looked like? I didn’t have to wonder anymore.
Quietly, I covered him with a blanket, and then I gathered up our clothes, putting his in a neat pile on the coffee table and setting mine in my room. Then I performed my normal middle of the night ritual of using the bathroom and getting a glass of water, but everything felt different.
I felt different.
My bed felt too large and empty when I climbed into it, and for a moment, I contemplated waking Drew and seeing if he wanted to stay in my bed. But that’d be too much too soon.
That wasn’t the only reason the bed felt empty. Where was Zeus? I was certain he’d been laying by the fire earlier in the evening, but I didn’t recall seeing him after Drew and I got… handsy, I guess you could say.
Very handsy.
I curled up on my side, trying to recall the way his body had felt behind mine, but it was no use. Plus, I’d never fall asleep this way, so I rolled onto my back.
Sleep was still a long time coming, however.
The next morning, I lay in bed and checked my email. Then read some news, texted some friends. But I knew eventually, I had to leave my room and face the men out there—if for no other reason than that was where the bathroom was.
And the food.
Finally, I couldn’t wait any longer. Dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt and yet another pair of sweatpants, I made a beeline for the bathroom, ignoring the sounds of people in the kitchen. When I emerged, Tristan called my name, inviting me to come eat with them.
“I’m not hungry,” I said as I made my way to the laundry room where, hopefully, there was a winter coat I could borrow. Drew’s was there, so I pulled it on, trying to ignore the fact that it smelled good. Like him.
I turned, intending to make a run for the back door, but something caught my eye over in the closet where I’d first found the ski boots. I grabbed the bright yellow object and then hurried past the kitchen, carefully not looking at anyone. “I’m going for a walk.”
With lightning speed, I pulled on my boots, hat, and gloves. I’d almost made it out the door when Zeus bounded up. “Not this time, okay buddy?”
He looked hurt as I pushed his snout back inside the door, but then I was in the clear. There was no one out here who knew what Drew and I had done last night. No one to judge me. No one to make me question what had gotten into me.
I truly didn’t know the answer to that last one. And almost as surprising as the events of last night, was the fact that I didn’t regret it.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t as embarrassing as hell.
Tromping over a fresh layer of snow, I made my way to the little sheltered alcove I’d visited a few times. But when I was a few feet away, I crouched down, packing snow into the item I’d brought with me—the beach bucket Drew and I had spotted that time when we’d searched the bins in the closet.
The snow was wet and easy to pack. Once the bucket was full, I carried it over and set it on the log where I liked to sit. Using my feet, I did my best to clear a square in front of the log. I packed the snow down hard rather than brushing it to the side. As I well knew, there was still a layer of ice down there.