Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
For the second time, I left their house with my head held high, Spencer’s hand in mine. But this time, I was free.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Spencer
“Holy shit, Corb. I forgot how sexy you look in a tux. What if I keep having to sneak you away throughout the night just so I can have my hands on you?”
We were standing in front of the full-length mirror in my room, in matching black, shawl-collar tuxes with bow ties. Corbin’s dark hair was a little longer than mine on top, his sides shorter.
I playfully dusted my shoulder off. “Damn, I look good too.”
Corb chuckled. “So. Fucking. Good. I was going to say the same thing. I’ll be the one pulling you into bathroom stalls and closets so I can get my hands on you.”
“Gonna be quite the busy night for us.” I winked.
“Don’t move,” Corbin said, then walked over to grab his cell off the dresser. He came back to stand beside me, opened his phone app, and said, “Smile.” We both did so, and he took a mirror photo of us. The next one we posed in, before he added, “And now one back to back, like secret service agents.”
I cocked a brow. “That’s how secret service agents stand? Where did you get this info?”
“I’ve had a dream about it, but then, they were naked…maybe they were FBI.”
I laughed. “How did you know they were either considering it was a dream?”
“Because it was my dream. Duh. Shut up and pose with me.”
“Your wish is my command,” I teased.
“Fucking swoon.”
We did Corbin’s silly photo idea, which really was fun. That was one of my favorite things about Corbin. How fun he was.
For the last one he said, “Now kiss me.”
It wasn’t as if I was going to argue, so I did as he said, and he snapped one more photo. I watched as he pulled up his social media. He posted less than he used to, which I considered progress. Nothing changed overnight, but Corbin was doing better.
But despite talking about us on The Vers, he hadn’t posted photos of us together, so this would be a first. “You don’t have to,” I told him.
His forehead wrinkled cutely. “Why wouldn’t I want to?”
I shrugged. “Like I told you before, I’m happy with who I am and how I look. I know you love me, and you said my weight doesn’t bother you and you’re attracted to me, but people fucking suck. And even if you’re okay with it, I still wasn’t sure if it might be something that would bother you when people saw us together.”
His whole expression changed. Gone was the smile from a moment before, and small wrinkles formed around his eyes, which were dimmer. “Do you think I’m ashamed of you?”
“No.” I shook my head, then amended, “Not consciously. Sometimes I wonder, though, but not because of what’s in here.” I touched his chest. “Because of what’s out there and what it does to what’s in here.” This time, I kept one hand on his heart and the other on his temple. “I don’t want to be the reason something hurts you or makes you feel bad.”
“Jesus, Spence. You’re not. You’re so fucking not. I’m proud to be your man. You make me feel better than I ever knew was possible.”
Oh. Well, shit. That was… “Christ, I love you. So fucking much.” I held his face in my hands and pressed my lips to his. Corbin let me sweep my tongue inside, every little piece of my plan for tonight clicking into place. This was right. We were right. There was nothing in this fucking world I wanted more than to make this man happy. “You’re very good,” I teased, nuzzling his throat. “You can get anything you want out of me.”
“That’s why they call me The Charmer.” Corbin winked, and then I watched as he posted the photos to social media, with the caption: My CB, then heart-eye emojis. Then he edited his bio to Taken by this sexy man, and tagged me. I pulled my phone out, adjusted my bio to My baby, and tagged him too.
“We’re so fucking cute,” he said, looking at our photos. “Real happiness feels good.”
“It’s a good look on you.” I took his hand. “Now come on. The party doesn’t really start until we arrive.”
“Obviously,” Corbin replied.
* * *
The gala was always held at the Monica, which was on the ocean, not far from the beach where I’d met Corbin for the first time.
We took a car service to keep up appearances, but what Corbin didn’t know was that Morgan would be dropping my car off later for a surprise I had in store for Corbin.
The driver opened the door when we pulled up in front of the Monica. I got out first and held my hand out for Corbin. He smiled, then took it, the two of us not letting go as we headed inside. I wanted him to feel so fucking loved and happy tonight. While things were going okay, he’d been down since the night we’d met with his family. I couldn’t imagine how he felt, and I, along with the Beach Bums, had been doing our best to make sure he felt how loved he was.