Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
I was crazy. Crazy for my best friend. Something I swore I’d never let myself admit.
After a couple of hours, we were plenty dried off, well-fed, and heated by the sun.
“Time to go to Tristan Manor?” Shawn said, standing up and stretching.
“God, yes,” Tristan said from behind his sunglasses. He’d been lounging on his chair with his eyes closed, maybe napping, for the last half an hour.
“Jack, I know you do a lot of renovation work yourself,” Nathan said. “So you’ll see the potential in Tristan’s new place the same way we do.”
“I trust his judgment. But I definitely do want to see the house.”
“To the van,” Tris said triumphantly, seemingly relieved that we were finally heading away from Big Rock Cove.
I hoped it was because he was just as sexually frustrated as I was right now. If I was imprisoned in this delicious, tantalizing suffering today, I wanted him feeling it right there with me.
We piled into the van again and after a twenty-minute drive, ended up driving on a twisting road through tons of trees—pines, aspens, other types I couldn’t name—onto a modestly sized lot. The trees gave way to a clearing where a small house sat. Like many of the houses I’d seen around here, it looked almost like a cabin on the outside.
I hopped out of the van and gazed at the property. Of course, it looked like the absolute perfect house for Tris.
The small cabin-like cottage house had picture windows, similar to a couple of the windows in his parents’ house, that looked out over the long meandering driveway that cut down through the pine and aspen woods. I knew that I could see a family living here, actually. In five or ten years from now, the house could be fixed up and perfect, and Tris could live happily here with a wife and two small kids. Maybe a dog, too.
When Tris got out of the van and rounded to look at the house, I could see it on his face, too. He had the kind of satisfaction that came from knowing, bone-deep, that you were in the right place.
The air smelled fresh like pine, of course, but also some sort of flower that I couldn’t place.
“You did well,” I said.
“I’m so happy with it,” he said softly. “Even though some part of me still feels like it can’t be real. How can I deserve a lot like this, you know?”
“You deserve it,” I said. “Nobody deserves it more than you.”
I squeezed his shoulder. Hell, I would have reached over and pressed him into another make-out session if Shawn, Nathan, and Lindsay hadn’t been getting out of the van now, too.
“Some of these trees look perfect for hanging a nice hammock between,” Nathan said, nodding over to one side of the front yard.
“You bet your ass I’m going to have a hammock, sooner rather than later,” Tristan said.
I looped around to the back and Tristan followed after me, old leaves and pine needles crunching under our boots. At the back of the house, there was a wrap-around wood deck, plenty more space, and a bird bath that looked like it had been forgotten by the previous owners. The back of the lot also had an old shed that had good bones as well, but definitely needed to be fixed up.
“With some TLC from a belt sander and stain, this deck could be like new in just a couple of weeks,” I said.
“My thoughts exactly,” Tristan said.
I pulled out my multi-tool and popped out the pocket level, resting it on the railing of the deck. “Almost perfect, but we can get it better than this,” I murmured, staring at the little bubble.
“Folks, it’s got a level, too,” Linsday said as she came around the back. “Is there anything your multi-tool doesn’t have?”
I grinned at her. “She’s got everything I need,” I said.
“Next thing you’re going to tell us is that it sucks you off and gives you a kiss on the forehead afterward,” Lindsay said.
“That’s one thing I don’t need it to do.” I picked up the level, popped it back into place on the multi-tool, and shoved it back in my pocket.
“Yeah,” Tristan said and he bit his lower lip. “He knows I’ll do that for him anytime.”
My heart drummed in my chest and my eyes snapped up to Tristan’s, then Lindsay’s, then Tristan’s again.
“He’s—he’s joking, obviously,” I said.
“It’s okay, Blue,” Tristan said. “I may or may not have admitted some stuff to Linds and Shawn earlier.”
I froze in place, realizing what Tristan meant.
“You told them…” I said, trailing off.
Tristan cleared his throat, running a hand over his dark hair. “That we, uh, have been having some fun with each other. Yeah.”
“And Shawn and I heartily approved,” Lindsay said. “Not that you need our approval, in any way, but it’s definitely cool. You know?”