Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
He would. It’s the truth. “Not everybody is Judd.”
“Good thing.” Luke snorts.
We lapse into silence, just eyeing each other warily. My fingers itch to touch him. I want to use my thumb to smooth out the furrow between his eyebrows. I like Luke Bailey. A lot. That’s my other secret. And forget about my frat brothers—it’s Luke who can’t handle that one.
“You know what I think?” he says suddenly. “I think you need to justify us. Like you’re not a hundred percent okay with getting it on with a guy. And if I tell you we’re more than sex, you’ll feel better.”
“That’s not true,” I protest. And get out of my brain.
“I’m sort of scary to you, and you need to shape it into something that’s more familiar. But it won’t ever work.”
“And why’s that?”
He flops down on my bed with a sigh. “I’m going to put this into terms that you can understand.”
“This better be good.”
“You’re a yellow lab.”
“I’m…what?”
“A dog. A big, happy dog chasing Frisbees on the beach with his pals. You’re a pack animal.”
I snort. “And you’re…a pit bull?”
“Not even. I’m a tomcat in the alley,” he says. “Just passing through. No collar. Not very friendly. No good at catching Frisbees…”
“I get it. Jesus.” It’s not the worst analogy. Although I think Luke secretly wants to be a dog and join the pack. He won’t admit it. But the guy rushed a fraternity, for fuck’s sake. He claims it was the cheapest way to find a place to live. But I call bullshit. Luke won’t admit all the things that he wants.
Who am I to criticize, though? A guy who willfully ignored his attraction to men for many years can’t go around pointing out other people’s ignorance.
Instead, I lay down on the bed beside him and run a thumb across his forehead, smoothing out his brow. He closes his eyes.
Tomcat my ass.
I wrap an arm around him, and he allows this, too. But even as he begins to weave his fingers through my hair, he says, “You need to think of us like a vacation, Hayworth. Vacations feel real enough. But they always end. Like everything good.”
“Okay, that’s exceptionally cynical. Even for you. What is up with you today?” I reach over and tickle his ribs, too. “So surly.”
He swats my hand away like a fly. “Work problems. Last night there was a funky smell in the bathrooms. We all noticed it. Well, Heather emailed me just now to say that it’s a major problem with the plumbing. And so the club will be closed next weekend. And maybe even the weekend after that.”
“Oh, shit.” I put a palm on his arm and give it a squeeze. I can’t stop touching him. I’d do it all the time if he’d let me. “I’m really sorry. Can you bartend next door instead?”
“Probably not, since there will be so many volunteers. And the bartenders don’t ask for coverage on the weekend very often.”
“That sucks,” I say.
What I don’t say is that I can lend him money. Or give him money. Both of these things are true, but he doesn’t want me to offer.
“Anything I can do?” I ask instead.
He rolls over. “Maybe that thing you do to my shoulders? Please? I think I strained something last night.”
I get up off the bed, closing and locking the door. Then I get back onto the bed, straddling Luke’s waist, placing my hands on his shoulders. I grip them hard, digging in with my thumbs, massaging the tight muscles I find under my hands.
He groans happily. “You are my favorite person in the whole fucking world.”
It might even be true. I just hope it’s enough for my greedy little heart. I press my luck. “You want to watch that French movie together tonight? The one for your class?”
“Maybe,” he mumbles. “We’ll see.”
I roll my eyes. Mr. Elusive. My hands bear down on his traps and he groans with happiness. The sound does nice things to my insides. So I can’t help but lean down and kiss the back of his neck.
Affection comes easily to me, damn it. I am a yellow lab. Sue me. I give Bailey a terrific massage, interspersed with kisses. And when I’ve turned him into a relaxed puddle of a man, I spread my body out on his back and sigh. “Now I’m horny.”
“Of course you are,” he slurs. “I’m irresistible. That’s why we can’t watch that movie together later. I’m supposed to take notes. I’ll end up fucking you instead.”
“Or vice versa,” I tease, pushing my hips against his ass. “You know I’m going to have this sooner or later.”
He says nothing.
“It’s a good thing you’re not really a tomcat.”
“I so am.”
“Nope. I’d know.”
He turns his head to the side. “Am I going to learn something weird about cat sex right now?”