Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
“No. No, of course not.” Dustin rubbed the back of his neck. Around them families and tour groups chattered and took pictures, but all Wes’s attention was on Dustin. “I just meant...you’re pretty cute and all...” His cheeks flushed.
“Oh. Thanks.” Wes’s own skin heated up at the compliment. “And no. I’d just found the app a few weeks before I met you, and it was always just a chat thing for me. Not really looking for a lot of in-person hookups.”
“That’s...good.” Some of the tension seemed to leave Dustin’s body at the news that this wasn’t something Wes did on the regular. “Sorry I was late. Forgot to factor in parking down here.”
“No problem,” Wes lied like he hadn’t died a million little deaths thinking that Dustin was about to stand him up.
“So...uh...” Dustin continued massaging his neck, and Wes had a powerful urge to replace Dustin’s broad hand with his own. “What do we do now?”
He gave Wes the sweetest look, beseeching like he trusted Wes to have a plan for all this. That was something Wes really loved about him in chat too, the way he let Wes lead, almost like he craved it, like he was grateful for Wes’s direction.
“We explore,” Wes said decisively. Dustin was still skittish, and Wes had a feeling he might bolt if given the opportunity. “Told you, I came fixing to see the narwhal exhibit. And if you’ve never been here before, we have to hit up the dinosaurs too.”
“This is all new.” Dustin laughed nervously, and Wes had to restrain himself from patting his arm, offering some reassurance. But he’d promised no PDA.
Instead, he settled for a wink. “I know. Follow me.”
Chapter Two
Follow me. Dustin supposed he was ready to do that. After all, he’d shown up. No time to chicken out now. He’d had his phone out the whole drive down from Annapolis, trying to come up with the right text to tell Wes he couldn’t make it. Then he’d sat in the crowded parking garage for an eternity, composing and deleting messages. But then something had come over him, the same decisiveness he got right before a jump or a dive when he knew the unknown was inevitable and that it was better to head straight for it than to dither around all day. And so he’d found himself hurrying toward the museum, both hoping that Wes was still there and bracing for him to be a no-show.
When he’d seen him standing by the giant elephant on a raised platform in the center of the main rotunda, his breath had caught. Wes was gorgeous, but it was his eyes that drew Dustin in—deep blue, an almost impossible shade and full of emotion, giving him an air of thoughtful wariness. His full pink mouth wasn’t smiling, which only gave his eyes more depth. Seemed like Wes was the kind of person that one had to earn a smile from, and Dustin kind of liked that challenge.
Like in the picture he’d sent Dustin, he had the perfect amount of stubble—like he’d been lazy that morning, decided to skip it in favor of more brooding. His thick dark hair was artfully messed up in a way that Dustin bet he didn’t get away with on duty. Ditto the small silver studs in his earlobes.
Those and his tight jeans made him look younger and hipper, made Dustin feel old and stuffy and like he didn’t really know the rules for this little excursion. Meet-up. Date. Whatever the heck it was. Thank God though, that as usual, Wes seemed to have a plan, leading Dustin through the rotunda to the hall that led to the special exhibit area.
The exhibit had many giant narwhal replicas, interactive areas, and giant posters with narwhal facts. It was a bit surreal, looking at the big fish-like creatures with their long unicorn horns, with the guy he’d seen and heard come more times than he could count but who was otherwise a stranger.
“They really do look like sea unicorns,” Dustin said, watching as Wes carefully read one of the exhibit posters. He liked how intent Wes was about everything, how he seemed to take in all the little details of the exhibit, give each one its proper due and consideration.
“I dig unicorns.” Something that might be the start of a smile teased at the corner of Wes’s mouth. The look he gave Dustin was rather...pointed.
Fuck. What did I say? Wes was being almost flirty, but Dustin wasn’t sure what about unicorns... Oh. “I didn’t mean...” Even the tips of Dustin’s ears heated.
“I know.” Wes’s eyes sparkled before he lowered his voice. “But I’m just saying, it’s never bugged me, you being bi. I know plenty of bi-phobic guys, but that’s not me.”
“Thanks.” Dustin wasn’t exactly sure how to take that. “Still feels a bit weird,” he admitted. They’d talked some about this online, and Wes was the only person he’d ever felt comfortable being honest about this stuff with. “Using that label for myself. Feels like someone’s about to come out from behind that poster and be all, ‘No way! You haven’t even kissed a guy!’ about it.”