“Me too, by the way,” he says, finally returning his eyes to mine. “All these years, it was always you.”
I’m surprised by how much of a relief it is to hear that. A smile creeps over my lips, and I kiss him again, hard and hungry but brief. He wobbles on his feet when I break the kiss, stumbling into me. I wrap my arms around him, memorizing the feel of him in my arms for a few seconds before letting him go.
We restart our walk, and Real falls back into his seemingly pre-prepared mental list of questions. “Favorite movie in the last fifteen years?”
We talk about all those lost years until we realize we’re back at the hotel. My stomach growls again like it did earlier, and it occurs to me that we never did eat.
“How about that room service after all? And then I’ll see if I can convince you to spend the night in my bed.”
“I think there’s a strong chance I can be persuaded.”
Chapter 7
REAL
“How is all of the food here so fucking good?” I groan around a savory bite of the crab cake I ordered from room service.
“Probably full of calories that you’re meant to work off with crazy sex,” Flynn reasons with a wicked grin. “Let me taste.” He leans over the table with his mouth open. My heart flutters at the very real manifestation of my earlier fantasy. He wraps his lips around the fork and moans at the flavor just like I did.
The sound ricochets through me, stiffening my cock and making my body heat. I lean forward and press a rough kiss to his lips. He makes a muffled sound and nips at my bottom lip. It’s hard to believe that any of this is real, but the steadying feeling of his lips against mine goes a long way in convincing me that I’m not having any sort of break with reality.
We break the kiss and return to our meals, my eyes drifting to the incredible view of the ocean that we have from the balcony. When we finish eating, we clear our plates and then prop our feet on therailing to enjoy the warmth of the night and the view a little while longer.
“Describe your apartment to me,” I request, reaching over and putting a hand on his bare knee, his shorts riding up high on his thigh.
“You can see it for yourself,” Flynn says with a hint of amusement.
I smile at the renewed promise that this week won’t be the end of whatever we’ve started here. “Describe it anyway. I want to picture it.” I lean back in my chair and close my eyes to do just that.
“It’s a spacious loft with exposed brick walls and some huge windows that let in tons of natural light.”
“Mm. Floors?” I ask.
“Wood,” he purrs teasingly.
“Oh, baby,” I flirt with a grin, keeping my eyes closed. “Bed?”
“King-size,” he answers in a low, tempting voice.
“Okay, here’s an important one. Shower or bathtub?”
“Both. I had the bathroom redone to put in a soaking tub and a roomy walk-in shower. The tub helps like you wouldn’t believe after a hard workout.”
I pop one eye open and smirk at him. “I bet it does.”
“What about you? Tell me about your place.”
My apartment doesn’t sound half as nice as his does. It’s just a boring, gray-walled studio with some of my favorite photos framed and hung around the grungy walls. It’s not that I can’t afford a nicer place, just that I spend so much time traveling that I never cared to bother.
I drag my hand absently up his leg, encountering his own resting there. Insecurity swamps me, the reminder of my busy schedule and what that’s done to past relationships creeping in. This thing feels so fragile already, and I’m afraid to test it by telling him about my work schedule. But at the same time, I’d rather find out now that he won’t be able to handle it than to get my hopes up too high.
“I travel a lot,” I say, impressed with how casual the statement sounds while my heart thunders violently. “For work, I mean.”
“I know.” He twines his fingers around mine. “You mentioned that. It sounds really cool. Not to impose or anything, but I make my own schedule, come and go as I please as an independent trainer working out of the gym. I could travel with you sometimes, you know, if you wanted.”
“Yeah? You’d want to do that?” Fuck not getting my hopes up. Flynn is clearly determined toconvince me otherwise, and I really want to let him.
“Sure. Not all the time, obviously. But that’s what video chat is for, right?” He grins suggestively at me, and I chuckle.
