“Mmm,” Elena said, clear distrust in her voice. “Listen, he is one of the most sunshine people you’ll ever meet—” A hand clapped over her mouth.
“Aww, I love you too, Elena, but we’ve definitely got to go now,” Cay babbled out with his reappearance. Relief poured through me because I was pretty sure she was about to give me an uncomfortable talking-to. Cay leaned in and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “See you later.”
My brow wrinkled slightly. Were they together? I remembered some mention of roommates. Fuck, what if he’d been seeing someone, and we’d fooled around? My brain kick-started anew, just as I realized he’d tugged on a plain white tee, unfortunately covering up his chest. I sucked in a sharp breath as I tried to rein in my confusing mix of Panic at the, well, not at a fucking Disco, that was for sure.
Cay wound his arm around my shoulders, guiding me away from his place, and just like that, everything melted from my mind. The scent of his cologne, all cedar and spice, soothed me and his heat pressed against mine had me so distracted I didn’t even look back to see if Elena was watching us.
“Come on, let’s head to the beach to talk,” Cay said. We zipped down the short elevator ride and were striding out the front door of his apartment building mere minutes later. Crushed up against him like this, I was inches from being able to lean in and lick his neck. Why my brain went there was beyond me, but his skin was smooth, and he smelled so damn good it was making me hard. My palms were sweating, but not from the coffee cups I clutched.
“I thought I’d fucked up everything,” he said, cutting through the quiet as we walked down the busy street, heading in the direction of Foster Beach. His arm drifted from my shoulders, and I bit back the protest, knowing it would come across too needy and probably weird after the way I’d bolted. Gratitude flushed through me that he hadn’t just slammed the door in my face the second I showed up.
“I was the one who fucked up,” I said, offering him one of the cups of coffee and then the bag of donuts. “I’m straight, so this all kind of came out of left field.”
“Getting blown by another guy is sooo straight,”Cay teased.
“Fuck off,” I said, nudging him in the side as we ambled toward the beach. Already, I caught sight of Lake Michigan glittering in the distance. For some reason, Cay made everything easier. Maybe it was because of his relaxed attitude or the way he took things in stride, but for the first time since my panic yesterday, I could feel it receding like the tide.
“So maybe not straight, but I don’t know,” I mumbled, taking a sip of my coffee. The sweet, hot liquid coursed down my throat, and I savored it. The taste of the coffee on my tongue, the sunshine seeping in through my skin, and the hot-as-hell guy walking by my side, who somehow had me spellbound.
“I mean, I don’t either, but that’s the fun of it, right?” Cay said with a shrug.
My chest squeezed tight. Fuck, I was so envious of the way he thought, how he was able to roll with change rather than getting paralyzed by it. Truth be told, it wasn’t just envy. The attraction flared even harder when he got all casual, his charm just effortless. “Sure, fun,” I muttered.
Cay waggled his brows. “Look, we could be getting into a whole lot more fun.”
My cheeks heated. Was he saying what I thought he was? The idea of getting to explore more with him, to live out even a few of the rampant fantasies in my brain that starred him, fuck, the thought had my cock waking to life.
The bag crinkled as he opened it. “Shit, you got the jelly donuts from Hero’s? I’d blow you just for that.”
The sip of coffee had just hit my lips before it went spurting out.
“Oh shit.” Cay swerved out of the way, narrowly avoiding coffee spray.
My shoulders shook as the laughter rushed out of me. Already, I felt a million times lighter than I had this morning. “We need to make it through one encounter with our shirts intact.”
“I beg to differ.” Cay’s flirty tone sent a bolt of lust roaring through me, and all too fast, I was aware again of how close we stood, how I could reach over and crush my lips to his.
I sucked in a sharp breath before I lost any remaining reason. “Okay, Mr. Dicks for Donuts, well, we already know where you stand.” My heart was still thudding fast, but the shouts and loud noises traveled our way as we reached the green area leading to the beach. The water glimmered in the distance, and the throngs of people in that direction were all too visible. Ugh, surrounded by a crowd was the last place I wanted to be.
I led the way across a stretch of green over to one of the trees near an overpass and plunked down next to it.
“What about the beach?” Cay asked, tilting his head in that direction.
“Too people-y,” I responded, wrinkling my nose.
“First you can’t get away from me quick enough, and now you’re trying to get me alone,” Cay said, still in that teasing tone. Yet I noticed the softness in his gaze, the slight hint of vulnerability there. He lowered himself down to sit beside me, and our legs jostled in the process. Even from the mere brush, electricity trilled up my spine.
“I came back, didn’t I?” I said, my voice a little hoarse. When my gaze met Cay’s, his eyes widened. “Look, nothing makes sense right now, but I do like being around you.”
Cay chewed on that reddened lower lip again, making me want to kiss him. “And what about yesterday? Did you like that?”
Heaviness settled in the air between us as if the next words might shatter whatever existed here. I might be prickly, but I couldn’t bear to leave behind shards.
“Yeah, I did,” I murmured, daring to glance his way. Those dark eyes of his held me captive, so damn expressive, as if he didn’t need to shield himself from the world every day. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about more.”
“Why not, then?” Cay said, just throwing it out there. He was a spring breeze, and I was a leaf tumbling along with it as he tempted me in this easy, sweet way I couldn’t help but follow.
“Experiment?” I asked, needing clarification.
