“Of course. It’s always on a Saturday, late morning. We could go to the winter market after.”
“The winter market?”
“It’s just a little craft market downtown. If you want, I mean. No pressure.”
I laughed again. “I know what the winter market is. I’m just surprised you want to go together.” Colin opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. “That would be great. I’d love to go together. All three of us. It’ll be fun.” The idea of going out in public with Colin was a little intimidating, I had to admit. The whole town would quickly discover that we were… whatever we were. Dating? Fuck buddies? Just very friendly neighbors? Since the night of the snowstorm, just a week had passed, and we had barely had time to say hello, much less discuss the particulars of the situation.
“It’s a deal, then.”
I shifted my weight and rubbed the back of my neck. “Can I ask you something?”
His brow dipped, a frown on his face. “Sure. Of course. Anything.”
“I don’t mean to assume anything, but… I mean, I’m not worried about the neighbors so much. But Lina and her mom. What do I tell them about… us?”
His cheeks reddened almost immediately, his throat flushing pink at the same time. “I don’t know. What do youwantto tell them?”
“I want to be upfront, at least with Beth. But Lina will have questions, too. And then there are the nosy neighbors who willdefinitelymake assumptions.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed and looked at his feet for a brief moment. “I really like you, in case that wasn’t obvious.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I like you too.” It felt awkward to say, but there wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in my gut as I said it.
“Is it going to be weird for you if you tell them you’re dating a guy?”
I raised an eyebrow and smiled a little. “Dating?”
Colin lifted one shoulder in a shrug, looking shy. “That’s whatI’dlike for this to be.”
Taking a shaky breath, I nodded again. “Me too. And no, it won’t be weird. Beth knows I’m bi. I’ve always been honest with her about that, even before she and I were together.” I hesitated for a moment. “We’re dating,” I repeated, trying out the idea. With a big smile, I nodded. “Yeah, I like that.”
“Good,” he said. “So do I.”
“Are we telling people?” Colin asked.
I bit my bottom lip as I debated internally before nodding. “Let me tell Beth first. Then we can tell anyone you want.”
“Deal.”
“So,” I said after a few seconds of silence. “Should I get out of your hair? You probably want to unwind from work.”
He shook his head. “Unwind by sitting here alone?” One of the cats let out a soft meow just then, and I looked around tofind it sauntering up to us. It wound its way around Colin’s legs, rubbing against his pants and purring loudly. He laughed a little. “Okay, well, Edgar says I wouldn’t betotallyalone. But I can still think of better ways to unwind.”
I smirked. “Like what?”
He stepped forward, crowding into my space again, and kissed me. This kiss was different from the first—deep and eager, ravenous, making my cock harden almost immediately. He shoved a hand into my hair and held me close, free hand easing between us to cup my erection. Colin took another crowding step forward, backing me up until I was pressed against the front door. After another delicious minute or two of kissing, he unfastened my jeans and pulled my aching cock out before he sank to his knees, grinning up at me.
“You really like getting on your knees for me, huh?”
“I really, really do,” he murmured before taking me into his mouth.
Chapter 12
Colin
Themorningofthecookie exchange, I put the finishing touches on my lemon ginger cookies by brushing them with a sugary lemon glaze before popping them into the freezer to set. Dakota was due to stop by anytime with Caroline in tow, and two dozen cookies ready to share. I hurried to the bedroom to change and pulled on my favorite thick, blue sweater and jeans while I waited for them to arrive.
By the time I’d gotten dressed, there was a knock at my front door. Then the doorbell rang twice. I laughed, assuming Caroline was the mastermind behind ringing the bell. “Coming,” I called out, hurrying to answer the door.
