We were so fucking grateful.
I loved seeing my best friend and my dad so happy.
After powering down the phone, I flipped off the lamp. “Goodnight, Kellen.”
“Goodnight, Marco. Uh, thank you.”
I cuddled under the blanket. “You’re welcome, Kellen. I’m sorry I called you a waste of space.”
“You’re not wrong,” He turned on his side—away from me.
Despite the fact I was sharing a small bed with a very attractive man, sleep claimed me quickly, dragging me under, and sending me into a dreamless night.
CHAPTER 5
Kellen
Awareness came in degrees.
My nose was frozen.
The rest of me was toasty warm.
The world was dark.
A warm body held me tight and had their arms banded around me. Him?
Oh, Marco.Yes, him.
I couldn’t remember scooting over to his side of the bed. That said, this mattress was so small, the fact we were this close wasn’t a huge surprise.
His erection pressed against my lower back.
As much as I wanted to wriggle against him and coax him into fucking me, that wasn’t going to happen. First, I didn’t know if he was gay. Second, he didn’t know I was gay. Third—and by far most importantly—consent was a thing. If he was awake, conscious, and consenting, that was one thing.
He snored lightly with his breath ghosting across the back of my neck. Clearly he was still dead to the world.
My bladder reminded me of the water I’d drunk last night.
No light came through the blinds, so morning had yet to come. This close to the solstice, though, and this far north, there wasn’t much daylight to be had. I longed to check my phone, but I wasn’t going to waste the battery. I could run the SUV to power it when the battery drained, but that wasn’t an ongoing solution. I had to preserve what gas I had in the tank.
I flipped the battery powered lamp on.
Marco didn’t stir.
I slid from his grasp.
He flopped onto his back, put his arm over his eyes, and kept snoring.
Well okay, then. Clearly a heavy sleeper.I wasn’t. Any little thing would wake me. My dad, taking pity on me, gave me an entire wing of the house to myself. Well, pity or he wanted me out of his way—could’ve gone either way.
I snagged the lamp and headed to the bathroom.
Holy fuck, was it cold. The air hit the exposed skin of my hands and face, and I longed to crawl back into bed.
I pissed, washed my hands, and headed back into the main room. The fire was just embers.Huh. I don’t know much about fires—but how hard could this possibly be?I grabbed two good sized logs and placed them over the embers.
And waited.
