“Dude, it’s been like three months since I’ve gotten laid. Yeah, I’m horny.”
Keno tilts his head. “That’s fair, but I’m not saying we don’t get orgasms. Just not sex.”
I stare at him for a minute. “I don’t think we should do that, though I like the mockery of wearing white and virginity and all that. But I think we’re looking forward to a sexy honeymoon, no?”
He nods, his smile ticking up a bit.
“Then I think we need to work on getting comfortable fucking asses before then. So we can enjoy our honeymoon to its fullest.”
He hums. “Yeah, okay.”
“Maybe we can save something for the honeymoon, though. There’s a whole list of kinks you’ve added.” I raise a brow at him.
Keno laughs. “I swear I told you the truth. They were on like every search!”
“Uh-huh. You have a secret hunger for the kink lifestyle, don’t you?”
“I won’t pretend that some of those things weren’t intriguing, but I’ve never thought about any of it until I was researching gay sex positions.”
It takes us another hour to finish scheduling all the sex things. Then we lean in close together, pressed right up against each other, and slowly scroll through the next six months of our candy-colored calendar.
“I feel a little silly scheduling some of these things,” Keno admits.
“It’s not a forever thing,” I promise. “We’re taking a platonic relationship and recoding it into a romantic one. I think it’ll be easy to fall into the habits we’ve already created over the last year and a half. I’m afraid that would leave us feeling unfulfilled and be the opposite of what we’re hoping to get out of this.”
Keno nods. “I know you’re right, but it feels… cold. Like, ‘it’s three o’clock. Time for a kiss.’”
I chuckle. “It’s not that clinical. But… maybe we make it into personal challenges. When we see the reminders, or better yet, before them, we ask ourselves every day—is there a moment when I think he needs a kiss? Will he benefit from a hug right now? We’re just sitting on the couch watching TV; maybe this would be better if we were cuddling? When we’re walking into the house or driving, can we hold hands for a minute? That kind of thing.”
He’s watching me again. Giving me that smile that’s soft and sweet. I’d love to know what he’s thinking.
“Yeah,” Keno says, his voice soft. “I like that better.”
I lean in close and press my mouth to his. Just a little kiss. A peck. I feel his lips curl up and he presses into me a little more.
“I like this a lot better,” he whispers.
“We’re competitive. That’s part of what makes a good hockey player. Sometimes we just need to put things into terms we understand and are comfortable with. This wedding? A fucking challenge because it’s something we have no idea about, but we’re going to rock the fuck out of it.”
He grins. “We fucking are!”
“We’re going to nail this marriage thing too,” I assure him. “And sex and love. All of it. I promise.”
“That’s a big promise, Etna.”
“It is, but I know if I asked you for a promise, you’d make the same one. You know why?”
He shakes his head.
“Because it’s something we both want and believe in. We won’t let it fail.”
Keno sighs. His hand slips into mine and we share a smile. “No, we won’t. It’s going to be the best marriage of every marriage. We’ll go down in history as the example everyone strives for.”
I laugh. “That’s the spirit.”
CHAPTER 10
KENO
