“Honey. Sweetcheeks.”
I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Before she’d left Father, she’d been a shell of a woman. A ghost. Then we escaped and she met Michael and changed, her happiness glimmering like a polished diamond. He’d made her content, and he’d become my dad in the process.
“You know I hate it when you call me that.” I closed the bathroom door and leaned against the sink. “How is Australia?”
“Oh, honey, it’s beautiful.” Mom sighed happily. “It’s winter here, but it’snot. Their winter is no worse than our early fall. The locals are complaining about how cold it is, though.” She laughed, and I heard Michael in the background, joining in with a booming chuckle. “It’s very tropical.”
“I’m jealous.” As much as I’d always dreamed about going to an exotic paradise, right now I was satisfied with where I was. I had Dare, how could I not be?
“I miss you so much, honey. How’s it been there? Any news for your momma?”
Part of me wanted to tell her about Dare, but it was all so new. She loved him as much as she loved me, and I could gauge what her response to news of us dating would be. Mom never reacted badly to me being gay, and she hadn’t been surprised by it, either. Nevertheless, I wanted to keep this to myself for now, until I saw how everything panned out.
“I got promoted. Both Dare and I did.”
“Oh, honey, that’s fantastic. How did that happen?”
I told her every detail, explaining how Dare had stuck up for me about working on the weekends. I left out the date information, but it wasn’t a lie by not telling her, as far as I was concerned. This was all too new for us to put a label on it. I explained how I’d thought Dare was going to get fired for talking back, but instead he’d told me we were promoted.
She laughed. “That boy. He always has your back. I adore him. Give him a kiss on the cheek for me.”
My face burned even though she meant it innocently. I’d be doing more than laying a kiss on his cheek. “I will.”
“Did your grandma call?” she asked. She always kept tabs on the family.
“No. She’s still visiting her sisters in Puerto Rico. Now tell me about Ayr.”
“Oh myGod, we went to an animal sanctuary near here. I saw a crocodile and a dingo….”
I let her speak for fifteen minutes or more, telling me about all the native Australian animals she’d seen, and how she couldn’t live there in fear of dying every day. I didn’t have the heart to argue that anyone in the world could die at any point. Mom had been through enough with Father; she deserved to live her best life now.
After she’d said goodnight—because it was bedtime in Australia—I hopped into the shower, turning the knobs until the water was steaming. I sighed in pleasure as my muscles got the kneading they needed.
A few minutes later the shower curtain was yanked back and a naked Dare stepped into the tub. I grinned at him over my shoulder, and he smiled, half dazed and clearly still sleepy.
“Good morning,” I said, popping my lips out to him over my shoulder.
To my surprise he dropped a kiss on my mouth. This relationship thing came so easily to him, and I wasn’t sure if I was jealous or happy. It always took me months to feel comfortable with a guy, so I never truly did, but Dare took us being together in stride with a confidence I never had.
“Morning, baby. You weren’t thinking about showering without me, were you?” His eyes twinkled, and it was easy to get lost in his easygoing attitude. “I saw a belly but no Z.”
I ran my palms over my slim stomach, and he wrapped his arms around me, laying his hands on top of mine.
“You’re beautiful no matter what you wear or how you look.”
His words melted my insides and happiness weaved its way through me like magic from a Disney movie. All sparkly and gold. No, pink. I preferred pink magic. Everyone had always laughed that pink was one of my favorite colors, but not Dare—neverDare.
I leaned back into him and my eyes slipped closed. I breathed him in and shuddered when he pressed a kiss to my cheek. Something hard nudged my ass and I didn’t have to take a wild guess to know what it was. Pleasure coiled hot in the pit of my stomach.
“Is that a wand or are you happy to see me?”
Dare’s deep laughter echoed in my ear and he snuggled closer, rubbing small circles over my gut. I didn’t know if he was aware of what he was doing, but my body buzzed with electricity.
“Definitely not a wand,” he teased, laying a kiss on the shell of my ear before he nibbled it. A shiver swept down my spine and I sucked in a deep breath, spinning in his arms so I was face-to-face with him. I had to crane my neck to look at him, and I blinked up at his handsome, angular face.
I couldn’t resist cupping his cheeks and juststaring. He returned my gaze, not looking away, and it felt like I was searching the deepest recesses of his mind. I was discovering this man I already knew but was still learning so much more about. My not-so-straight friend. No, he wasn’t a friend anymore. He was a… partner? It was all so new, but I wanted more. Ineededit.
“Kiss me?” I begged.
