“Don’t be. Please. I’m relieved. I was beginning to wonder if the three of you were ever going to figure your shit out.”
“We’re getting there.”
“Good, because we have about a month before our next trial by fire.” He knocked on Carol’s bedroom door. “Coast is clear, buddy. You can come out now.”
That was enough to calm my dick down under my apron and I stepped away from Evan with a last peck on his lips. “Thanks,” I whispered.
He grinned at me. “Any time.” Fuck, I missed that expression. I kissed him again, still fast, but hard and full, getting a low groan out of him that made my heart happy.
“Everything can go into the slow cooker now,” Alan declared as we all got back to our jobs, and Michael, looking proprietary, settled Carol on the love seat at the side of the room. Carol looked content, which was the best description I could come up with. Not happy. He’d just been dumped, after all, but not really sad either. They were still holding hands and both had wet hair, though I thought Carol’s was a sturdier shade of .periwinkle now. I never got tired of the way his hair colour changed weekly, or how often, like now, Michael had hair dye under his nails.
They were what they were, too, I guessed.
So why couldn’t the three of us be that as well?
I put the last of the dirty cooking dishes into the dishwasher, closed it, and turned around. “We should watch a movie while we wait,” I suggested.
“The three of us should shower,” Alan said. “Michael and Carol can pick something, then we’ll reconvene.”
That wasn’t actually a terrible idea. Five people trying to agree on a movie would take forever, plus I wanted Evan alone for just a few minutes.
CHAPTER 20
EVAN
“Okay.”I reached for Perry’s hand.
His smile, as he took it, melted me down to my core.
Strangely, we didn’t have sex in the shower, or before it. Or after it. We touched a lot. We both got semis, but without having to say it out loud, we didn’t do anything other than wash each other, dry each other off, and put on some sleep pants and T-shirts.
“We’re okay,” Perry said, as he was rubbing a towel over his curls again. He said it like it was a bit of information he was passing on, which was better than him asking like he didn’t know.
I went over to him and took the towel away, tossing it towards the bathroom door with the rest. Wrapping both my arms around his waist, I stood so he was between my legs, and looked into his gorgeous face. “We’re okay,” I promised.
“This has been so much… more than I expected.”
“For me too.”
“You’ve been doing fine with it.”
“Honestly, it’s the most work I’ve ever done in my life. Not just the curling all day every day, and the workouts and training and everything else. But all of it. It takes so much more energyand intention. Feels like there are always cameras on us, so we have to be conscious of how we’re acting, and I’ve never thought so much about curling in my life.”
“Do you regret?—”
“God, no. I used to think I got the jitters from being out in the world, but maybe it was just because I went out there, got my vibes all up, and then had no way to come down again.” I grinned. “Until I met you, that is.”
“And now?”
“I use up all that generated energy just doing what we’re doing. I guess making the best coffee in the universe just wasn’t enough to keep me engaged.”
“Shocking.”
I smiled at him. “I’ve been trying to work out how to help you. And don’t get me wrong. Sex every day is still very much on the table. But how we’ve been going about it isn’t working for you.”
He frowned at me, and I petted his face. “Say whatever you’re thinking, Perry. I need to hear what’s in your head.”
“I thought it was so frantic because you were so amped up. Now you say you’re more grounded than ever, without my input, so what’s going on?”
