My heart skips. Biting my tongue how I am right now isn't too healthy, but I have to stop myself from questioning him out ofinstinct.Again. It's new, someone actually wanting to spend time with me, and while I'm not used to it, I could be. I want to be.
“That sounds so fun,” I say.
Ian flashes a cheeky smile at me, one that I couldn't misinterpret if I tried. “Oh, it will be.” He reaches out to trail his fingers along my leg, the touch jolting me to full consciousness.
And then of course, my messy brain has to start overthinking.
I won't lie, I'm loving the physical stuff we’re doing, but I want more. I could be getting ahead of myself. Still, Ian isn’t playing games or hiding his feelings—he’s giving me all the affection I never had and always craved, and there’s no way to deny that.
We went out for the first timeyesterday. Am I allowed to ask for more,thissoon?
I don't know if that's possible.
But I don’t want Ian to be the only one who initiates anything. He came out to me, he asked me out, and he takes the lead whenever it’s something that matters.
I’ll ask him at the cabin next week. I’ll play it by ear until then. If it all goes badly, I can laugh it off or something, lean into bro banter, and say that I asked so I could keep all the blowjobs for myself.
That’s ridiculous, like every other aspect of my social life. It’s not like I have any better ideas.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
IAN
Callum is broken.
Or at least his legs are. He’s standing motionless, not even two steps into the entryway of the lake house.
“You said this is acabin,” he finally says, roving his head from one end of the place to the other.
I stretch, releasing the tension from the three-hour drive. “Only in the winter. I call it a lake house in the summer.”
“This is…wow. Holy crap.”
“It’s wow, and it’s all ours for the week. Let’s unpack and enjoy it.” I nudge my bags further into the house.
The first order of business is locking the wildlife gun away. While I’m properly trained, I don’t exactly like carrying a gun around. Still, it’s somewhat sensible, given where we are—the last thing I want is to hit a deer and leave it to die a slow death in the middle of the road.
Callum doesn’t move from the entryway, as if he isn’t allowed to come in, so I bring an arm down and nudge him forward. Do I shove him from the ass on purpose? Yes, yes, I do. It’s a real fucking nice ass, and I’m not above wanting my hands on it. His face lights up whenever I do, too, so if it makes him happy, I’m game.
“Let me give you a tour,” I say, sliding my hand up to the small of his back.
He nods, and we put our bags down in my bedroom before I show him the house. He takes a peek outside, but it’s already dark, so there isn’t much to see.
“So, is there anything you want to do first?” I ask.
He shrugs. “What are our options?”
“Let’s go for a dip.”
Not laughing at Callum’s alarmed expression is an exercise in willpower.
“It’s what, forty degrees out? No way,” he says.
“Not in the lake, buddy. In the hot tub. I turned it on before we left our place, so it should be all toasty.”
He parts his lips and stares at me. “You have a hot tub.”
“Oh yeah. And it doubles as a pool in the summer. Let’s go.”
