Ames rarely uses that detached, take-it-or-leave-it tone, but when he does, it means he’s all the way disconnected.Retreated behind his force fields. It’s just disconcerting knowing I’m on the other side of the wall.
“Sounds good,” I say.
His eyes widen slightly, like he didn’t expect me to agree. “Yeah?”
“Sure, yeah. We’ll do it your way.”
Ames lets out a breath. “Easygoing,” he mutters like it’s a curse.
“For now,” I agree. “But hey, as a serial monogamist, I’m gonna need a few rules of my own. No Auden. I know you’re on a break right now, but you’ll need to stay broken.” I stand up, which puts me directly in Ames’s personal space. Hisnakedpersonal space. “In fact, no other guys at all.”
He relaxes just slightly. “Okay. Yes. Temporarily. That’s… fine. And when one of us is ready to move on, no hard feelings. We go back to being friends.”
No hard feelings?The man is lying so hard I don’t know whether to laugh… or to cry.
“I think you mean best friends,” I correct.
I ignore the hollow ache in my chest because the man I want is smiling at me, his release is on my stomach, I love him and he loves me, and it’s okay if he doesn’t fully believe we can be together yet.
I give him a teasing grin. “So… what’s lesson two?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AMES
“Is this the next lesson?”Robbie says with familiar affection as I drag him toward the bathroom. “Cleaning up after sex?”
He follows without protest, which is kind of his default, but takes over when I try to reach into the glass shower and turn on the water.
“Take a breath and stand here,” he tells me, shooting me a look as he positions me beside the vanity. “Try not to reinjure yourself more than you already have.”
I open my mouth to clap back that I’m perfectly capable of running my own shower, since the mirror’s still fogged up from my last one, for god’s sake… but he’s not entirely wrong about reinjuring myself, so I shut up.
Now that the endorphins are wearing off, I have to admit—not out loud, obvs—I may have gotten a little too enthusiastic about Robbie’s first blowjob, and my collarbone’s throbbing as a result.
But what was I gonna do, not make it perfect?Pfft. YOLO, baby. If Robbie is going to have his bisexual experimentation era, I’m going to ride the ride as long as I can, even if it includes moments of temporary sex-induced panic.
I’d thought Robbie would be a little too busy to notice my discomfort, but of course not.
He cranks the water on and stands there looking slightly dazed while it heats. His hair’s sticking up in about a billion directions from where I ran my hand through it.
“Y’good?” I ask softly.
He blinks, and then his entire face lights up. “Yeah. Fuck, I’mgreat. I just got the best blowjob of my life from the sexiest guy on the planet…” He gives me his trademark grin—the one that’s always made it impossible not to kiss him. “…who also happens to be my best friend. This is next-level. Why didn’t you tell me it was so good with guys?” he teases. “You been holding out on me?”
I snort and step past him under the spray. “Guys, plural? Please. You have a sample size of one.” I force myself to add, “For now.”
Robbie steps in behind me, all those broad shoulders, long limbs, and golden skin making my extra-large shower feel teeny tiny. “It’s funny, ’cause I’m pretty sure I’ve been checking out guys in locker rooms for years; I just didn’t know that’s what I was doing. I mean, I thought everyone did it.”
He ducks his head under the spray, and when he looks at me again, his eyelashes are all clumped together, anime-style. “Just kinda… comparing, you know?”
I snort and reach for my bodywash. “Robbie, you’rebuilt like a fucking Greek statue. What were you comparing, exactly?”
“I dunno. Not, like, dick length or whatever?—”
I roll my eyes. “Because there’s no competition.” Robbie’s dick is the biggest I’ve seen in the flesh, so to speak. And yes, Ihavelooked. Many times. Despite my best efforts.
He takes the bodywash from me and pours three times too much into his palm before running soapy hands over my shoulders, careful of my bruises.
