“New steak place that opened up near base.” Lake hikes himself up onto the counter, and that’s an invitation if I ever saw one. He hooks his ankles against my back, locking me in when I stand between his legs. There’s a smear of sauce on the corner of his mouth. A flick of my tongue cleans it off, and a deep open mouth shares it with him so he doesn’t miss out on any of his burger. His moan goes straight to my dick, and I pull him closer with a hand splayed on the small of his back. He fits perfectly against me, an arm around my shoulder, his free hand still holding his burger.
“It’s called ‘Bite my Buns,’” Lake says, smiling against my lips.
Leaning back enough to see his eyes, I search them. “You’re making that up.”
Lake’s smile spreads across his whole face. “I kid you not. The burgers areso good.I’m gonna eat there every day.”
“I’m sure your arteries will thank you.” I can’t imagine eating something this loaded every day. Nice for a treat, not a regular thing. I’d spend the rest of the day lethargic as fuck.
“Here, take a bite.” He feeds me his, even when I have my own right next to his hip. He kisses the corner of my mouth, licking my bottom lip and searching for some of the taste. I gladly give it to him, the food all but forgotten as we try to devour each other.
“Fuck, I love you,” he moans, slanting his lips further, holding my face between his hands as he gyrates against me, like he’s trying to climb inside.
Coaxing him backward takes effort, and the way he blinks slowly at me, half dazed and fully turned-on makes it hard for me to concentrate. His eyes flutter briefly when I brush my knuckles across his cheek. “I love you too.”
He pauses, the blink faster this time. “Why’d you stop, then?”
There’s something so pure about this man; it makes my heart beat faster. He makes me want to be vulnerable, bemore. The closed-off parts of me are all open to him, the doors being battered in the wind as he moves through like a hurricane. “You need to eat.”
He sighs heavily. “Speaking of food,” he says, taking a bite out of his burger and then holding it out for me to do the same. “I was talking to Mum today.” He pauses to take another mouthful. “About venues and stuff for the wedding.”
I’m glad that it’s my turn to take a chunk from what little is left of the burger because I need a moment to remember how to take a breath. “I—” Clearing my throat doesn’t help the lump lodged there. “I thought you’d already picked where.”
I could have sworn we had this conversation only a few days ago. Maybe a week? There was a list, and I did some nodding, the words moving in and out like splashing water.
“We didn’t actually agree on anything,” Lake says, nothing but warmth in his tone. There’s no accusation in there that I didn’t listen to him, or that I don’t care about his feelings or the wedding. There’s none of the toxicity that I’m used to from previous relationships. Where pettiness bleeds into conversations if things aren’t perfect. Lake is soft, flexible, and so unbelievably patient. Nothing like anyone I’ve ever dated.
His smile stays firmly in place as he scrunches the wrapping for the burger, dropping it on the counter before picking mine up, feasting on it. We eat the rest of it in turns, just like the first, and then the only protection I have against this conversation are the chips. They’re just as good as the burger, with the perfect amount of crisp. Could be warmer, but that’s our fault.
A dollop of sauce tries to escape the wrapping, and I sweep it up with my thumb. Before I can decide what I want to do with it, Lake snags my wrist and lifts the thumb to his mouth, sucking itinto his wet heat. His tongue flicks over my skin even after all the sauce is gone.
“Mmm.” He lets go and makes a show of cleaning his lips. “Delicious.” His eyes go wide, and he jerks away from me, wriggling his hips. It startles me enough that I drop a few chips on the floor. Hades comes out of nowhere, scooping them up and sitting expectantly at my feet. Now that he’s had a taste, he silently demands more.
Sorry, buddy.
“I got a folder today,” Lake says, shuffling forward and nudging me with his knee. As soon as I give him space, he slides off the counter and bounces over to where his duffel bag lies near the pantry. “From Target; Mum wanted to look at their decor to replace one of her fake plants that she accidentally set on fire, and I saw this and—”
“Wait. Lake.”
He pauses, zip halfway undone, crouched in front of it. “What?”
“Your mum set one of her fake plants on fire?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
He says it like we’re discussing what to make for dinner tomorrow night, or whose turn it is to mow the lawn on the weekend. “How?” Do I really want to know? I’m not sure. The curiosity is high enough to at least ask. I’ve met his mum, Gayle, more than a few times now, the frequency increasing after the proposal. This new developmentshouldsurprise me, but the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. In fact, it’s fallen and remained in a stationary position, still touching the trunk.
All the saliva in my mouth dries when I spy the front of the folder that Lake found in Target while searching for an arson-incident replacement. Lined with gold, the words“The Perfect Wedding”is written in cursive over the front.
The Perfect Wedding.
That’s what they’d called my last one, right up until I got left at the altar, and he left town to marry the woman he’d knocked up.
The Perfect Wedding.
I don’t want a perfect wedding. I just want Lake. I want my ring on his finger and my name next to his. I want the people we care about to witness him saying yes, choosing me.
Lake is ridiculous, over the top, and has no brain-to-mouth filter. He moves around like a worm in his sleep, takes up enough space for three people, wears my shirts like he doesn’t own any of his own, flies helicopters like he was born in the air, trips over nothing, and eats more than his weight every single day.
