“Weird, because that soundsexactlylike a rule you just made.”
Devin shook his head. “No. The rule is that huge masc boys with shaved heads who like poetry and flowers are always adorable. I’m just pointing it out.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked. “And who madethatrule?”
Devin shrugged. “It’s one of the rules of the universe,” he said, and then looked me up and down speculatively. “Are you cold?”
I opened my mouth to say no, but noticed the hopeful look in his eyes at the last second. “Uh. I’m not super warm?”
There. That wasn’t a lie. I wasn’t freezing or anything, but I was on the cool side of comfortable.
“You sure you don’t want more blankets?” I asked.
“If you get up, you’ll take all the warmth with you,” Devin said, reaching out between us, toying with a loose thread in the sheets. “We could just…”
The next few seconds happened in slow motion, as though they were hours long. All I could do was watch as Devin moved, lifting the blankets a little way up. The sound of fabric against fabric seemed to fill my head, the sudden burst of warmth as Devin’s body scooted closer washing over me in a wave, threatening to make me shiver as it rolled through me.
I held as still as humanly possible as Devin laid a hand on my chest, fingertips curling into the fabric of my t-shirt.
What thehell?
How was this happening?
Thoughts raced in my head. Had Aiden and Carter been right? Was this Devin’s way of making a move?
Or was he really just cold?
I held my breath as Devin wriggled closer still, resting his head on my shoulder. My arm moved, only half-consciously, and before I knew what I was doing my hand was curled around Devin’s waist.
He laid his own hand over it, and I almost expected him to quietly move it away, but that wasn’t what happened at all. He tugged on it, moving it so it was splayed over his back, and then sighed a happy, tired little sigh.
I really,reallywanted some advice from Aiden about how to handle this.
“Okay?” Devin asked, sleepy, so obviously comfortable that I wouldn’t have moved him no matter how not okay I was. This was probably never going to happen to me again, I had to savor it while it lasted.
I hummed a response, not wanting to disturb him more than necessary.
This?
Thiswas the worst thing that’d ever happened to me.
* * *
“You sure youdon’t want me to carry that?” I asked, watching Devin lift his kayak over his head and wondering why I’d even bothered to ask. He might’ve beenshort, but there were some serious muscles going on under the oversized hoodie he was drowning in today. One of Kieran’s, probably.
Kieran couldn’t hang onto a hoodie to save his life, and he’d be susceptible to his little brother’s big soft eyes telling him he was cold.
Not quite as susceptible asIwould’ve been. Every muscle in my body was protesting a night of lying as still as humanly possible so I wouldn’t bother Devin, who’d spent the whole time curled up next to me in various positions. I was looking forward to this walk to work some of the stiffness out.
“You could grab my gear bag, if you want,” Devin said. “It’s probably heavier than the kayak.”
“Oh,nowI see why you brought him,” Brad interrupted, wandering up to the van with his own kayak under his arm. “I would never have carried your crap for you.”
“I know,” Devin said, soft and cheerful. “And Morgan doesn’thaveto, either. I’m a grown man, I can carry my own stuff.”
I grabbed the bag out of the back of the van before Devin could even think about carrying it himself, slinging it over my shoulder and closing the doors.
“Got everything?” I asked, barely sparing Brad a glance.
