ME
You aren’t generous enough to just grace me with your presence?
THEO
My dad taught me that if I’m good at something, never do it for free.
ME
Jesus, I’ll throw in a case of Corona. Deal?
THEO
…agreed. But you better have lime wedges for those or the deal’s off
ME
So demanding
Meet me at my truck at 9am
THEO
Can’t even pick me up properly like a real gentleman. I thought your mama taught you better than that
ME
Nvm, the invitation is rescinded
THEO
That was deeply uncalled for…
See you at 9, Mercury
I sent a thumbs up in response with a stupid grin on my face. It was weird slipping back into our normal banter, but it also felt good. Natural. It made me wonder if there was more of my old Theo buried in there than he let on.
All I had to do was focus on treating him like any other friend and not kissing him within an inch of his life like I’d been dying to do since the barn. My resolve would definitely be tested, especially when Theo was all wet and shirtless and sun-kissed and…
Shit…I might have made a mistake.
Chapter 15
Dawson
Iwas glad my instincts hadn’t been rusty when I’d told Theo to meet me a half hour before we actually needed to leave. In typical fashion, Theo stepped out of his house at 9:28, his button down linen shirt flapping open as he ran over to my truck. My eyes followed the lines of his abs and the light trail of hair that ran from his navel down to his swim trunks. Flashes of tattoos peaked at me from behind the fabric and I wanted to trace them all with my tongue. He flashed me a megawatt smile that did dangerous things to my stomach.
My mouth went dry and I felt uncomfortable pressure behind my own shorts, so I adjusted myself covertly and hopped behind the wheel. Within seconds of us setting off, Theo propped his legs up on the dashboard and started flipping through radio channels. Flashbacks of autumn drives and heated nights in the backseat ran through my head. I needed to get it together or I was going to crash the damn truck.
“So who all will be there?” Theo asked, disrupting my train of thought.Thank fuck.
“Pretty much everyone you met at my party,” I said dismissively. “Maybe a few others, but I don’t really know. This is Kenji’s deal. We were all just invited along for the ride.”
Theo nodded, but his knee bounced rapidly and his hands tapped out an erratic rhythm on the side of his thigh.
“You don’t have to be nervous. My friends are chill and they’ll like you once they get to know you,” I tried to reassure him. Theo’s eyes looked aimlessly out the window and I saw the slight tick in his jaw before he shot me a cocky grin.
“What’s there not to like?”
