Instead of answering him with useless words, I wrap my palm around the nape of his neck and tug him down to press our mouths together. He still tastes like Jackson, but he also tastes like me. It shouldn’t work, it should probably gross me out. But I like the taste of myself on his tongue because just for a brief moment in time, he belongs to me.
“My turn?” I ask against his mouth, the words more of a mumble than a coherent sentence.
Jackson grins wide and broad, pressing the smile to my lips. “You wanna suck my dick?”
Yes, I do. But I’m also scared because what if I’m bad at it? What if I choke, literally? Jackson must see something in my eyes because he hovers over me, a considering, careful look in his eyes.
“Another time.”
I’m oddly relieved but also a little annoyed. I settle for kissing him some more, searching out the taste of myself on his tongue. Jackson slows our kiss with shushing noises as if I’m a wild cobra, and he’s calming me from biting. Maybe, in a way, he is.By the time he pulls away, I’ve memorized the taste of him. And before he leaves through the front door, he presses one lingering kiss to my brow. I hold my hands to my lips to keep the taste of him there. Forever on my lips.
10
JACKSON
Now that I’ve got Harper in my grip, I willneverlet go. Proving that to Harper will probably be my entire life’s work. The way his eyes had lit up at the sight of the horses still fills my chest with a pulsing, radiating warmth. Like there’s a fucking supernova inside of me just from bringing him joy. Maybe his genuine smiles mean more because of how rarely they appear. But I want to see them a million times a day. I want to earn those smiles and be the main source of them.
Also, sucking his dick was an otherworldly experience. The slight flush of his skin, the taste of him, even the cloying, pretend confidence as he teased me into sucking him off… Whoever would’ve guessed that would be a turn-on for me?
After sucking him off, I had this possessive urge to hold him all night, keep him close to me. But Harper had jumped off the island with a nervous, almost terrified air and all but hustled me out of the house. I’m onto him, though. Being vulnerable terrifies him, and there’s nothing more vulnerable than letting your new boyfriend suck you off for the very first time.
Every morning I send him a good morning text.
Every morning he replies with something snotty, sarcastic, or fussy.
Jesus, why does that turn me on?
We might bedatingbut I’m not an idiot. I know he’s waiting for me to drop him like a sack of hot potatoes. But he’s severely underestimated just how much I want him. I don’t know how anyone could ever look at him and not want him with every ounce of their soul.
November starts with a sweet, cold front. Floridians act like snow is coming with their sweatshirts, jeans, and pumpkin spice lattes. Fall in the South has always been one of my favorites. The leaves stay green, but the weather cools, and everyone seems just a little happier.
I keep the windows open in the townhome as I mess with stocks, setting my income for the day. My phone buzzes on the kitchen island with an incoming call and the only person it could be is my mother. Part of me wishes it was Harper, but I think hell would freeze over before that man called me.
“Hi, Mama.”
Mama laughs into the phone, easy and sweet. “Hi, honey. I was calling to see if you’re planning to come home for Thanksgiving. Or are you staying in Florida with your friends?”
“I can come home if you and Dad want me to.”
“Tell him to get his ass home!” Dad hollers from what sounds like the other end of the house.
“Well, you heard the man.” Mama sighs a little, then whispers, “His blood sugar is still elevated. The man isn’t taking care of himself and he doesn’t want to listen to me.”
I swallow loudly. “Got it, Mama. Also, can I bring someone?”
“Oh?” She sounds pleasantly surprised, considering I’ve never brought someone home.
“There’s this boy…”
“Good. Please give me grandchildren before I’m too old to dote on them.”
“I’ll try, but when two boys love one another…”
Mama shushes me; then we work out what days I’ll be coming home. A plan formulates itself in my head as we talk. I just wonder how amenable Harper would be to coming with me and having a few days' stay in Georgia. It gives me a little over two weeks to plan something extravagant for him.
We have a date scheduled for the weekend, so I've decided to bring it up then. Especially since Harper ignores anything remotely serious in our messages. He’s always got a joke or pun for me, but when I get anything close to talking about feelings, he shuts down and disappears. Getting him to talk in person is going to be my only option.
By the time our date rolls around, I’m so eager to see Harper that I feel like a goddamn puppy. I’d planned to take Harper for a walk downtown and a dinner at a steakhouse, but there’s a car idling in the driveway when I pull in.
