Page 16

I bit my lip to try and stop my smile becoming ludicrously big. Embarrassingly big. Maybe it was totally lame of me to be this happy about having the attention of a guy I’d only met a week ago. In my defense, he was also the first guy I’d ever kissed. And the first guy to ever suck my dick.

And he was so unbelievably hot, and chill, and just generally rad.

No wonder I was eagerly soaking up every tiny scrap of attention from him.

“Me too,” I told him, my cheeks heating at the admission, even though it made him grin, looking beyond pleased. Then I made a face. “But Brett does keep asking me to hang out. Like, every single shift.”

Elliot’s nose wrinkled. “Grody.”

“Yeah. He’s weirdly determined.”

“It’s not weird. You’re legit. And totally hot, even if Brett definitely isn’t in, you know”—he tilted his beer bottle between us—“our camp. He’s probably still noticed.”

I nodded, flushing with pleasure. I liked sharing something so important yet so fundamental with Elliot. We understood each other in a way I hadn’t really experienced with anyone else I’d spent extended time with.

He made me feel seen. More like a real person. Less alone.

When Elliot laughed, I cocked my head questioningly. He pointed at me with his bottle again and teasingly said, “Glad you’re not gonna fight me on how hot you are, because it’s a total waste of our time.”

I blushed, realizing my eager nod had made it seem like I was agreeing with him about that part. “Oh man, no, I—”

“Ricky.” Elliot lowered his voice and leaned in again, his pale eyes drifting down to my mouth, then lower. “You’re the hottest guy I’ve ever met, and all I can think about is kissing you again, so don’t argue with me about it. ’Kay?”

I stared at him in breathless silence for a moment. When my tongue darted out to wet my lips, Elliot’s long, narrow fingers tightened around his beer bottle.

“I… I can’t stop thinking about that either,” I told him quietly.

His nostrils flared and he stared at me in silence for a few moments, giving me that intense stare that I knew others found creepy, but I didn’t. His pale eyes bored into mine, the shadows under them looking even deeper and heavier in the low lighting of the bar. It made his face appear more gaunt, highlighting all the narrow, angular planes of it.

He brought his bottle to his lips and tipped it back, gulping down the last of his beer. Then he set it down on the table with a decisive thud and looked at me again. “Want to go for a walk on the beach?”

My beer was only half-finished, but I pushed it away immediately and rose from the table, my heart already pounding with anticipation. “Yes.”

Chapter Eight

Ricky

The beach was quiet, and mostly empty the farther away from the bars and restaurants we walked. It was October, so the night air was cool, but I’d never been all that sensitive to the cold. I tended to run hot, so when I saw Elliot shivering a little as we walked, despite having a sweater on, I hurriedly pulled my denim jacket off and handed it to him.

His face lit up, hands almost greedy as he took it from me. “You sure?” he asked, but he was already tugging it on.

“Yeah, totally.” I smiled at him. “I don’t get cold that easily.”

Something deep in my belly twisted pleasurably at the sight of him in my clothes. It was doing something almost primal to me. Making me want him even more.

Especially when he openly, and without an ounce of shame, lifted the collar to his nose and inhaled deeply. His eyes slid shut for a brief moment. “Fuck, you smell so good.”

My dick reacted, twitching in my pants, wanting to thicken. “I—th-thanks.”

“Thank you.” He grinned over at me as we walked across the sand at a leisurely pace. “This is rad.”

I grinned back. “It suits you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I swallowed, my tongue suddenly feeling a little too thick and making me trip over my words. “I—it—everything probably suits you, though. You’re just…”

Elliot shifted a little closer as we walked, until his arm brushed mine. He gave me a gentle nudge with his elbow. “Just…?”