Chapter 8 #2
He wasn’t studying the drawings anymore, he was watching me, a slow, wicked smile spreading across his face. He set my phone down on the bench beside the hot tub, sank back into the water, submerging himself up to his chin.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The snow continued to fall around us, the hot tub jets bubbled and churned, and somewhere in the distance, an owl called into the night.
Wade’s face broke into a grin so wide and genuine it was almost blinding.
“What?” I asked.
“I’ve always thought that it was a timing issue with Lucky and me. That if I waited until the time is right, she’d see it like I did. But now? I know the truth.”
“What truth?”
“Lucky couldn’t see how attracted she was to me until she met you. Our third. The other part of our throuple. It’s destiny.”
I rolled my eyes, even as something in my chest tightened. “Destiny? That’s where you’re going with this?”
He smirked. “This is the next logical step.”
I took a beat, summoning my sarcasm. “Logic? Are we sure you know what that word means?”
Wade winked, his expression pure mischief. “Don’t bullshit me. I noticed how much you’re into it. You’re a premium tier subscriber. And you sent her a tip for that drawing of you sucking my cock.”
“That’s—” I started, stopped, because what was I going to say? He was right.
Under the water, Wade shifted closer, sliding his foot against my leg.
Something in his expression had changed.
The goofy, cheerful Wade had fallen away, revealing something else.
Something darker, more focused. There was a heat in his gaze, a hunger that made my mouth go dry and my cock stir beneath the bubbling water.
“Lucky is drawing her fantasy. And you’ve been paying for it because it’s what you want, too.”
I couldn’t stop looking at him. Couldn’t form words. My entire body seemed like it was vibrating at a frequency off from normal, and I was acutely aware of every point where Wade’s body was touching mine, knee against knee, the occasional brush of his foot against my calf.
“I can see you’re freaking out, so I’m going to stop pushing. I’ll just let it settle in.”
“I don’t—” I began, but my words cracked embarrassingly.
Wade smiled, slow and knowing. “You know I’m right.”
It was too much. The heat, the snow, Wade’s eyes on me, the memory of Lucky’s drawings burning in my brain. I took a deep breath and slid under the water, shutting it all out. The world went muffled and blue, jets pulsing against my skin, my heartbeat thundering in my ears.
I stayed under until my lungs burned, until the need for air forced me back to the surface. When I emerged, pushing wet hair out of my eyes, Wade was watching me with a patient, amused expression.
“Better?” he asked.
“No.” Water streamed down my face. “I don’t know what the fuck is happening.”
Wade laughed, the sound warm and genuine. “That’s fair. It’s a lot to process. I remember that sexuality can evolve over time. Sexuality isn’t binary. It’s a spectrum. And sometimes it takes the right person to make you realize where you fall on it.”
I stared at him for a long moment, not sure if I should fight this or go with it. There was something in Wade’s easy charm, his simple acceptance that made it easy to imagine giving in.
“Fine. I may want to… play doctor with you.”
Wade bit his bottom lip, eyeing me. “You shouldn’t dive into this. Take some time, think about it. I’ll be here waiting.”
I stared at him, at the snowflakes catching in his hair, at the easy confidence in his posture. “What about you being in love with Lucky?”
“I have plenty of love to go around.”
Something in my chest twisted, a longing so sharp it was almost painful.
It had been months since I’d felt anything this intensely, this urgently.
Months of gray nothingness, and now there was color and heat and want.
Her art and wicked fantasies. His boldness and willingness to lead me down this path.
Wade planted his hands on the edge of the hot tub and pushed himself up in one smooth motion, water cascading off him as he stood.
I stared. I couldn’t help it. Because he was fucking gorgeous.
He didn’t rush, reached for his towel on the railing with the unhurried ease of someone comfortable in his own skin, water still running in sheets down his chest, his stomach, the long line of his back.
The way his swim trunks clung to the impressive bulge between his legs, still half-hard and tenting the fabric.
He was fucking attractive. Not in the abstract, intellectually-acknowledged way I’d been managing for weeks. In the physical way, the kind where your brain stops making excuses for what your body knows.
He toweled his hair, steam rising off his shoulders in the cold air, and didn’t look back at me.
“Take your time,” he said.
“What if I don’t want to wait?”
Wade smirked at me. “If you’d been ready, you would have admitted you weren’t straight when I first asked. As much as I want you, I don’t want to have to pry it out of you every time or fight your internalized homophobia. When you’re ready, and you’re open to the experience, I’ll be here.”
He picked up his phone from the bench, slid the door open, and was gone.
I sat in the hot tub for a long time after, the jets churning, the snow falling, the mountain dark beyond the deck. Under the water, I slipped my hand between my legs, closed my eyes, and imagined what it would be like to press my lips to that big cock and make him moan.