6. Blake
Chapter six
Blake
O ne minute, I’m nursing a beer, wishing Jace had been able to stay for another night. The next, a striking man with bubble gum pink hair is at my side, and for the second morning in a row, I’m not alone when I wake up.
I’d like to claim that’s because I was feeling lonely without Jace’s company, but the truth is I was just as drawn to Kane as I had been to Jace, and I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Up until last night, I was half convinced Jace would play a role in my future.
The way we clicked—in bed and out—I’ve never experienced that before.
The only reason I didn’t latch onto it and try to force another encounter is because in my gut I feel like that’s bound to happen with his best friend living in my hometown.
Then I met Kane, and it was a lightning strike all over again.
I didn’t want to admit it at first because it felt like that would be betraying Jace, even though you can’t betray someone you aren’t technically with.
But the pull toward Kane was just as strong.
It’s a damn good thing the timeline played out the way it did, because if they were both around at the same time, I’m not sure I’d have had the privilege to be with either one of them.
And even though it was just for a night—consecutive nights, which still weirds me out a little—each of those encounters left a mark on me.
Jace is confident, sexy, and fun, and while it makes zero sense, I can’t help feeling like he knows me as profoundly as I know myself. Like we recognize and understand each other on a meaningful level.
Kane is an interesting mix of bold and timid, almost as if his instinct is to be outgoing but he second guesses it.
He’s a brave soul under that soft outer shell, and I get the sense he’s rediscovering himself after some sort of trauma.
It's clear he’s been hurt before, which makes me want to wrap him in my arms and shield him from the world.
He doesn’t need that, though. He can hold his own, in conversation and in bed, where he's both ravenous and adventurous.
We got back to my room and straight up devoured each other, fucking against the wall as we kissed each other senseless because we were too turned on to make it to the bed.
The next round was less frenzied, though it was a bit of a revelation since he did things I didn’t know were physically possible, and the round after that was…
I’m not entirely sure what it was since I’ve never done anything besides fuck, but the gentle glide of our bodies, the way he cradled me and held me tight, our faces hovering so close we shared each other’s air as we came…
It sounds cheesy as hell, but I swear I felt that orgasm in my chest, and not in a ' catch your breath after a workout' kind of way but in a ' did you feel that too' kind of way.
By then we were too tired to go again, yet neither of us seemed to want the night to end.
We ended up talking, and by some unspoken agreement, we didn’t delve too much into personal details.
It's almost as if we purposely danced around revealing subjects, knowing it'd make saying goodbye harder.
But we talked about places we want to travel to, scars we discovered on our bodies, and his strange fascination with flamingos.
Kane did confess to being scarred by a former relationship, not in so many words, but by his actions that was obvious, and I admitted to never being in one before, which led to my current predicament…
lying here with Kane in my arms, which feels just as right as waking up next to Jace did.
How is that even possible? Throughout my entire life I’ve believed things would unfold the way they’re meant to, and in the span of two days I meet two different people I feel instantly connected to. Why is the universe fucking with me?
The only reason I’m not totally losing my shit right now is because neither Jace nor Kane live in Katah Vista. That’s the only thing keeping me out of some taboo love triangle, because God knows if either, or both of them, lived anywhere near me I’d want more . A lot more.
Clearly, I’m in a vulnerable place right now.
I was prepared to live my life as a single man who survived on secret trysts with tourists, only to be teased with the possibility of something more when people back home started coming out.
And now that I’ve let myself fantasize about a different sort of life than the one I had braced myself for, my imagination is running wild.
Get a grip Blake.
Though incredible, what’s happened over the past two nights still amounts to a one night stand.
These encounters might be profound for me, but for all I know, the connections I feel are one-sided.
Or I’m feeling them more deeply than my partners are.
Either way, I need to stop reeling over these two people who are each making me yearn for more.
My watch vibrates on my wrist, signaling it’s time for me to get up so I can make my flight. I reach over Kane to silence it, and movement makes him stir, nuzzling his face against my chest. Damn, that feels nice.
“Morning.” I kiss the top of his head .
“Morning.” Sinewy arms reach above his head as he stretches, the sheet drifting lower until the tiny thatch of blond hair around his belly button is visible. It takes all my willpower not to follow that hair to where it dips underneath the sheet with my fingers. “What time is it?”
“Seven.” Instead, I run a finger along his arm as he drops them back to his side. So smooth . “I’d ask you to go to breakfast, but I have to get to the airport.”
“Do you have time for a shower?” He twists toward me to run his fingers over my chest.
“If I knew that was on the table, I’d have woken you up earlier.” I run my fingers through his hair, committing the unique color to memory . “I can’t miss my flight, though.”
Kane places a soft kiss on my pec before rolling away to get dressed. A part of me is relieved I’m still in bed because that sweet little gesture would’ve made my knees buckle.
As he’s dressing, I pull on my boxers so I can walk him to the door, though the sight of his calves sandwiched between his bike shorts and socks nearly has me rethinking that shower.
Sleek and strong – I love that combination.
I hold out my hand and he takes it, allowing me to pull him against my body.
“I’ve only done the morning-after goodbye thing once, so I sort of suck at it.” I brush his disheveled morning hair away from his face and place a gentle kiss on his lips.
“You’re doing fine so far.” He borrows my words from last night, looking up at me with a smile I know is forced.
Damn… I wish I knew what to do here. I don’t have the same gut feeling about seeing him again that I did with Jace, which makes me tempted to do something to change it.
That would hardly be fair to him when I have no intention of leaving Katah Vista though, which le aves me in the same place I was yesterday morning, at the mercy of whatever fate or the universe have in store.
“I’m sure it sounds cheesy, but I really do hope I’ll see you again one day.” Despite being totally lame, that feels like the only safe thing to say.
“I hope so, too.” He rises up on his toes to give me one last kiss. “Bye, Blake.”
“Bye.” I hold the door open so he can walk out, closing it before I’m tempted to see if he looks back. Then I get dressed and throw my shit in my bag, trying not to acknowledge that I’m suddenly reluctant to go home.
***
I don’t even drop my bags at my place. Instead, I beeline for Murphy’s, my favorite restaurant, to grab a bite to eat and distract myself from the thoughts running through my head.
I’m no stranger to casual hookups, but I’ve never had one—let alone two—that stuck with me after it was over.
More importantly, can I even classify what happened with Jace and Kane as casual?
I might’ve had just one night with each of them, but those nights felt meaningful.
I mean, pillow talk, cuddling, goodbye kisses—those are the kinds of things you do when the other person is important to you, I think.
Could either of them be important after only one night?
Could they both be? My brain wants to say no; there’s no logic to that train of thought.
My gut is still undecided. Why else would I still be thinking of two people I can’t have ?
Lost in my head my feet take me halfway to my favorite barstool before I register my name being called. Turning toward the sound, I find Axel, Deacon, Cade, Ryder and Carter sitting at a corner table.
“How was the trip?” Cade offers me a fist bump. I shoot Carter a confused glance as I press my knuckles against Cade’s.
“I told the guys I sent you to Utah to check out a bike park,” Carter confirms. Wow he’s got twelve percent of a plan and he’s sharing it with everyone? He’s come a long way from the days where he kept all his ideas to himself.
Pulling up a chair I sit at the head of the table and answer Cade. “It was great, actually. The bike park is amazing.”
“That’s one of Jace’s favorite downhill parks.” Axel reaches for a fry from a basket they’re all sharing. “Did you see him there? He said he was gonna hit the mountain a few days before meeting me at the next competition.”
“I did, actually. We grabbed a beer.” I turn to flag down a server before my expression can give anything away. Even though Axel knows about Jace, I’m not sure that means it’s okay to say anything beyond what I just did. And I definitely don’t need the rest of the guys to notice anything weird.
“Well, what did you learn?” Carter prompts after I place my order.