Chapter 21 Ian
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
IAN
Callum is broken.
Or at least his legs are. He’s standing motionless, not even two steps into the entryway of the lake house.
“You said this is a cabin,” he finally says, roving his head from one end of the place to the other.
I stretch, releasing the tension from the three-hour drive. “Only in the winter. I call it a lake house in the summer.”
“This is…wow. Holy crap.”
“It’s wow, and it’s all ours for the week. Let’s unpack and enjoy it.” I nudge my bags further into the house.
The first order of business is locking the wildlife gun away. While I’m properly trained, I don’t exactly like carrying a gun around. Still, it’s somewhat sensible, given where we are—the last thing I want is to hit a deer and leave it to die a slow death in the middle of the road.
Callum doesn’t move from the entryway, as if he isn’t allowed to come in, so I bring an arm down and nudge him forward.
Do I shove him from the ass on purpose? Yes, yes, I do.
It’s a real fucking nice ass, and I’m not above wanting my hands on it.
His face lights up whenever I do, too, so if it makes him happy, I’m game.
“Let me give you a tour,” I say, sliding my hand up to the small of his back.
He nods, and we put our bags down in my bedroom before I show him the house. He takes a peek outside, but it’s already dark, so there isn’t much to see.
“So, is there anything you want to do first?” I ask.
He shrugs. “What are our options?”
“Let’s go for a dip.”
Not laughing at Callum’s alarmed expression is an exercise in willpower.
“It’s what, forty degrees out? No way,” he says.
“Not in the lake, buddy. In the hot tub. I turned it on before we left our place, so it should be all toasty.”
He parts his lips and stares at me. “You have a hot tub.”
“Oh yeah. And it doubles as a pool in the summer. Let’s go.”
“Did you bring trunks? I don’t have any.”
“Neither do I,” I reply, lifting my shirt off. “You could wear your straight dude boxers if you want—”
Callum snorts and rolls his eyes.
“—or we could go naked. We’re alone, it’s night, and the closest neighbors are a mile away.” I step out of my jeans and hook my thumbs under the waistband of my underwear, relishing in his flustered blinking. “Care to join me?”
I turn around and discard my underwear before I hear rustling clothes and fabric hitting the floor behind me.
Hell yeah.
As much as the prospect of making out with a naked Callum in the hot tub is taking up most of my brain at this point, he’s still the first person I’ve been able to bring to the cabin—that isn’t lost on me.
And he’s putting up with my clingy ass, too. I couldn’t ask for more.
I swivel my head around to steal a blatant, appreciative look at Callum.
Biting my tongue and smiling, I relish the way his dick stiffens as I rake my eyes over his body that I can’t get enough of.
I take a step closer, debating whether to save the hot tub for later in favor of christening my lake house bed with its first, and hopefully only, new guest right fucking now.
It’s always a brutal dilemma. I’m constantly torn between wanting to get all cozy and soft with Callum and having him pin me against the wall so I can ravish his mouth and some other parts.
Nope. We can be feral idiots at home.
Not wanting to wait any more, I saunter to the door and press the button to open the pool cover before nipping out.
Ouch. Fricking fuckballs, it’s cold.
With all the desperation of a guy freezing his nuts off, I sink into the warm water and let out an exaggerated sigh. Callum follows soon afterward, not making nearly as much of a scene as I did.
Such a showoff, this one. His ego is tiny, and the rest of him—
I can be polite. I can be polite. I can be polite.
“This place is sick,” Callum says.
“It really is, but wait ‘til you see this.” I straddle his wonderful thick thighs in an unnecessary, gratuitous move, and reach behind him to open the outdoor refrigerator. “I’m grabbing us drinks. Beer or seltzer?”
Pausing to wait for a reply, I stay firmly planted on his lap. His pupils are blown wide, and his plush lips are apart—he’s the perfect combo of adorable and sexy, and making his mind go blank sends my affection and libido into the damn stratosphere.
“Sure,” he says, and I bark out a laugh.
“That’s not an answer, buddy.” I tilt my head, teasing him. “Why aren’t you paying attention?”
Yeah, I’m not above fishing for compliments. Sue me.
“You’re turning me on like hell,” he says, letting out a quiet groan. “How do you expect me to focus when you’re pressed up against me like…” Callum motions between us.
I cock an eyebrow, moving my face closer to his and brushing our noses together. “How? Like this?” My hands travel down his sides as I grind into his hips, sliding our hard cocks together.
“Uh-huh—” he starts, and I cut him off by smashing my lips against his, extracting a surprised little yelp from his throat that makes my dick beg for more action. I don’t need the beer in the fridge behind him to get drunk—his addictive kisses do all the work, minus the hangover.
Still, I don’t know how to clean cum out of a hot tub, and I’m not trying to find out, so I force myself to pull back after a final, satisfying roam around his soft mouth. Besides, we just got in.
“Anyway, it’s beer time and wholesome relaxation time.” I hand a beer from the fridge to Callum and check my watch for dramatic effect. “Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”
“Okay,” he mutters. “I’m so hard it hurts.”
“Aww, you’re horny. What else is new?” I tease, and he scoffs, pressing his cold bottle to the back of my neck and making me scream.
I don’t retaliate—I actually want to tone things down a little, so I settle beside him and stick a wet arm around his shoulder instead.
“Man, we’re gonna have so much fun this week. ”
The way Callum nestles his head into my neck has gotta be the cutest thing about him.
“Thanks for inviting me. I’m always so freaking happy when I’m with you.”
Scratch that—Callum’s sweet little mouth is the cutest thing about him. How is it that he always manages to say exactly what I want to hear?
“You’re so precious,” I murmur. “Such a sweet talker.”
He tenses, and doubt skewers my chest. “It’s because I like you, Ian. I like you a lot.”
Oh. He was scared of getting emotional.
I try not to smile like a creep, choosing to kiss his forehead instead. “I do too, if I haven’t made it clear.”
“It’s so clear,” he says. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, sure.” I nod, not knowing what to expect.
“I know it hasn’t been that long, but…” Callum runs a hand down his face, pulling away, but avoiding eye contact. “Yeah, so I’d want to, shit, be, like…” He trails off, motioning between us with his large hands.
Holy—does he want to make things official?
I’m out here taking it slow and trying not to scare him off, and he goes ahead and moves things along himself.
My chest is so full, yet so apprehensive at the same time, because the last time a guy started a sentence with something along the lines of “it hasn’t been that long,” he ended it with asking if I was cool taking it raw.
Freshman year was ass.
“Want me to finish that sentence for you?” I ask, and Callum nods. “You want to be together.”
The silence that follows lets a nugget of doubt weasel into my brain.
Please, please let that be what you were trying to say.
He picks at the label on his beer bottle and returns my nervous smile. “Yeah.” He sucks in a breath, averting his gaze. “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”
Is there a stronger word than “yes”?
I stick a finger under his chin and lift, returning his gorgeous eyes to my line of sight. “Of course I want that. I’ve wanted to be with you for ages.”
That smile! Oh my god. My boyfriend’s smile is electric, and I can’t hold back from kissing it. Him. Kissing him. My boyfriend. Kissing my boyfriend.
“Not that you weren’t already great, but I know you’re gonna be an amazing boyfriend,” I murmur. “Our friends are gonna be thrilled.”
Callum tenses up, so I trail my hands down and rub circles into his lats with my thumbs, making his solid body soften under my touch.
“I don’t know if I want to tell anyone else just yet,” he says. “Like, I’m really close to getting comfortable with coming out some more, but I’ll need a little time.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll wait for you.” Sensing an imminent apology, I press my mouth against Callum’s to cut him off. As much as I want to hard-launch my man on social media immediately and tell the world that we’re dating, I want him to be happy even more.
“Isn’t it supposed to be wholesome time now?” he mumbles through his busy lips.
“Fuck that.” I kiss Callum harder. “You’re the best, and now you’re my boyfriend.”
We pull back to breathe, pressing our foreheads together.
“Ooh, right,” he says. “We should consummate our bond later.”
I lose it. Callum has to hold me up by my underarms because I can’t help but keel over, laughing my head off, and that’s one of the last things you want to do when you’re chest-deep in water.
“Oh yes, my dearest,” I choke out between my borderline cackling. “Shall we make our union whole in the sacred water of this hot tub?”
“Yup. We gotta seal the deal.” He reaches for my cock, and I swat his hand away, even though the temptation to let him take me apart right here is threatening to overpower my few remaining scraps of common sense.
“You,” I say, jabbing Callum in the chest, “are the biggest menace I’ve ever met. But I can’t blame you.”
He raises an eyebrow at me, so I continue.
“Because, you know, sex feels ten times better when you're in a relationship.”
His face lights up. “Really?”
Holding back another round of laughter is a struggle, and I splash water at him as a distraction. “Not ten times better, but you should see your face!” I say, splashing Callum again for good measure. “I've created a monster.”
“Oh yeah? I'll show you a monster.”