Chapter 13
“Listen,I’m against body-shaming. So please know that I’m not body-shaming you when I say this, but you’re too thin.”
Price glances up from the instructions to his newest Lego set while I eat alone on the other side of his kitchen table. These days, it’s hard to see the old version of him where he always wore suits and tamed his waves with hair gel. The man, gazing back at me, drinking his juice, has wayward hair, a wrinkled gray T-shirt, and sweatpants. I have never seen Price Milloy in sweats. Designer activewear? Yes.
All he does is drink juice and look like an imposter. And it feels unbearable keeping my mouth shut, but it’s just as unbearable to ask him the question I don’t want the answer to.
Price blinks several times before returning his attention to the instructions. “You’ve mentioned this before now. I agree. But I feel better than when I was twenty pounds heavier.”
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I nod. “That’s good, I suppose.”
“Yeah,” he mumbles absentmindedly, “I think so too.”
“How would you feel about me fixing you up on a date?”
He stops stone still.
Despite my instinct to give him an out, I wait to say I’m kidding.
“According to you, I’m too thin. Do you think it’s a good idea for me to date when I’m too thin? Perhaps we should hold off on double-dating until your boyfriend helps me get buff.”
“What makes you think Koen’s my boyfriend?”
“The way you look at him.”
I finish the last bite of my pasta salad. “How do I look at him?”
“The way you used to look at me.” He waves a hand in the air without looking up at me. “You know. All doe-eyed and flushed with uncontrolled desire.”
I cough and take a sip of water. “That’s ridiculous.”
“I agree. You shouldn’t be so obvious, but I know you can’t control it.”
“Price Henry Milloy, you are so full of shit.”
He chuckles. “I’m not. I went poop less than an hour ago. I’m a six on the Bristol Stool Chart, but I was a seven last week, so I’m making progress.”
“Look at me.”
He glances up.
I point to my face. “See? No doe eyes. No flushed face. Discussing where you are on the Bristol Stool Chart is not sexy.”
His brow furrows. “Do you want me to be sexy for you? Are you rethinking the threesome?”
“Play with your Legos, little boy. I have to head home.” I stand and pull on my hoodie.
Price grins. “See you tomorrow, boss lady.”
“Mmm. Good luck with your next bowel movement.” I head toward the door.
“If I had a phone, I’d send you a picture.”
“Do I want to know why you don’t have a phone?” I slip on my shoes.
“Probably not.”
I hold my breath while quickly wiping the corners of my eyes. All these years later, Price Milloy is still my biggest weakness.
A little beforeten that night, I pull around the corner to the back of the general store. A white truck is parked next to my trailer. He said he wasn’t coming home until Saturday.
I barely get my truck in Park before leaping out and running to his driver’s door. As I reach for the handle, he opens it and slides out of the seat.
Too cool.
Too slowly.
Toobasically everything that I am not.
I throw my arms around him.
“Whoa!” He laughs, hugging me.
A tiny voice in the rational part of my brain tells me to slow it down.
“Where were you?”
I give the middle finger to that tiny voice while I kiss his neck up to his ear. “Watching Price put together a Lego set.”
Koen stiffens.
“Don’t,” I say with a heavy breath. “We’re just friends.” I kiss him.
He hesitates for a second until my tongue slides along his lower lip, and he opens his mouth to give me a real kiss.
I unbutton his jeans and slide down his zipper.
Holding my face, he breaks our kiss and tips his chin, watching me tease my fingers over his briefs. “Are we doing it here or going inside?” He lifts his gaze along with a questioning eyebrow.
The string lights along the trailer’s retractable awning illuminate the area quite well. And the store has a security camera at the back door that comes close to catching where we are.
“We’d better go inside,” I say just before kissing him again as if I don’t mean it.
He hikes me around his waist and carries me toward the trailer while I fish the key from my pocket. We stumble through the open door, and my butt hits the counter, knocking a few dishes into the sink.
“Looks like I need to clean your kitchen again,” he says between labored breaths while shrugging off his shirt and ridding me of my shirt and bra.
“Shut up,” I mumble, curling my fingers into his hair and tugging it until he ducks his head and gives my breasts the attention they need.
He chuckles, teasing my nipples with his teeth before sucking so hard I nearly orgasm.
“Goddamn …” I arch my back.
Again, he chuckles.
“Stop laughing,” I say … while laughing.
He lifts me off the counter and turns me so my hands press against the cabinets.
“Baby, if I don’t laugh a little,” he pulls my cotton joggers and underwear down my legs, “I’ll fucking come before I get my dick out of my pants because you’re so damn sexy.” He sinks his teeth into my bare ass.
I jerk my hips.
Koen’s mouth devours my skin, kissing the entire length of my body. When he stands, kissing my shoulder, the bulge in his briefs rubs along my backside. His hands claim my breasts for a moment before one hand slides down my belly between my legs.
I release a soft moan as his finger glides along my sensitive flesh.
His hips rock into me several times, and I push back against him, turning my head and kissing him. Then I turn my whole body, and we make a clumsy retreat to my bed.
“Scottie,” he murmurs, dragging his lips at my neck.
Raw need hijacks my body’s ability to see or hear clearly. “Huh?”
“Your bed.”
“What?”
“Your bed is …”
I crane my neck, glancing over my shoulder.
Oh my god.
It’s covered with materials and supplies for making my jewelry.
“Uh … just give me one sec.” I snag containers from the floor and grab fists of stones and beads.
Koen sits on the edge of the bed and rakes his fingers through his hair.
“I’m so sorry.” I don’t want to throw everything in the same container. Yes, I’m a mess, but I’m an organized mess.
After I clear half the bed, he plops back and tosses an arm over his eyes.
I cringe. How sexy am I? Flailing around naked in a panic to get my bed clean before the mood is lost.
As soon as I get the stones in their containers, I slide the rest of the supplies into a shoe box and nudge it with my foot into the cubby under the bed. And then it’s quiet, save for Koen”s steady, audible breaths. I can’t see his eyes, but he’s asleep, shirtless with his jeans unfastened, and the erection behind his briefs looks to be relaxing into a slumber as well.
I cover my face with my hands and contemplate crying. Then I consider waking him up. Finally, I slip on his discarded shirt, turn off the lights, and curl up beside him on the bed.
Hours later, I wake with a tiny gasp, feeling a little disoriented and a lot …
Oh god.
Aroused.
My hips adjust to the calloused hands, spreading my bent knees a little wider. The warm, wet tongue teasing between my legs pulls a tiny gasp from my open mouth. Silky strands of hair tangle with my fingers when I reach for Koen’s head between my legs.
My other hand grips the sheet as he hums. When he crawls up my body, he takes the T-shirt with him, drawing it over my head and tossing it onto the floor. My hands skate along his back, soft skin, and hard muscles to his butt.
He’s naked.
Our gazes meet in the dim streetlight that’s made its way through the gap between the shades.
“Hi,” he whispers with that irresistible smile.
“Hi.” I grin just before he kisses me while lowering his body until his hips are cradled between my legs and the head of his erection slides across my clit. He repeats this over and over while we kiss, his tongue becoming more demanding with each stroke and each tiny lift of my hips off the mattress.
“Is this okay?” he asks in a restrained voice.
I nod, and he fills me.
This is living. Euphoria is my drug of choice.
“God … that feels good.” I close my eyes.
Sex is a basic human instinct. Why do we complicate life?
Good food.
Good friends.
A sunny day.
Mind-blowing sex.
Koen’s lips bend into a smile when he kisses me. My fingers dig into his flesh because I want him to know how much I love this. This is a moment—a really good one. Our bodies search for pleasure, moving together like we were made to do. My lips part with unrestrained moans until I release, drowning in endorphins. Koen quickly follows and collapses on top of me.
“So …” I pant. “So, so good …”
He rolls to his back with a chuckle as we catch our breaths.
After a few minutes, I lean to the side and kiss his chest. “Be right back.”
When I return from the bathroom, Koen sits up, legs hanging over the side of the bed. He pulls me between them and kisses the swell of my breasts while his hands skate up the back of my legs to my butt.
“Wanna do it again?” I ask, teasing the hair around his ears.
“Hell yeah.”