Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
“Hey, babe, you want to call for room service before the kitchen shuts down?” River wanted a snack. Um lanche.
The front desk staff had delivered a bottle of champagne with two glasses and a couple of noisemakers about an hour ago, leaving it on the front porch.
River had to laugh at that because he would swear there was nobody actually alive at this lodge.
They had to all be ghosts or something. Because they never saw anybody, but they had been fed and given tons of little presents over the last few days, and he couldn’t bitch about it.
“Sure, what kind of stuff do you want? Just finger food?”
Bohdi had been the one to suggest both of them extending their holiday until New Year’s.
The lodge seemed to be perfectly okay with giving them their room for those extra days, and Bohdi hadn’t been going back to work until the third anyway, so it was perfect.
River worked for himself. Well, maybe for his dad would be more accurate, but it didn’t matter; he wasn’t a 9-to-5 kind of guy.
“Yeah, I’m sure they can come up with something fun for us to have. Even if they just send little sandwiches cut into pieces or pigs in a blanket, I’ll be happy.”
“Cool.” Bohdi winked at him and called the front desk. “You’ve got the champagne chilling right?” he asked while he waited for them to answer.
River nodded. “Just waiting for midnight.”
Bohdi ordered food, and the next thing they knew, they were back together again, just hanging out, snuggling, which was something he loved. Otters liked to snuggle anyway, and they liked to hold hands. All that stuff people saw on the zoo cams with otters holding humans’ hands? It was true.
Beyond all of that, being with Bohdi left this warm fuzzy feeling in his chest — not the kind that came from having a fever and a deep lung infection, but the kind that came from being with someone he wanted to be with and not wanting to give this up.
“Do you have any fun traditions on New Year’s Eve?” River asked. He didn’t feel terrible pressure to speak with Bohdi, but he wanted to know more every day about this man.
“My family always just drinks a little bit of champagne and then turns into pumpkins right after midnight. My dad bitches about the fireworks everyone sets off, and my mom packs all the food away in plastic wrap. I tend to hide in the guest room until it’s time for me to go back where I belong.
” Bohdi’s wry chuckle just scraped over his nerves a little bit.
He wished that Bohdi sounded happier. He supposed it had to be hard to be the only shifter who didn’t shift in a family who did.
But had they really made Bohdi feel that bad about himself?
“My family is big and boisterous and does food all the way up until the midnight hour. My folks love to watch those silly New Year’s shows that used to have that Dick Clark guy, and now I think it’s someone else, Ryan Seacrest maybe?
I don’t know.” His dad also brought some Brazilian traditions with him. But really, it was all about the wine.
“So, what do we want to do tonight?” Bohdi asked.
River chuckled, patting Bohdi’s belly. “Well, since it’s just the two of us, nobody’s gonna care whether we stay up till midnight or not. I thought we’d ring in the new year making love.”
Bohdi’ cheeks heated, flushing a nice deep pink, and River had to admit he admired that. He loved a man who could blush.
“I think that sounds amazing. I’ve never done that before.”
“Neither have I, truth be told.” River shrugged. “I never wanted to spend the holidays with anybody but my family until you. So I think that we’re charting new territory.”
Bohdi cupped his cheek in one hand, staring into his eyes. “I guess we both were here to be alone huh?” he said. “I’m glad you’re here River. I’m glad we didn’t have to spend the holiday apart. I thought it was a mistake, but I think it was fate.”
He took Bohdi’s hand in his and kissed the center of Bohdi’s palm. “I think so too,” he said. “I’m glad it’s you, Bohdi. I can’t imagine having spent the holidays with anyone else.”
Now he just had to figure out after New Years how to make Bohdi keep in touch with him and until he could figure out how to get him and his mate in the same place permanently.