6. Diego #4
“But now, I wish for the usual stuff, for Hannah to leave that asshole, for Nancy to live forever, for UF to accept me into their law program.” He glanced over briefly. “For a tall, handsome man with a checkered past to enter into my life.”
“Same,” Diego teased, and Wylie punched him lightly in the arm. Wylie was willing to keep it casual, and Diego appreciated that, but there might be the potential for something more than friendship. And not just sex either. “The fact that I’m a former felon doesn’t scare you off?” he asked.
“Nah, I like a little danger.” Diego shook his head at that, and Wylie continued more seriously, “I think you’re cool and you’re fine as hell. You’re easy to be around and fun to talk to. I’d like to date you, but I’m okay with just being friends. Whatever you want to do.”
Wylie was putting the ball in his court.
So much of his agency had been stripped away these past seven years, and he was just starting to exercise his own free will.
What did he want? Beyond just getting laid, he wanted to explore his sexuality with someone he could trust. Someone who was safe.
He wanted a friend too, a person he could confide in.
But he didn’t want to rush into anything or be pressured to give too much, too soon.
“You gotta go slow with me,” Diego warned. “Even then, I gotta do some work on myself. I’m not self-actualized yet.” Diego felt safe in saying it. Wylie was, among other things, a really good listener.
Wylie nodded. “Yeah, I’m probably not quite there yet, either. But I do love me a man who looks inward.”
Diego smiled at his cheek. “Unbelievable. The shit you say.”
“I’m a riot, I know. My mom always said so.”
“She was right.” Diego suddenly felt shy, horny, and confused, a strange cocktail he was starting to attribute to being in the presence of one Wylie Sommers. “Also, like I said, I’ve never done this before.”
“Wished on a star?” Wylie said, clearly playing dumb.
“Been in a relationship or even dated someone.”
Wylie grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I’m no expert either.
All of my relationships have ended like train wrecks, and it’s not because I’m a Gemini either.
” He paused there, as if self-reflecting.
“But, we’ll figure it out together, yeah?
And if you change your mind, no hard feelings. I’ve been told before that I’m a lot.”
“Or maybe you’re just enough,” Diego said.
“Maybe.” Wylie looked bashful all of a sudden. This was a risk for him too, being interested in a man like himself. Diego could be gruff at times and cold. He tended to detach when things got too personal. And his bad moods were no cakewalk either. But he wasn’t going to focus on the negative.
“I should probably get going,” Diego said and pulled out his phone to order a ride.
“Take my car,” Wylie insisted.
“What about you and Hannah?”
“I’ll borrow Nancy’s car in the morning and take Hannah back to her car.”
“How will I get your car back to you?”
“That family dinner is tomorrow, right?” Wylie asked.
“Yeah,” Diego said with a heavy sigh. Just the thought of it left him feeling emotionally depleted.
“You want me to go with you as backup? If it sucks, we can leave, no problem.”
Wylie was willing to endure it for him? But he really didn’t know what he was getting into. “Are you sure? I have a big family,” Diego warned.
“Free food right?” Wylie gave him one of those cavalier smiles. “Besides, gotta meet the parents some time.”
“Too fast,” Diego said, but he was grinning.
“Think about it. You have my number. You can let me know tomorrow. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
Wylie laid a hand on the back of his neck, similar to that night at the pit, and guided him down the stairs.
Diego wondered if the younger man liked to take charge in bed too, and would he like that?
The surge of desire coursing through him suggested that he might.
That part of him had been interrupted before it even had a chance to fully develop.
He didn’t even have a full picture of what he liked sexually.
Beside the car, Wylie unclipped the fob from his key ring and passed it over to Diego. “Take care of Charlene, all right?”
“Charlene? Yeah, I will. I’ll treat her like my own.”
They were standing close to each other now with the light from the motion sensor falling over Wylie’s masculine features, his face half in shadow.
His jaw was freshly shaven and military sharp.
His breath smelled sweet like cloves with a faint fume of vodka, and Diego wanted to know what he tasted like too.
But he’d told Wylie already to go slow, and he didn’t want to send mixed signals.
Still, the dark look in Wylie’s eyes told him the lustful feelings were mutual.
Wylie leaned his forehead against Diego’s. “See you tomorrow,” he said, then gave him the slightest brush of his lips at the corner of his mouth, enough that Diego wanted to chase that mouth with his own.
Instead, Diego got into the car and pretended to fiddle with the controls while Wylie slowly backed away and climbed the deck steps, watching him pull out of the gravel drive with a smirk on his face and eyes that knew too much.
As Diego left the island behind and crossed the bridge heading back toward the mainland, he was struck by a haunting certainty that everything was about to change–a storm brewing on the horizon. Something beautiful or something terrible? Diego honestly didn’t know.