Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
>>Shawn: My cousin’s teenage daughter gave me a temporary tattoo at a family picnic that weekend. Why? You like tats?
>>Rush: Maybe. Sometimes.
>>Shawn: I’ll be sure to get your name tattooed on my ass, cuddle buddy.
>>Rush: Fuck off. The second pic is best, by the way. You look hot as hell, but also sweet. Go with it.
“Look at you,” Nathan was saying, looking over at me from across the blueprint plans.
“Sorry. Shouldn’t be texting during our very professional meeting.”
“Text whenever you want. What I’m more curious about is that smitten look on your face,” Nathan said, waggling his eyebrows. “Who are you chatting with? You got a hot hook up on deck?”
“In this town?” I asked. “The only action around here is when there’s a bear in your backyard instead of a deer.”
“The wrong kind of bear,” Nathan said. “Small towns definitely have a different vibe. To be honest, I’m surprised you didn’t walk out there and try to hit on the guys hauling the sink.”
I waved a hand. “No need.”
“You really haven’t been with anyone since moving here?” Nathan asked. “I didn’t think you’d make it a few days, let alone this long.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “There was one guy,” I said. “It was a pretty hot night. Not sure if we’ll do it again, though.”
“I knew it,” Nathan said. “So there was a guy. Why not do it again?”
I watched Nathan, suddenly feeling very put on the spot. It was strange, because for almost our whole lives, Nathan and I had shared everything. I’d call him up and tell him all about my exploits and adventures, never hesitating for a moment.
But I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I’d spent a night with his brother. Nathan had always been so protective of Shawn when we were growing up, back when Shawn had been scrawny and then when he was freshly out of the closet. Shawn was far from helpless these days, but for some reason, I couldn’t get it out of my head.
“Just wouldn’t work out,” I finally said. “He said he wanted a cuddle buddy, but I think deep down he wants a steady boyfriend.”
“Oh, you definitely shouldn’t see him again, then,” Nathan said, grimacing.
“Because?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Someone who wants a steady boyfriend should not be with you,” Nathan said. “You’d just break his heart.”
I shifted on the desk chair, running my fingers over a knot in the wooden table. “I guess so,” I said.
There it was, plain and simple. The kind of thing I would have readily agreed with, just a few months ago.
I was bad for someone who wanted a long-term relationship. Nathan wasn’t wrong, and it was something I’d declared loudly and proudly for years.
So why did it feel different today? Just because I was getting excited over texts from Shawn?
“You just need to take your own advice that you’ve been giving to Shawn,” Nathan said. “Get on some apps.”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” I said. “I’ve spent years on the apps, and at this point I’d rather just try my luck at meeting guys around town.”
“Shawn’s finally been enjoying the apps, I think,” Nathan said casually. “He says there are some hotties on there.”
I snorted. “You sure about that? Because he’s been telling me that he hates it.”
Nathan was giving me a mischievous sideways glance, like he knew something that I didn’t. “I wouldn’t be so sure. He was talking about a hot hookup he had last week, too.”
I cleared my throat, feeling my skin heat up a little bit. “Oh yeah?”
“The boy finally got lucky. Very lucky, from the sound of it. He could hardly talk about it.”
That’s because it was me.
It was me who fucked him that good and he didn’t want to tell you, I thought, biting my tongue.
“Good for him,” I said.
“So your dating advice is at least working a little bit for him, even if it was just a casual thing,” Nathan said. “Anyway, I’m sure he’ll tell you more about it tonight. Shawn can’t keep a secret to save his life.”
13
SHAWN
“Sadie,” I said as my sister’s sheepdog tackled me the moment I entered my parents’ house. I ruffled my hands through her hair, giving her all of the love and pets she deserved. “I see Lindsay still hasn’t trained you at all. And that’s okay.”
“She refuses to train her, so it’s lucky she got such a sweet dog,” my younger brother Tristan said as he came over to the entryway to give me a hug. “Good to see you, Shawn.”
I gave him a good, long hug. Tristan had always been a bit of a black sheep in our family, spending years away from the rest of us over in Kansas. But recently, he’d found love with his best friend Jack, and both of them had moved back here to Colorado. It was amazing getting to see my younger brother again more often.