Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
There’s laughter and cheering as we pretend to be Baby and Johnny from the movie. And when it’s time for the lift, Derek smiles at me before running toward me. I lift him into the air, holding him over my head, and I figure everyone’s cheering, but I can’t hear anything over the beat of my heart and the blood rushing through my ears.
Derek slides down my body, wrapping his arms around my shoulders as I spin, and we laugh and kiss.
Just like I knew it would be, everything is perfect.
“Are you kidding me? That was fucking awesome!” Cody says as he walks over with a hobbling Hayden.
“Eh, Gary and I could have done it better,” Travis teases, and I give him the bird.
“Oh, you wish,” Derek replies. “No one is looking better than me in that dance. We fucking nailed it!”
“I want to take dance lessons, Frankie!” Evan pleads, and Frankie hugs him.
“Spoiled pup,” he whispers.
There’s a lot of drinks after that—drinking and dancing. Derek doesn’t sit down the whole night. He teases me about being old when I want to rest, and where years before I worried about our age difference, I never do anymore. We both know who we are to each other.
Our crew is all sitting together at one point, and I look at our friends, all so different but so damn close.
Suddenly Finn comes rushing over and plops down on Cody’s lap before putting his legs in Hayden’s. “Hey, boys. Did you miss me?” he teases. “I brought the sailor uniform…”
We all laugh as Cody playfully pushes Finn off his lap. “I’m sure you can find two other guys to fill your hole if you’re looking. I don’t share anymore.”
Finn pretends to pout. “You know I tell everyone you’re together because of me, right? My ass is better than Match.com.” And then just like that, he flutters away.
“I still can’t believe you guys both fucked him.” Travis shakes his head.
With pink cheeks, Hayden replies, “It was like a hundred years ago!”
“Um…did everyone forget this is my day? It’s not supposed to be about Finn’s ass or anything else.”
“Finn who?” I tell Derek, just as Steph approaches.
“It’s time for the cake. Are you guys ready?” she asks.
Derek hops off my lap. “You had me at cake!”
There’s another announcement, letting everyone know what’s happening next, before we head to the cake table. “You know you’re getting cake in the face, right, Daddy?” Derek asks.
“Not if I get it in your face first.”
“What? It’ll fuck up my skin!”
I chuckle. “Your skin is fine, Bottom Boy.”
We cut the cake, each standing there with our piece, but before I can smash mine in Derek’s face, he runs from me. I chase him, and there’s laughter all around. He doesn’t get far before I wrap my arms around him and pull him close, smearing white cake and frosting all over his mouth before leaning in to lick it off.
“Oh,” he says, “I like this. Can we take some with us to our room tonight?”
I drop my head back and laugh, then kiss him, cake smearing between us, getting all over our clothes, but I don’t care. “God, I love you,” I tell him. “I always have fun with you, no matter what we’re doing. I don’t know how I got you, but I’m going to spend every day of my life making damn sure I deserve you.”
“You don’t have to try. We’re meant to be,” Derek replies, and I grin before I suddenly get a face full of cake too. This time, it’s him licking and kissing it off me as we laugh, the way I know we’re going to do for the rest of our lives.
11
Derek
I draw the curtains open to take a look at the lodge, not far from our chalet. It’s decked out in Christmas lights, with a Santa and reindeer-drawn sleigh decoration on the rooftop.
“Aw, I love Christmas,” I say. “Although, I’m definitely ready to be in Cancún right about now.”
We have one more night at the chalet, and then tomorrow morning we head to the airport for the honeymoon.
Jackson slips behind me, his hands sliding around me as he moves in close.
I feel a kiss against my neck, and then he kisses up to my ear, biting and nipping gently.
I roll my head back, and I’ve hardly turned to him before his lips are on mine, his tongue sliding into my mouth.
His scruff pricks against my cheeks just right as his hand travels up my body, sliding under my button-down, which I unbuttoned and uncuffed the moment we got into the lodge.
Jackson groans, and there’s just something about that reverberating sound against my eardrums that is like a fucking drug, shooting a surge of adrenaline through me, from my core to my fingertips.
“You need to get out of these,” he whispers as he tugs at my shirt placket.