Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Kage chuckled. “We both know I have my vices. One of them in particular is becoming impossible to resist.” He braced his feet on the edge of my seat, his boots just brushing my thighs. “But then you’re well aware of that, aren’t you?”
I felt the room closing in on me. Why did he have to say things that sounded so much like innuendo? And he was so damn good at it, aiming that sexy half-smirk across the table at me. It was getting to the point that every time he looked at me with an ounce of intent, my dick started getting hard— like it was right there in the old-fashioned hamburger joint beneath the gray Formica table top.
I need to get to the bathroom. Get myself under control.
I made a move to get up, but Kage was a step ahead of me as usual. Before I could do much more than twitch, he’d secured my forearm to the table with his strong grip. “Eat your burger. It’s getting cold.”
He wasn’t so much forceful as he was resolute, and I couldn’t help thinking that he knew. That he was well aware of why I was trying to escape to the bathroom, and he didn’t care. He just wanted me to eat, so that’s what I would do.
My hard-on and I stayed in the booth, and I ate half of my burger like a good boy. The other half went into a Styrofoam doggy box that I carried under my arm as we strolled languidly back to our hotel. The idea of finding a club was forgotten for the moment, and we were just two guys walking along without a care, breathing in the air of a strange city. Funny how being in an unfamiliar place can make you brave— make you do things you wouldn’t normally do— things you just might regret when you get back to the real world.
That’s what my whole summer with Kage was like. One long string of things I might regret.
15
THAT night in the hotel was the first time I ever thought of Kage and me as… us. It was the first time I felt like something more than Kage’s satellite.
We were laughing at some stupid joke I’d made about the lady at the front desk, but as soon as the door to our room opened, we both got quiet, marching solemnly forward like we were walking to the electric chair. The door clicked loudly behind us, effectively shutting us off from the rest of the world.
I think maybe we both knew that this was it. That something was about to happen.
Kage crossed to the TV and clicked it on with the remote, but he didn’t sit down on the sofa. Instead, he turned toward me and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He looked almost nervous. “Wanna watch a movie or something?”
I was hovering around the kitchen area, remembering the spilled wine and the way he’d backed me against the counter. I wondered what might have happened if the bottle hadn’t fallen.
“A movie would be good,” I said. “Something with action maybe.” I rummaged in the fridge. “Want a beer? I think I’m gonna have a beer.”
“Yeah, bring me one.” He scrolled through the movie menu while I popped the tops and crossed the room to join him.
We finally agreed on one of the Fast and the Furious movies, though I couldn’t say which one. I was too preoccupied with trying not to look at Kage. Trying to seem casual.
I kicked my shoes and socks off and sat down on one end of the sofa, starting swilling beer like it was going out of style.
Kage was sitting on the other end of the sofa unlacing his boots. He took them off, stuffed his socks inside them, and pulled his feet up onto the seat. He took a long, slow pull off of his beer and cut his eyes over at me. The movie was just starting.
“Are you trying to get drunk?” he asked me.
“No, why?”
“Because you’re chugging the hell out of that beer. You want another one?”
I gave him a tight smile. “No, thanks.”
“Damn, Jamie. You’ve got to loosen up. Come here.”
“Huh?” I took another swallow of beer and stared unseeing at the TV screen.
“I said get your ass over here.”
I tipped my beer up and found it empty. “Oops, gotta get another beer.”
Kage arched a brow. “You said you didn’t need another one.”
I looked at the beer and back at him. “Well, I’ve got to go to the bathroom anyway, so might as well grab one.”
“Bathroom, huh?” He shook his head, but he smiled. “Okay. I’ll see you when you get back.”
I hurried to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Fuck. What was I doing? What was going on here? My mind was a whirling dervish as I glanced frantically around the bathroom. This was definitely not one of those movie motel bathrooms with the little escape window. Didn’t matter. The bad guy was always waiting outside anyway.