Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Me neither,” Eric said with a laugh.
“Are we still having book club night?” Tristan asked, looking around like an excited puppy. “We can Zoom it.”
“Yeah, let’s do it,” I said, clapping my thighs. “I’m really loving this. Thank you, guys, for having me.”
“Are you kidding?” Yvette said, getting up and grabbing the empty bottle of wine. “The more, the merrier with us. I love seeing our gay little family keep getting bigger and bigger.”
“Speaking of, I invited my neighbor Steven to join. He’s new to Atlanta, too.” Eric looked down at his phone. “He said he couldn’t make it, though.”
“Alright, well, hold on,” Tia said, hands in the air. “I’m all for growing our club, too, but we’re going to need an auditorium for our meetings at this rate.”
Jess laughed, cuddling into her wife’s side. “We can have an overspill area in our dining room.”
Jake reached up to the ceiling for a stretch, covering a yawn at the last minute. I glanced at the clock on the wall, surprised to see how late it had gotten. Tia clapped her hands, likely sensing the exhaustion that was slowly sinking into the room. “Alright, I think we can probably wrap it up there tonight. Next meeting is at Tristan’s, but we’ll Zoom with our French cuties so they don’t have to miss it.” She leaned forward and grabbed the bedazzled 8-ball. “Mrs. All-Seeing 8-Ball, do you think Eric and Colton are going to have a good time together in France?”
She gave it a shake. Why the hell was I getting so anxious all of a sudden? As if I’d take anything the ball was about to say seriously.
“Absolutely. Now take a shot.”
Oh, thank God.
She set the ball back down on the coffee table and grabbed her water bottle. “I’m taking a shot of Dasani because I have to work early tomorrow, thank you very much.” She raised the bottle and gave a cheers before taking a swig.
The group stood up and helped clean a bit before we started to filter toward the door, saying our goodbyes and our thanks to the girls for hosting us. Somehow, Eric and I ended up together on their porch, the rest of the group having already left. My Uber was already waiting for me. I looked out at the quiet night and suddenly realizing I wasn’t exactly ready for it to end. Not just yet.
“Do you want to come over?” I asked Eric as we started down the steps toward the street. “We can go over our boundaries and stuff—you know, for the fake relationship we’re going to have to pull off.”
Eric didn’t take much time at all to think over my offer. He smiled and said, “Sure, sounds like a plan,” as he hopped into the backseat of the Uber with me.
Boundaries. That’s what tonight is about. I’ve got to remember that.
13
ERIC RUIZ
It took me a second to really believe the fact that I was currently sitting on Colton’s couch, drinking a glass of wine and talking about the time the two of us had spent a weekend in a cabin up in Blue Ridge. It was a week before our big fight, and it had been one of the best staycations of my life. We’d spent it playing video games—naked, of course—using the joysticks on the controllers, along with the ones between our legs. We had sex on practically every surface of that one-bedroom secluded cabin, surrounded by trees and nature and fresh air. It was the first time the two of us were truly alone, without the chance of being interrupted by someone, and that made the weekend feel all the more special.
It had also scared me. Made me realize that I had fallen hard for Colton, beyond just the physical aspect—I had really fallen for the person Colton was. And being deep in the closet at the time made that realization feel like I’d been stabbed in the chest. I knew what I had to do.
I cut it all off. A week later, a week after the best damn days of my life with the best damn man in my life.
“You kicked my ass in Super Smash that weekend,” Colton said. “You and your Mewtwo main.”
“Yeah, but then I kissed your ass afterwards to make it all better.” I shot Colton a smirk and took a sip of the wine, my muscles slowly turning to liquid as the alcohol did its job. My inhibitions were lowered, which made these flirty comments fly out without any second thought behind them.
Colton shook his head and looked away. I noticed a red flush creep up the side of his neck, but he shifted on the chair so that he looked directly at me. Had I gone too far?
“Whatever, man,” Colton said, his lips curling into a smirk. “I bet I could beat you now.”