Page 13

Rylan cheeks heated. “Th… thank you.”

Cameron’s gaze roamed over him for a few more moments before he jerked his gaze up to meet Rylan’s. He noted there is a beautiful blush on his cheeks and Rylan understood how he could fall for the man in front of him.

His heart kicked in his chest when Cameron leaned down and kissed Rylan on the forehead before handing him the clothes.

Cameron turned and rummaged through the drawer for his own clothes, and when he pulled them on, Rylan had to bite his bottom lip to prevent the disappointed sigh from escaping his throat.

Once dressed, Cameron reached for his hand and laced their fingers together as they wandered downstairs. Taking a glance at the clock, Rylan’s cheeks heated when his stomach gave a loud grumble.

“Breakfast, or lunch, will be ready soon. I haven’t slept in since high school. It felt nice.” Cameron smiled at Rylan. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please. Is there anything I can do to help?” Rylan watched Cameron as he moved around the kitchen. He set the coffeemaker to start before he skipped to the refrigerator to pull out several things, placing them on the counter near the stove.

“Nope. I’ve got it handled.”

Rylan opened his mouth to ask him if he was sure, but his words faltered when Cameron spanned his hips with his hands and lifted him onto the island near the stove. The heat from his hands lasted a few more seconds after Cameron turned back toward the coffeemaker and Rylan shivered at the ease in which Cameron took his weight.

Cameron took another container out of the fridge and popped it open. He handed it to Rylan, who placed the cold Tupperware on his lap before he glanced down to find grapes. He almost squeaked aloud when Cameron reached for a handful and popped a few in his mouth.

“How do you take your coffee?”

“Black.”

Cameron smiled at him. “A man after my heart.”

Before Rylan could come up with a response to Cameron’s casual statement, one that made his body flush in excitement, Cameron poured a cup for both of them and handed Rylan one. No clue what he planned to say anyway, Rylan took a sip of coffee and moaned as he received his first rush of caffeine for the day.

Cameron caught his gaze as Rylan opened his eyes and the heat banked in his hazel eyes almost had Rylan setting the cup down on the counter and throwing himself at the man. Instead, they both blinked and Rylan watched as Cameron went back to cooking, maneuvering around in his kitchen with ease.

He set the oven temperature before he moved to cracking eggs. He added cream into the eggs and whisked the contents before he set the bowl in the refrigerator.

“What are you making?” He sipped his coffee, realizing he lost all train of thought as he watched Cameron.

“Breakfast quiche with a fruit salad.”

Rylan froze with a grape touching his lips. “Isn’t that difficult to make?”

“Nah, it’s easy. You dice a half an onion, mix it with the chopped cooked bacon, add shredded Swiss and parmesan cheese before laying the mixture in a frozen pie shell. You pour the egg mixture on top and then it bakes for about forty-five minutes.”

Rylan scoffed, and it made Cameron laugh. Cameron slid the bacon on a sheet pan in the oven and wandered over to Rylan, who despite feeling a little overwhelmed by his attraction to Cameron, fed him several grapes. Although it showed an intimacy he couldn’t explain, Rylan smiled when Cameron took the grapes from him without question.

“Do you cook like this for breakfast all the time?”

Cameron, who seemed happy, shook his head. “Cooking relaxes me. I cook when Tim, Aaron, and Eric stop by, but when I’m cooking only for myself, it loses its appeal fast. But now you’re living here, I can try new things.”

Popping another grape into his mouth, he chewed before he asked, “How did you meet?”

“I met the three of them the first morning of two-a-day football practice our freshman year. They were already friends from a small town in Colorado where they grew up and rented a house when they moved to Ft. Collins, but they included me from the moment I stepped on the field.”

Rylan scrunched his nose. “What’s a two-a-day?”

Cameron chopped the onions and the bacon he’d pulled from the oven and let cool. “Two weeks before classes start, the team would meet for conditioning drills at seven in the morning and four in the afternoon, both session lasting two hours each. We would run wind sprints, up-down drills, and bear crawls, anything that would get us into shape before the season started.”

“That sounds… barbaric and tiring.”

Cameron shrugged. “You get used to it but I’m glad I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“Are your other friends still on the team?”