Page 19

Yeah. That time we went to a forest together. I'm glad Erik revealed that random thought to me over a voice call because there's no way I could have hidden my searing blush.

“Hey, that doesn’t sound like nothing , Luke,” Mom says. “It sounds like Erik is thinking of you.”

“I don’t need encouragement! He’s probably moved on, as he should.”

She completely ignores me and continues. “Maybe he isn’t over you. Why else would he be like this?”

“Come on, why do you guys have to feed into my delusions? Now I’ll never get over him! Thirty seconds ago, I said that I’m screwed, and now you’re making me even more screwed.”

Mom clears her throat. “You’ll get over him if it’s right for you. If not…”

“I should, but I don’t want to,” I mutter, trying for another sip of my drink but getting ice to the teeth instead. “Even if he likes me back, he deserves a whole lot more than some uncertain long distance thing.”

Mom and Stefano are still deep in thought, and their attention goes to my phone when it rings.

Incoming Video Call from Erik Norberg

I decline it, Stefano punches me, and Mom gasps.

“What?” I throw up my hands. “I came here to hang out with you guys, not spend the whole time on my phone.”

“That’s fair,” Stefano says before Mom shoots him a stern look.

“That would be fair if… we didn’t have a tradition of letting our cottage guests pick out dinner in town!” She shoos Stefano out of the living room. “Luke, you sit back, relax, enjoy yourself, and maybe call your lover back.”

“He’s not?—”

It doesn’t matter. She’s gone. I sit for a second, still processing what just happened, but I snap out of it and call Erik back once the front door shuts. His handsome face fills my screen when he picks up, and I have to walk away from the fireplace to avoid overheating.

“Hey, Luke!” he says, flashing me a calm smile that stops my mental functioning dead in its tracks. “Did I call at a bad time?”

My brain takes a second to catch up, deciding what to take in first: Erik’s effortless, cute face or the sexy, tired rumble of his voice.

“No, no, I’m free,” I manage. “It’s pretty late over there, am I keeping you up?”

He waves me off. “Nah. My parents are outside with the fire and it’s only me in here. How’s the cottage?”

“It’s sick,” I say. “Want a tour?”

He nods, and I flip the camera around to show Erik the living area, the kitchen, and the deck before heading to the stairs.

“There’s an upstairs ?” he asks.

“Yeah, that’s where my room is.”

“I still can’t believe what passes for a cottage in Canada.”

Walking up the stairs, I let out a noise of protest. “You don’t understand, Erik. The difference between a cottage and a house is the vibes, not the construction.”

“And what vibes are those?”

I enter my room and flop down on the bed. “Rustic, nature-y shit.”

“Eloquently put. Also, I don’t know if that massive bed counts as ‘nature-y shit.’”

Dear god, Erik’s deep, sassy voice shouldn’t do things to me, but my body doesn’t get the message.

“Oh yeah? How would you define it?”

He turns the camera around. “This is what I think of as rustic vibes.”

He’s got me there. The cottage that Erik is staying at isn’t a one-room shack, but it’s definitely got a cabin feel to it. The walls are wood, and the first word that comes to mind is cozy.

Then again, Erik could make a cheap tent in a thunderstorm feel cozy. The heat isn’t as strong upstairs, and out of nowhere, I’m craving a warm, addictive Erik hug. I wrap myself in my blanket and cling hopelessly to the inconvenient memory of how comfortable his arms felt around me.

“Luke? You there?” My attention goes back to the screen.

“Yup, sorry. I’m a little cold.”

Erik’s response is to pull up a fluffy gray blanket with moose on it. The hunky burrito makes a comeback, and it still sends tender pangs throughout my chest.

“There, now we’re matching.” His smile is triumphant.

“Oh my god, this is so weird,” I say, and Erik’s eyes crinkle.

“Why is it weird?”

Because we’re covered in blankets and giggling with each other over a video call like the long-distance lovers my mom thinks we are? Because I still like you and I’m a hopeless idiot?

“Uh, I don’t know, I don’t tend to call my friends from bed,” I lie. That was pathetic.

“Well, now it won’t be weird to do it again.”

I snort. “Okay, you said it. I’m only going to call you right as you’re about to fall asleep.”

“You remember that I sleep almost naked, don’t you?” he says, and there’s no way he’s trying to be suggestive about that. Right?

Feeling bold, I decide to test the waters. “Ooh, sexy.”

Erik scoffs. “Yeah right, Luke. There’s nothing sexy about sleeping under ten blankets. This country is frigid as hell.”

Curling up under ten blankets with Erik sounds incredibly sexy, no matter how cold it is outside.

“Anyway,” he continues, “speaking of sleep, I’m gonna knock out soon.” To drive the point home, he yawns, and it’s infectious.

“Oh, yeah. Um, goodnight, I guess?”

“Goodnight.” He closes his eyes, but he doesn’t hang up. His body slackens and he falls asleep right then and there. On a call with me.

Watching him sleep is the epitome of being creepy, so I force myself to end the call, even though Erik is so adorable when he’s asleep. I stare at the black screen of my phone, my brain going haywire, trying and failing to save myself from this freefall into an emotional abyss.

I mean, by definition, freefall means that there’s nothing to grab onto, so yeah, I’m fucked.

I hear movement downstairs, but I decide to let myself wallow for a few more minutes.

Not thirty seconds later, there’s a knock on the door, and Stefano walks in. So much for wallowing.

“Uh, I was going to ask if you called him and how that went, but you’re wrapped in a blanket and clutching your phone, so…”

“He’s so sweet.”

“Alright, I’m guessing it was great and terrible at the same time.”

I don’t answer, choosing to whine instead. “Why the hell am I like this?”

Stefano sighs and walks over. “Because you’re Luke. You're a strong, confident guy who falls like a boulder whenever you’re into someone.”

“Make it stop,” I groan, even louder this time.

He snorts, sitting down on the bed and placing a hand on my back. “Nah. That’s on you, and you need to decide if moving on is something you want.”

It isn’t. It really isn’t, and that doesn’t help me at all.

“Hey,” Stefano says. “Your parents offered for us to use the hot tub after dinner. Maybe that’ll help you feel better.”

“Yeah, it might.”

“You know, you should post a shirtless picture in the hot tub to keep this guy’s attention.”

I freeze. “Seriously? Do I even want his attention?”

“Yeah, you do. Go in the tub, throw some water on yourself, and show off your gains.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Maybe pose a little, flex those biceps…”

“Dude, I’m not gonna pose like a douche.”

He smirks. “Maybe you’ll change your mind after a few drinks. Now let’s help your parents with dinner.”