Page 13

13

MASON

A fter I’d woken up from my short power nap, it was approaching five-thirty and already dark. I needed to take a quick shower and change before I headed off to the bonfire. I had two and a half hours before meeting Connor and Spencer. The Flying J Travel Center I’d frequented many times was only three miles from where I parked my rig. I figured it would be the best option to get cleaned up and changed. I easily grabbed a ride share with about twenty minutes to spare once I got back. It would be an easy walk to our rendezvous point, according to Connor.

Meeting the guys at the large fir tree had me excited to see Connor again. I arrived only a few minutes late, and I could tell they were buzzing with excitement, yet I wasn’t sure if it was for the beer or that I’d shown up.

Upon my handshake with Connor and our close proximity, my heart raced. He looked enchanting. His blond highlights seemed to dance when the firelight illuminated them. His breath had a subtle scent of mint, and his smile was open and inviting. In the dim light, his eyes were a deep green, yet they sparkled. Then there was Spencer, who reminded me of a golden retriever. His excitement at meeting me loosened the tension in my shoulders, and I thought the evening might be enjoyable—especially with the flaming pyramid growing more impressive by the minute.

I’d had done some internal struggling around the infatuation thing with him, and I still wasn’t sure how I felt about feeling so drawn to Connor. His eyes still held me captive. Their uncanny resemblance to my late wife's sent my thoughts spiraling between past and present.

I returned with the beers, and Spencer soon left, leaving the two of us alone. We downed our beers quickly and I offered to get us refills. I needed more liquid courage.

I came back to find Connor seated on a large, flat boulder away from the crowd. Our closeness fueled my pulse when I sat down. He asked more questions, and the one about a wife or girlfriend caught me off guard. I looked his way and sensed he felt he might have overstepped. When I admitted I was a widower, Connor apologized. On impulse, I put my hand on his knee and told him he didn’t need to be sorry.

He returned my gesture by putting his hand on mine and my pulse quickened. What surprised me was he placed his head on my left shoulder. I knew he was sorry for my loss. I liked the tenderness—I leaned my head against his, and we stayed that way for several minutes. My initial need to look around, spurred by uneasiness, revealed nothing—no one even glanced in our direction. I could hear the rush of blood in my ears from my heartbeat as my face flushed.

As soon as I lifted my head from his, he straightened up and looked at me. The next thing I knew, his hand came up to cradle the side of my face. He slowly caressed my cheek with his thumb, but I didn’t pull back. I wanted it, though I didn’t really know what that meant.

Did I anticipate this might happen? What does this mean about my identity, and how far would it go tonight?

He slowly leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the corner of my mouth as I closed my eyes, and his hand remained on mine. It was tender and caring, but I wanted more. I reached for the nape of his neck, pulled him in, and sought his lips tenderly. His breath stuttered as I opened my mouth slightly, letting my tongue graze his lips. He welcomed me eagerly as his tongue flicked mine. I felt sparks.

I opened my eyes, slowly breaking our kiss, and leaned my forehead against his. I huffed out a heated breath. “Connor,” I whispered, drawing his name out slowly. My body reacted with intense desire, and I felt my cock harden uncomfortably in my jeans. Connor proceeded to slide his hand up my thigh, dragging it slowly to my groin.

I didn’t want to display our daring, wanton affection in public, so I took his hand and held it in place on my thigh before it slid too far, and I laced our fingers. His grasp was warm as he met my fervor and then gave a low groan.

We continued to hold hands. Then he pulled back. His eyes were still hooded, but he opened them wide in realization. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make this uncomfortable. I think I overstepped here,” he said apologetically and attempted to pull his hand out of mine. I held tight, looking at him with fondness, and slowly shook my head.

I chuckled lightly. “Connor, stop apologizing. Truth be told, I think I wanted this moment to happen. I don’t know what it means. I’ve never been attracted to a man before, let alone kissed one, but I can’t seem to get enough of you. You’ve captivated me.” Connor’s eyes widened further, and he beamed at my admission.

He continued to smile as he dropped his head, and his gaze found the hardness in my jeans. He huffed a laugh, nodding toward my lap. “Apparently so,” he said with a grin. I looked down sheepishly as my dick showed a sizeable outline. I wasn’t small, and it was quite prominent. I was thankful it was relatively dark where we were sitting.

Connor looked up at me with his emerald eyes and took a deep breath. “Since the moment I saw you at that rest area and asked you for a ride, I was attracted to you. I didn’t want to take my eyes off you. When you dropped me off, and we parted ways, I wanted to ask for your number but felt it was inappropriate. I was disappointed, though, and a little empty. It bothered me for days,” he said softly.

Our hands, still intertwined, dropped and rested between us. I didn’t want to let go of him as I grazed my fingertips over his knuckles. I knew fate had brought us together again, and I wanted to relish our time together.

We heard footsteps approaching, and Spencer walked up, stumbling over nothing. He still had a red cup in his hand, and I was sure he was on his umpteenth beer by now. His eyes landed on our joined hands, opening wide. He smiled and shot each of us a look as if he’d succeeded at something.

“Well, I see you two are doing just fine,” he said, slurring his words a little. “Took me a while to find you but wanted to tell you I think I’ll be heading back to the dorm. The keg is giving up its amber lifeblood, and I don’t need a deadly hangover in the morning,” he said with a growl. I noticed he was tipping slightly to the right as he spoke.

Spencer looked at Connor and asked, “Are we swimming in the morning? I’ll be needing to purge this fizzy poison out of my system.” He proceeded to turn his cup upside down, spilling the few remaining drops onto the grass.

“I hope to join you in the pool tomorrow,” Connor answered with a hint of humor in his voice. He had a look of concern for Spencer, but I’m sure he’d seen him in that state before. “Do you need any help getting back?”

“No, I’m good. Have fun, you two, but I see you’ve thought of that already,” Spencer chided with a snort of laughter.

I leaned over to Connor and whispered, “Will he be okay?”

“He’ll be fine. Let me point him in the right direction, though.” He let go of our hands, and I missed the warm touch that lingered on my palm.

Connor stood up and steered Spencer toward the dorm. I couldn’t hear what they said to each other with their backs to me, but Connor glanced over his shoulder and said, “I’ll be right back.” That familiar flutter stirred in my stomach at the thought of his return. I didn’t know what would happen next, but I was filled with heated desire.

The night had turned into something I hadn’t quite expected.