Page 10

Marcus

W e arrive back at the resort in no time, Parker seeming to be lost in thought. I tried to talk to him on the way over, but he just hummed while his hands fidgeted in his lap.

I don’t know why I brought up the Florida trip earlier, but it was all I could think about. Memories of our past keep floating into my mind and all it does is cause me to realize how lonely I am without him. Plus, seeing Parker get jealous over the attendant made me happier than it probably should have. It means he still wants me, probably as much as I want him.

The only issue is to decide what to do next. Do we give our relationship another shot? Do we try to build our friendship? It’s complicated and my head is a mess and I’m not sure what to do.

The Jeep comes to an abrupt stop and I hop off, reaching my hand out to Parker. He takes it easily as I help him down from the step. Not letting go of his hand, I interlock our fingers and drag him away from the Jeep toward the entrance of the hotel. Our hands stay intertwined as we make our way through the lobby. I could have let go of his hand already, but I’m not ready. And he’s not pulling away either.

I guide us toward the elevator, neither of us talking. He occasionally glances over at me and then at our hands, but doesn’t say a word. The light to the elevator lets us know it’s coming down and we back away to let whoever is getting off. The bell above the elevator rings, and when the door opens, my parents are standing before us with Kendra and Tim. My mom’s eyes scan from me to Parker before they drop to our hands. Our hands that are still interlocked.

I drop his hand quickly, which causes Parker to whip his head in my direction. I can see the hurt in his eyes, but I’m still not sure what’s going on between us and I don’t want to get my parents’ hopes up. They love Parker almost as much as I do. My mom has been hoping we’ll find our way back to each other, so until I know for sure what’s going on between us, we have to remain friends.

“Marcus! Parker! We’ve been wondering where you two went off to.”

My mother gives me a hug before walking over to Parker and squeezing him tightly. My mom is a beautiful woman. She has ivory skin, dark blonde hair, and bright green eyes. Kendra has a lot of her facial features and her short height. My dad grabs onto my shoulder before pulling me into a hug. People say I tend to look more like him. We’re both about the same height, with light brown eyes. My skin is lighter than his dark brown, but when we stand side by side, that’s the only noticeable difference. My sister and I may be twins, but we each took after one of our parents.

I watch as my dad leaves my side to encase Parker in a tight hug. He whispers something in his ear that I don’t hear, and Parker smiles softly before giving my dad another hug.

“We were just on our way down to dinner,” Kendra says when my dad and Parker separate. “Do you guys want to join us?”

“We actually ate down at the beach, so I’m going to head up to the room, but Parker can join,” I tell them all.

“I’m actually kind of tired. We spent the day at the beach and you know how tired I get playing around in the sun. But we’re still on for a spa day tomorrow, right?” he says to my sister, who keeps looking back and forth between the two of us.

Her eyes narrow before she smiles brightly, clicking her tongue. “Sounds good. We’ll see you both tomorrow.”

The four of them disappear around the corner while Parker and I make our way into the elevator.

“You could have gone with them to dinner. I wasn’t hungry, but I know how much you love gossiping with Kendra and Mom,” I tell him, pressing the number button for our floor.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I was tired. Spending the whole day in the sun is exhausting. All I want to do is take a hot shower, cuddle under the blankets, and read my book.”

“Sounds like you’ve got the entire night planned out,” I say, holding the doors open as we step out.

“What are your plans for the rest of the night?”

I follow him into our room, tossing my stuff onto the dresser. “Figured I hang out in the room. As long as you don’t mind being stuck with me after hanging out with me all day.”

“I don’t mind,” he breathes, stepping closer to me.

He invades my space, and I lean down, pushing a curl off his face. “I’m going to shower first, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, um, yeah, sure,” he says, stepping back.

Fuck, I hate this. I want to be close to him, but at the same time, I’m terrified of getting close to him. And the scared is winning, which is why I keep dipping my toes in by getting close and then backing away just as quickly.

I slide around him, making my way to the bathroom. I leave the door open again, turning on the hot water and stripping out of my bathing suit. From my spot in the bathroom, I can see Parker standing in the same spot, his shoulders hunched over. Looking away, I step into the shower, closing my eyes in the steam. I take my time washing my body, my thoughts on Parker and how much closer we got today. The way we both laughed, carefree having the time of our lives.

This time I ignore my aching cock, using the time to clean up quickly and get out. Wrapping the towel around my waist, I step out into the cool room, noticing that Parker isn’t around. I walk toward the dresser, peeking around the corner toward the door.

Did he leave?

A gust of wind hits me, and I turn, seeing the sliding glass door to the balcony wide open. Parker’s frame is silhouetted by the moon, his body bent on the ledge of the balcony. Making my way to him, I step out onto the balcony, stopping when I reach his side.

“It’s beautiful out here at night,” I say, looking at Parker, then turning to look out at the darkened water.

“It really is,” Parker says, avoiding eye contact.

“Park—”

“Marcus—”

We speak at the same time, and I chuckle, saying, “Go ahead, you first.”

“Do you ever think we could get back to what we were before? Before I fucked everything all up?” he whispers, looking straight ahead.

“Parker.” I wait until he turns to face me before continuing. “I want nothing more than to get back to where we were before.”

“Really?”

“But—”

He cuts me off before I can continue. “Of course there’s a but. Do you still have feelings for me?”

“I will always have feelings for you, Parker. Nothing will change that.”

Parker looks up at me with hopeful eyes and I lean closer to him. Grabbing him around the nape, I pull him closer to me, our lips only an inch away from each other. We breathe each other in, the air around us thick with tension. His fingers grip onto my waist, his fingernails causing a soft pain. I stand still as Parker leans up on his tiptoes and brushes a soft kiss against my lips.

I don’t move, waiting to see what Parker does next. He doesn’t disappoint me when he kisses me harder, forcing his tongue into my mouth. My hands pull him close as we kiss each other deeply. A million memories flash through my mind of all the kisses we’ve shared before that I took for granted. I didn’t realize how much I missed kissing him until this moment right here.

Our lips fuse together, and I remember the first time I kissed him. How nervous and scared I was to make a move. I had taken him out on a date to the local drive-in movie theater. We laughed and joked and ate our weight in candy and popcorn. After the date finished, we stayed behind in the parking lot, talking about the future, and it was at that moment I knew I couldn’t give him up. He was tossing M&M’s up into the air, catching them with his mouth when one fell and hit him in the eye. His cheeks flared in embarrassment, but all I could think of was the fact that he was already so comfortable in front of me. From that moment, we were never shy around one another.

My other arm wraps around his waist, and I shudder when his erection touches mine. God, I haven’t felt this in so long. I haven’t been with anyone since Parker. No one was ever enough. Friends tried to force me to date, but I never did. How could I when I knew no one would ever compare to him?

He grinds subtly against my aching cock and whimpers as he tries to grip me tighter. I reach down, grabbing a handful of his ass and squeeze hard.

“Fuck, Parker,” I moan, pulling away and trailing kisses down the side of his throat. He turns his head, giving me more access, which I greedily take.

“Marcus, I need more,” he pants, pulling at the knot in my towel and dropping it to the floor.

I walk him backward through the sliding door until he falls onto the mattress. I crowd into him, laying my body on top of his. We’re both breathing heavily, my chest rising in quick succession as I glance down at the gorgeous man laid before me. A halo of beautiful bouncy curls surrounds his head, and his bright blue eyes lustfully look at me.

I go to kiss him again when my body locks up tight and freezes. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” I whisper, dropping my forehead against his.

“Yes, we should,” he whispers back, his soft fingers gliding up and down my spine. “We’ve always fit together so perfectly, Marcus.” We stare at each other in silence, his eyes so open and trusting for me. I want this more than I can say, but I’m not sure if I can give in. “Maybe it can be a vacation thing.” He shrugs, looking away while my heart cracks in two. I don’t want a fucking fling. I want the real thing. But I’m also fucking scared to give him my trust again.

“Parker,” I say, then stop. I honestly don’t know what to tell him. We can never be some weekend hookup. That’s not who we are. We’re Marcus and Parker. We’re soulmates. “Maybe we should think about this more.”

Even though every part of my body protests, I pull myself up and off him, walking backward until I drop into the chair in the corner.

“It’s okay, Marcus. You don’t have to say anything.”

I watch as Parker scrambles off the bed and runs into the bathroom, shutting the door and closing it behind him.

Fuck .

I wasn’t trying to hurt him. All I wanted was to take a breather and make sure we were making the right decision. I’ve already had my heart broken once. I wouldn’t be able to survive it again. While Parker sits in the bathroom, I quickly dress in a pair of briefs and pajama pants and wait back on the bed for him.

It takes longer than I wanted for him to step out of the bathroom, and when he does, tears prick my eyes. He’s been hiding out in the bathroom and crying. His eyes are bright red, his lashes still wet from the tears he shed, and he sniffles as he grabs a pair of shorts from the dresser and puts them on.

“Parker, can we talk? Please. I don’t think we’re on the same page right now and we need to talk about it.”

“I got it, Marcus. I know I fucked up. But for some reason, I had this hope that we could find our way back to each other. But I understand that won’t happen.”

“God dammit Parker. Will you shut up and come sit down? We need to talk.”

“Don’t fucking order me around, Marcus,” he says, planting his hand on his hip, and I have to stop the smile that wants to break free. There he is. My sassy, fiery Parker. Fuck, I’ve missed him.

“You’re right. Can you please come sit down so we can talk?”

“Fine, but I’m not sitting down because you asked me to. I’m sitting down because I’m tired and my feet hurt.” He sniffles again as he slides onto the bed. As he pulls the comforter up over his waist, then turns around and fluffs the pillow behind him, I stifle a laugh. I know he’s trying to make it seem as though what just happened didn’t affect him, but I won’t let him push me away this time. I’m not going to sit back and cower this time. There’s no way I’m going to watch him pull away like before until I lose him completely.

Like before.

This time, I’m going to fight for him and make sure he knows it.