Page 35 of The Bro Date (Best Bros Forever #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

SHANE

T he overpowering aroma of disinfectant, rubbing alcohol, and fresh ink goes straight to my head and clings to my nostrils.

As much as I love my tattoos, I can’t say I love the process.

“I want a realistic butterfly,” I tell my tattoo artist. “But make it purple.” The black leather chair squeaks as I get situated, resting my forearm on the large, cushioned armrest.

“You got it, boss. A purple butterfly coming right up,” Travis says with a big, white smile. “Can I ask the meaning? If it’s personal, it’s no problem.”

I pause for a second, weighing my options. I’m not hiding, and I’m not in the closet. I’ve known Travis for a couple of years now, as he’s done most of my tattoos. “Yeah, man. It’s for my boyfriend.”

After getting home from such an amazing weekend getaway and deciding we want to move into our own place, I decided to do something big to show Toby just how much he means to me.

“Oh, really?” he asks, sounding a little surprised. “I didn’t realize we were part of the same community. I’m bi.”

“It’s kinda new, but yeah. I’m bi too.”

“Nice, bro. Well, if you ever wanna meet other people and connect, like on a friendship level, then you and your boyfriend should totally come out to Stick Shift sometime,” Travis offers, and I just smile.

After my last experience there, I don’t plan to ever go back.

“Thanks, I’ll think about it.”

“So, where are we putting this purple butterfly?” Travis asks, pulling his rubber gloves on with a snap and grabbing the bottle of rubbing alcohol.

“Right here,” I say, pointing to the empty spot next to the lone wolf, because I’m no longer alone, and if I’m honest with myself, I haven’t been since the day I met Toby in fifth grade.

“Good choice. I like it. Goes nicely next to the wolf—which, by the way, is still my absolute favorite piece I’ve ever done. Do you mind if I take photos and add the butterfly to my portfolio? I already know it’s gonna be a banger.”

“Yeah, no problem.” It’s just my arm, so I don’t really care.

“Cool. Cool. I’m just going to shave the area real quick, clean it off, and apply the stencil. Then we’ll get started.”

“Sounds good,” I murmur, slipping my earbuds in and clicking on the relaxing playlist I created to take my mind off the pain.

The buzz of the tattoo gun starts, and I close my eyes, focusing on the music instead of the tiny needle burning my skin.

I think about Toby’s dimpled smile and our stay at the cabin.

I think about how much he means to me and how he’s the only one who’s consistently been there for me in my life.

I think about his golden eyes lighting up when he sees the butterfly tattoo, and before I know it, Travis begins wiping off my arm like he’s finished.

“Take a look before I seal it,” he tells me, smiling at his own work.

I stand up and walk over to the mirror, twisting and turning my forearm, admiring my new artwork. “Fucking sick, dude. Absolutely perfect. Thank you,” I tell him, handing over a generous and well-deserved tip.

Despite the dull ache in my forearm, the anticipation of what Toby will say is keeping me going, so I head to the jewelry store next. I’m searching for something pretty specific, and I’m hoping I’m lucky enough to find it.

By the fourth store, I’m ready to call it quits, but I finally find what I’m looking for, as if the universe itself guided me here.

A wolf pendant. And not just any pendant, it’s a bust, with the wolf howling at the moon.

It’s perfect, and it matches my tattoo. If I’m adding a butterfly to my body to represent Toby, then I want him to have a piece of me close to his heart as well.

I just hope he appreciates the sentiment and doesn’t freak out when he sees the tattoo.

When I get home, Toby’s Audi is the only car in the driveway, so I know Spencer and Jake are both gone. My lip quirks, excited for an empty house to go along with this big of a surprise. Toby was right, we definitely need our own apartment next year.

As soon as I open the front door and walk in, the smooth sounds of Toby’s violin come dancing down the stairwell and into my ears. Good. He’s busy right now. Before I go see him, I quietly jog up the stairs and disappear into my bedroom, shutting the door behind me without a sound.

I tug a gray hoodie over my head, hiding the jewelry box in the oversized front pocket.

Next, I rifle through my sock drawer, searching for something I stashed there earlier this week.

My fingers wrap around the smooth silicone, and I slip it into my hoodie pocket, too, before I make my way to his bedroom.

“Hey,” I murmur, knocking on the doorframe before I walk in.

Toby’s perched on the end of his bed with a music stand in front of him, adjusting the tuning pegs on the top of his violin.

He’s been practicing more than normal, getting ready for his end-of-the-year solo.

It’s a big deal, for him and for the orchestra, bringing in vital donations for the music department.

I know he’s stressed about it, so I hope I can help take his mind off it. Even if just for a night.

“Hey. I didn’t even hear you come home. How was the mall?” Toby asks with a sweet and interested smile. He sets his violin and bow down, giving me his complete attention.

“Good,” I say, reaching into my hoodie pocket and making sure I pull out the right gift at the right time. I hold the small blue box in the palm of my hand. “I got you something,” I tell him.

“You did?” Toby’s dimples pop out, and he takes the small box, opening the lid and gasping. He freezes, his eyes downcast and staring at the silver pendant intently.

“Do you like it?” I murmur, starting to get a little worried.

“ Oh my God. No . . .”

My heart drops like a two-ton weight inside my chest.

“ I love it. ”

I take a deep breath, letting the relief wash over me. “I wanted you to always have a piece of me with you, like I now have of you.”

Toby finally lifts his eyes from the pendant, tilting his head in confusion. “Did you get one too?”

I shake my head, carefully lifting up my sleeve and showing off my new purple butterfly tattoo.

Toby gasps when he sees my forearm, covering his mouth and staring at me with wide, unblinking eyes. “You got a tattoo for me?” he asks in utter disbelief.

I nod, grabbing his hand and stroking his knuckles with my thumb. “I did.”

“It’s a butterfly . . .”

“Yes. It represents the first time we met and our first date. A symbol of our love.” I can’t fully express how Toby’s love makes me feel, but it makes my chest heavy in a way that feels good, like a warm, weighted blanket or a bowl full of my nonna’s spaghetti.

Our bond requires no effort, and it never has.

We have the type of love that just is and always has been.

Always will be. “You’re my soulmate, Tobias Livingston.

My beautiful, delicate butterfly, and I will protect you for the rest of our lives. ”

“ Shane, ” Toby cries out, practically launching himself at me and clinging to my body as I walk us backward to the bed. “I love you so much,” he whispers into my ear while I lay him down, settling between his spread thighs and hovering above him while my forearms cage his head.

“I’m lucky to know you and honored to love you, butterfly.” I peck his lips softly. Reverently.

“Make love to me,” Toby whispers against my mouth. “Please, Shane. I need you inside me.”

So needy, and I love it.

I take my hoodie off, careful not to bump my arm or spill the remaining contents of my pocket, setting the bundle of fabric on top of Toby’s desk and slipping my T-shirt off next.

I glance back at him and find him completely naked, propped up on his elbows and staring at me hungrily while he strokes himself.

I unbutton my jeans next, never taking my eyes off of him as I drop my pants to the floor with a thud and step out of them.

My cock tents the front of my boxer briefs, and Toby’s eager eyes zero in on it.

“You like this, baby?” I tease, squeezing myself through the fabric.

“ Yes. Hurry,” Toby whimpers, completely impatient.

My thumbs slip into the waistband of my underwear, pulling them down slowly and making my cock spring free, slapping my abdomen obscenely.

Toby giggles, but his tinkling laughter dies out the moment I place a knee on the bed. He bites his lip, spreading his legs for me as I crawl up his body. I seal my lips to his, kissing him with my whole body and soul, our tongues tangling and energy colliding.

“Show me how much you love me,” Toby pants into my mouth, so I reach over and grab the lube from his nightstand drawer.

“Pull your knees back,” I instruct, pushing them toward his chest and revealing his cute little hole. Toby hooks his hands behind his knees, keeping himself exposed for me.

“Prep me fast,” Toby begs with shimmering eyes. “I need to feel you.”

I’m desperate to be close to him just as badly, so I quickly prep him with two, then three fingers.

“I’m ready, Shane. Please. I’m ready,” Toby pants, pulling his knees back even further. “Make love to me.”

I quickly lube up my cock and press the tip to his glistening hole. Holding the base steady, I push forward until my crown slips in, and Toby cries out.

“ Keep going! ” he shouts with his eyes squeezed shut.

“That’s it, baby. You’re doing so good. Just a little more,” I say through clenched teeth while I push my hips forward torturously slow until I bottom out.

Toby groans wantonly, and I brush the sweaty curls off his forehead, leaning down to kiss him there.

“I love you,” I whisper, pulling my hips back slowly and making Toby’s eyes roll into the back of his head.

“I love you so fucking much .” I punctuate my last word with a long, deep thrust.

“ Oh God, Shane. I love you. I love you. I love you,” Toby chants, throwing his head back while I gradually pick up my pace.

I tilt my hips, continuing to plow into him faster and harder, forgetting we’re no longer in a cabin in the woods but back in our shared house on campus, instead.

“ Mmf! Ungh! ” Toby cries out as the sound of skin slapping against skin fills the room. He lifts his arms above his head, bracing himself against the headboard. “Come inside me, Shane. I wanna feel it.”

His filthy words do me in, and my rhythm stutters, my cock unloading inside of his ass, triggering his release all over both of us.

Toby lies limp on the bed with his eyes closed and arms above his head.

“Time for your third surprise of the night,” I whisper as I carefully pull out and immediately press the tapered end of the butt plug to his hole, easily slipping it in and sealing my seed inside of him.

Fuck, that’s sexy.

Toby grunts, looking down at his body with half-lidded eyes.

“You look so sexy with a plug stuffed in that tight, little hole,” I murmur, rubbing and massaging his taint.

“A plug?” Toby asks on a moan, halfway to another orgasm. “You got me a plug?”

“The same kind you’ve been asking for, only a little . . . fancier. You’re stuffed full and so fucking hot.”

“ I am? ” The incredulous tone to his voice does something funny to my stomach.

I chuckle. “Yeah, baby. Full of my cum.”

“I wanna see,” Toby says curiously. He gets a spark of energy and crawls to his hands and knees, groaning when the toy moves inside of him.

“Impossible,” I chuckle. There’s no way he can experience the view that I’m appreciating right now. I caress the smooth globe of his ass, running my finger around the base of the plug before I tap on it and make him grunt.

“Take a picture,” Toby pants. “I wanna see.” He wiggles his ass at me, and I have the tempting urge to spank it.

“ Butterfly, ” I growl. “I’m not taking a photo of your sexy ass with a purple plug shoved in it. That’s just for me.”

“It’s purple?” he asks, completely distracted and not getting the point.

“Yeah. There’s actually a butterfly on the base.”

“Now I really need to see. Please?”

“Fine,” I grunt, grabbing my phone and aiming it at Toby. I can’t believe I’m doing this. He arches his back, sticking his ass out and looking over his shoulder at the camera.

Jesus Christ.

I quickly snap a photo and show it to him, wanting to delete it before someone gains access to my phone in the next thirty seconds and steals this sexy-as-fuck nude of my boyfriend.

“Wow. I look hot,” he says in disbelief.

“Of course you do,” I grumble.

“You can save the photo if you want,” he offers. “You know. For later.”

I delete it instead, even going to my recently deleted album and clearing that, too.

Toby chuckles. “Well, if you’re just gonna erase all the evidence, then we might as well have some more fun.”

“No,” I grumble, not wanting the camera to see what’s mine, nor do I want the photos uploaded to the cloud by accident or something.

“Pretty please? I wanna see a close-up.”

“Absolutely not.”

Toby laughs and then groans when I grab the base and tug on it. “Oh. Wow. That feels different.”

“You like it? Think you’d like it to vibrate?” I murmur, continuing to tease him with it. I saw a plug with a remote-control app on the same website I got this one from.

“Oh God, yes.”

I smirk, knowing exactly what I’m getting him next.