Page 58 of The Five Hole

Roe’s fingers still, and I scoot back up to his level.

“You should know something,” he says after a kiss, our bodies, legs, arms, and hands tangling back together.

“What’s that?” I ask, hearing the sleepy drag to my words.

“I’ve never had this before, Thatch. Not like that. Not like this.”

It’s late, and my room is dark, but I can still make out his features.

I tangle my fingers in his.

“Me either, Rory.”

His fingers squeeze mine in the dark.

“Don’t worry,” I say, burrowing into a comfortable position that allows me to pull him close. In my head, I can’t quit thinkingwe will figure out how to keep it, as I drift off to sleep.

“Yeah, we will,” Roe echoes. Sleep pulls me under before I can ask if I said that last part out loud.

***

The next morning Roe is up before me, and I find him in the kitchen with coffee already made as I sleepily stumble into him for a kiss.

“Big day today,” he mumbles in my ear.

“It is?”

I pull away from him and sit, and he places a bowl of yogurt, fruit, and granola in front of me. My stomach growls in response.

“Thanks. Now, what’s today?” I ask around a bite. Jamie comes down, already dressed for school, and Roe puts a similar bowl in front of him.

“Jamie’s game, and then there’s The Freeze awards thing?”

Jamie snickers beside me. “Forget that last bit. Dad never stays for the awards. The Mayor or Marge Calloway will drop it off in a few days.”

“You win the ice sculpting competition at The Freeze but don’t even get the award?”

Thatcher flushes. “People like to look at the sculptures. It brings in tourism.”

“He’s won the past four years,” Jamie pipes up.

“Well, as a new resident of Fox River Falls, I think it would be tragic for me to miss my first award ceremony from The Freeze.”

“They already gave out the skills awards, Monroe. Your’s is on our dresser,” I grumble, too unawake to care about calling itourdresser. It doesn’t seem to bother him, or he doesn’t notice.

Also, why is he so damn awake? I was tugged into a deep sleep last night after that epic orgasm, only to wake up early this morning to Roe snuggled deep beside me. That led to a kiss, of course, and that led to a frotting session that was so sexy I can’t think about it too hard or I’ll be indecent here at the breakfast table.

Roe crosses his arms, leaning his ass against the counter on the other side of the island. My stomach swoops at the cocky smirk on his face and the flash of abs from his shirt moving with his arms. He knows what he did.

“I want to go, or in this case stay, after Jamie’s game.”

“You should stay, Dad,” Jamie singsongs, and Roe raises a sexy eyebrow at me that’s a challenge and promise of reward all in one.

“Fine,” I relent. “We stay for the whole nonsense.”

“About time,” Jamie offers proudly.

I roll my eyes at the idea of accepting an award for something I just had fun doing, and something that’s little more than advertising, but it makes Roe and Jamie happy so . . . fine.