Page 9 of Unexpectedly You (Boston Boys Bozok #1)

“Man, she was trouble, wasn’t she?”

I laugh. “Yeah, she was. In the best way.”

I grab the beers Alex brought and make my way to the sofa, and he joins me, stopping to admire the blanket draped over the back before he sits. “Did your Gram make this, too?” he asks, looking at the large throw in pink, blue and purple yarn. He runs his hand along it like it’s fine china.

“No, I did,” I tell him, and he gapes.

“Seriously?”

I flush and nod.

“Dude, it’s gorgeous, and like, amazingly soft. I can’t believe you made it.”

“Yeah, Gram taught me to knit and I do it when I can. Usually while watching TV.”

“Are you knitting anything now?” he asks, taking a seat on the sofa. Marble hops from her spot on the ottoman to the open space between us.

“Yeah, actually, I’m making a blanket for Peyton for her birthday. She’s been asking for one forever.”

“You gonna work on it while we watch? I don’t mind.”

“Nah, not this time, but I probably will if you decide you like it and we want to keep watching.”

“Hey, there he is,” Alex gestures to the giant plush penguin sitting in the corner of the room.

I haven’t quite figured out what to do with him yet.

He’s so damn big. Probably a good three feet tall and very chubby, with a giant bow tie around his neck.

It makes me happy, though, to have him, even if he was intended for Stacy.

Maybe there’s some spite there if I’m being honest, though I guess Stacy doesn’t know the difference because she never saw it, but thinking of her having anything from Alex makes my skin crawl, and I also like that I have this constant reminder of how Alex and I met, even if things were a bit awkward at first. Seeing the penguin in my apartment, having Alex in my apartment, makes me happy.

“He have a name?” Alex asks, nudging my arm with his elbow.

“A name?”

“Yeah, all stuffed animals need names.”

I look at the penguin. I didn’t have a lot of stuffed animals as a kid.

Not past the age of nine or so, I don’t think, but there are a few that I keep in tubs in storage that I got from Mom or Gram and have sentimental value.

One sits on my bed, actually. A worn out teddy bear named Jean-Luc Teddy, because Gram got him for me, and we loved to watch Star Trek together. Jean-Luc is my favorite character.

“How about Tux?” I say, looking at the gigantic penguin with the bow tie.

Alex chuckles. “Nice. Tux it is.” He hands me a beer and then clinks his beer bottle against mine.

“Did you know that some penguins give pebbles to their potential mates as a sign of affection, and that when people send messages now to friends and family throughout the day, little things that remind them of that person or that they know they’ll appreciate, like gifs or memes, or just random texts, they call it pebbling?

It was originally adopted by the neurodivergent community, I think, as a way for people who are nonverbal or have trouble expressing emotions with words to have a safe way of communicating and showing they care, and then over time it’s become more popular in the neurotypical community, too. ”

“How do you know that? You a penguin expert?” I tease.

He laughs. “No, hardly. But my brother-in-law, Pierre, loves animals, and he knows a lot. And I asked him what the most romantic animals were because I wanted to find something to give to Stacy as a gift, something different, you know, because I thought it would be romantic, and he suggested penguins. A lot of them mate for life, too. And they’re really affectionate with each other.

Turns out Stacy doesn’t deserve Tux, or you, so glad he’s here. ”

I grin. “Me, too.”

He slaps my arm. “Okay, show me what this Supernatural show is all about, cowboy.”

We end up watching the first three episodes before I tell Alex it’s getting to be my bedtime. He genuinely seems to like the Winchester brothers and their family business of saving people and hunting things, as they say on the show.

“Same time next week?” he says, standing. I only just realized he didn’t even bother wearing shoes over, and I kinda like it.

“Sounds good.”

“You let me know about the books. If you do decide you’re okay with me reading to you we can figure out a time.” He scoops up Marble, who hisses at him before letting him scratch behind her ear.

“I know, princess, I’m gonna miss Bentley, too,” he tells her, and my cheeks heat for the millionth time that night. When I close the door behind Alex it’s with a smile on my face. Peyton was right. It is nice having another friend.

I groan when my phone buzzes on my nightstand a few days later.

It’s not my alarm. I don’t work today with it being Sunday.

And I was planning to sleep in. I reach for it, opening one eye and keeping my face smashed against the pillow.

The first thing I notice is the time. I guess I did sleep in because it’s after ten.

The second thing is that I have a text from Alex.

Alex: Rise and shine, gorgeous! You have plans.

Me: I do?

Alex: Very much so

The next thing I hear is a pounding on my front door and it makes me jolt. Jesus Christ.

Alex: Come let me in

Alex: Hurry

Alex: I have to pee

I groan again and roll my eyes. Also, did he call me gorgeous?

I scroll back up just to double check. He sure did.

And why do I like it so much? I don’t know but it’s making my heart flutter and my dick twitch in my pajama pants.

It’s only then I realize I have a good old case of morning wood.

And fuck, no time to do anything about it with Alex outside my door.

I climb out of bed and slide my bathrobe on over my pajama pants so I can hide my hard on, then make my way out of the bedroom and through the living area to the front door, where Alex hasn’t stopped knocking. And now he’s calling my name.

“Bentley, let me in, I gotta tinkle!”

I fling the door open and give him a menacing glare.

Well, I try to, but I’ve never really been good at that and from the wide smile on his face it’s not very effective.

Honestly, I also can’t bring myself to actually be frustrated with him because I’m glad he’s here.

I’m not so great at making plans with people, and if they don’t take charge and insert themselves in my life, like Peyton did, and now Alex, I’d just spend all of my time alone.

“You do know you can use your own bathroom, right?” I tell him, rubbing my eyes, still trying to wake up.

“Where's the fun in that?” he says, and I open my eyes again to see him grinning wider.

I blink when I see what he’s wearing. A red tank top and black athletic shorts with a black baseball cap on, and sneakers, and he’s carrying a coat and a duffle bag.

Fuck, why am I staring at his biceps? Or the fact that you can see pretty much his entire chest through the armholes of that tank?

Or the fact that his nipples are dark and perky.

Shit, what the hell is wrong with me? I’ve never had this kind of reaction to a guy before.

Never noticed them like this. What is it about Alex that has me so discombobulated? And why is my dick twitching again?

“You okay, cowboy?” he asks, and I flush crimson when I realize I’ve just been staring at him. Shoot, not just staring at him, checking him out.

“I uh, yeah,” I mutter, and step aside so he can come in. “Where are you going dressed like that in this weather?” I ask him as he strides inside and I close the door. My heart rate has picked up and I’m trying really hard not to let my eyes roam over his body.

“ We are going to the gym,” he tells me. “So get ready. I’ll wait for you. I really do have to pee though, do you mind?”

I shake my head and he drops his things near the front door and makes his way to the bathroom. When he comes back out he plops himself down on the couch and gives me a shooing motion.

“Uh, help yourself to food and water,” I tell him. “I’ll just go take a shower.” I have to find a way to get rid of this erection because it is not going away on its own.

As I step into the bathroom and close the door behind me, I let out a sigh and try to calm the pitter patter of my heart.

I hang up my robe and turn the water on before I strip.

My dick is leaking now and I take it in hand and give it a few slow pulls, biting my lip to keep from moaning too loudly.

God, it feels good. Maybe my reaction to Alex has more to do with the fact that I haven’t given my dick attention for quite a while and less to do with Alex himself.

That has to be it. It would make sense, right?

Ever since I broke up with Stacy I haven’t really had much desire for sex in general.

Maybe because I’m scared? I still worry that she cheated on me because I wasn't satisfying her, which has made it hard to want to hook up with anyone, and I’m too shy to go meeting someone at a bar or something.

In the past, the girls I’ve dated have been ones that Peyton introduced me to, or that I met through my job, like Stacy.

And I’ve honestly been so tired and busy with everything, I have had no desire to get back out into the dating scene.

I haven’t been with anyone else in weeks, but I haven’t been jerking off either, so I’m probably just going through a dry spell or something.