Page 36 of Win You Over

Remington

“ A re you sure you can’t stay longer?” Mom asks over breakfast two days after the wedding. We spent yesterday with my parents. Holden building a puzzle with Dad, while Mom and I cooked, and then the four of us ate on the patio and sat outside until the sun set.

“Holden has to work,” I reply, then pop a spoonful of cereal into my mouth. “And I want to go back with him.” My hand finds his on the table, and I twist our pinky fingers together.

“It’s been really lovely having you with us,” Mom says to Holden.

“Thank you for having me.” His voice is soft, tentative, but it’s clear in the past two weeks that he’s grown comfortable around my parents. My heart warms at the thought. Holden is a part of this family now because he’s mine.

I am so fiercely sure of that fact. Holden Booker is mine. I need everyone to know that.

When breakfast is over, Holden returns to the room to pack and I pop outside, walking down the path towards the beach. Taking out my phone, I dial Finn’s number, listening as it rings once, twice, and then his voice carries over the line.

“Bro! How are you? You home yet?”

“Hey, Finn. Not yet. We’re heading to the airport soon and will be back late tomorrow night.”

I watch a swimmer out in the bay, popping up and then dipping back below the water as they swim from one end of the cove to the other.

“Good. Good. You worked out how you’re planning this whole breakup thing?”

A hollowness sits in the pit of my stomach at the implication.

“About that,” I say, walking further down to the beach, my feet sinking into the sand when I step off the path.

“Holden and I are together. For real.”

Finn is silent for a moment.

“But,” he starts. “You don’t date.” Confusion is clear in his voice.

I sit down on a small dune, my free hand playing with the sand, watching the grains flit through the gaps of my fingers.

“I didn’t. But that was before him. He’s…” I don’t continue my sentence, not sure how open to be with my best friend.

“So, you’re actually dating him?” There’s a bite in his voice when he asks. “The guy who never has a serious relationship is changing his ways for the loser.”

“Finn,” I growl. “He’s not a loser. He’s amazing. You’d see that if you actually gave him a chance.”

“That’s why you’re calling, isn’t it? To tell me we can’t be friends unless I accept your little boy toy.” There’s sadness mixed with the anger in his voice, so I don’t react to the way he speaks about Holden. Finn and I have a long history and I don’t want to lose him.

“Finn, that’s not what I’m saying. I just need you to accept that he and I are together. And I’m happy. Isn’t that good enough for you?”

He’s quiet, before he sighs and says, “I guess.”

“Nothing changes between us. You’re still my best friend.”

He chuckles, but it’s not a nice sound. “Everything changes, Remington. You’ve barely had time for me these last two weeks. You won’t have time for me when you’re back and –”

“I will,” I protest.

“But things can’t be like they were,” he points out, and it’s clear to me what he’s referring to.

“No, Finn. They can’t be exactly as they were.”

There’s silence over the line again, and I take my phone away from my ear to see if we’re still connected. When I return it to my ear, Finn speaks.

“Why now?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

“You never wanted to date, even when there was someone right in front of you who wanted to be with you. Why now? What does he have that...” he hesitates and I try to work out what he’s saying.

Who was right in front of me? It can’t be him.

He’s never mentioned us being more than friends with benefits. “What does he have that others don’t?”

I don’t need time to mull over the answer.

“It’s not about what he has. It’s about who he is and how he makes me feel. It’s not something I can quantify with words, Finn. It’s something I know because I feel it.”

“Okay,” he replies, a note of resignation in the solitary word.

“Okay? So you’ll give him a chance? Treat him like you would any of our other friends?”

“Sure,” he says. “Look, I have to go.”

He hangs up the phone before I have a chance to say anything more, and the hollow feeling in my stomach grows into a giant chasm.

Tucking my phone in my pocket, I stand and make my way back up to the villa. I find Holden in the bedroom, sprawled out on his stomach, his face buried in the pillows. Both our bags are packed, waiting at the side of the bed.

“Baby? What are you doing?”

“Saying goodbye to the bed,” he mumbles, turning his face towards me. “It’s so big and comfortable and I think I love it.”

I laugh, sit down next to him, and rest a hand on his lower back.

“It’s just a bed, Hold. But sure, take your time saying goodbye.”

He rolls onto his back, his dark hair loose and spreading out on the pillow like a halo.

“You can’t understand. Not until you’re sharing the smallest double bed ever with someone as restless as Theo.” He shakes his head, then spreads his limbs wider. My mind snags on this little nugget he dropped.

“Um…rewind for a second.”

Holden pushes up onto his elbows, his eyebrows pulled into a frown.

“Yeah?”

“You and Theo share a bed?” Blood pulses in my ears and there’s this tightening in my chest when I play that scenario in my mind.

“Yes. We share a tiny room and an equally tiny bed in a shitty apartment. We have for almost two years now.”

My hand clenches at the sheets, and I lean forward, bringing my face closer to his.

“ Leeutjie , are you telling me you share a bed with another man?”

He tips his head, teasing his lips over mine.

“Not just another man. My best friend. We’ve been sleeping in the same bed since we were kids having sleepovers.”

A growl builds in my chest and I bite his lip, loving the way he hisses when I pull on the flesh.

“You don’t see a problem with this?”

“Nope,” Holden says, popping the p, a smile twisting his lips. He is the finest form of trouble. I am totally screwed.

My fingers find his ribs and I dig them in, making him squirm and fall onto his back, laughter bubbling out as I continue to jab him in the ribs.

The sound is beyond beautiful and I find myself hoping I will hear it for the rest of my life.

It’s a jarring thought because I have never considered my future with another person. Until him.

Covering Holden’s body with mine, I bite him hard on the neck, making sure to leave a very visible, very prominent mark.

Holden writhes beneath me, and I slide my leg between his. His cock stiffens, and he rolls his hips.

“Are you jealous?” he asks, his voice a shuddering whisper as he continues to move himself against me.

“Fuck yes. I will never tell you what you can and can’t do, but baby, I’m buying you separate beds.”

Holden laughs, the noise morphing from delight to a deep groan as I apply pressure between his legs.

“Don’t…” he sucks in a breath, his chest rising with the action. “…be ridiculous.”

I nip his jaw, moving my tongue and teeth downwards, to his neck, his collarbone and then lift his t-shirt and continue my journey southward.

“Not ridiculous. You’re mine, Holden. The only person you should share a bed with is me.”

Sliding down the waistband of his shorts, I free his cock, wrap my hand around it and stroke. My tongue traces along his happy trail, into the dip of his V and then ghosts over his tip. And then I stop.

Holden whines like the needy kitty that he is, canting his hips.

“Remi.”

“What baby?”

“Stop teasing me,” he moans.

“I would never,” I say with mock indignation, licking the bead of pre-cum from his tip. My hand moves slowly over his shaft, keeping the pressure light. Holden bucks his hips again, chasing his pleasure, but I continue to stroke him at a languid pace. Frustration pulses off of him in waves.

“Fucking hell, Remi. Please.”

I chuckle. He’s so fucking adorable when he’s needy.

“Hmm, I’m not sure. Maybe we should take a shower and head to the airport.”

I pull back, my lips twitching beneath a smile.

“You’re such a dick. Fine. Buy me a new bed. No more sharing. What the fuck ever. Make me come, Remington.” There’s that angry kitten I adore so much and there’s no way I can resist growly Holden. Honestly, I cannot resist any version of this man.

“Tell me what you want, baby.” I tighten my hold, stroking and twisting upwards making him groan.

“Make me come,” he pleads.

“How?” I want to hear it. Want to hear every desire and dirty word from his pretty mouth.

“Remi,” he whines, all but writhing on the bed. I fucking love the way my name sounds on his lips – his English accent stronger when he’s aroused.

“Tell me,” I demand, bringing my lips to his head while skating a finger between his ass cheeks.

“On your fingers,” he rasps. “I want to come on your fingers.”

“As you wish, pretty boy.”

By the time we reach Marina Cove, we’ve been travelling for over twenty hours. I’m sweaty, hungry, and exhausted.

“Stay with me tonight,” I say to my boyfriend, as the taxi carries us through the quiet streets. It’s after midnight and while I’m sure the town is still bustling at this hour, the suburbs are quiet.

He chews his bottom lip, but nods, and I rest my head on his shoulder, grateful to have another night with him.

When we stumble into my empty house, we leave our bags in the entrance hall, opening Holden’s only so he can take out his contact solution before we trudge upstairs.

Despite being sweaty and covered in the grime of travel, we both use the bathroom quickly, then fall into bed, curling up in each other and drifting off to sleep.

It’s almost lunch by the time we rise. Holden’s eyes are bleary, black bags heavy beneath them.

“When do you have to work?” I ask, rolling over and burying my face in his underarm and breathing in his sweaty, musky scent. Despite being tired, just the smell and feel of him, and having him here with me, in my bed, has my cock stirring.