Chapter 8

The rest of the week we only grew closer, and yet the weight of the ‘ what if?’ settled heavier inside me. What if everything returned to how it was when we went back home? What if I was merely something to do on what would otherwise be a boring trip for him? What if word got out at work and I was done for? What if I had to give up my Prince Charming now that I finally found him?

I kept those thoughts to myself and tried to focus on the present and how much I loved being with Reed. How he made me feel strong and sexy. How he seemed to crave my touch and sought my protectiveness. It was all so heady and intoxicating and would be hard to give up. At least I had a few more days to bask in him before we had to face reality.

Each day, we spent time together with the others, an odd group that all got along rather well. We grew closer with Rider and Cam, even going star-gazing with them one night, learning why it was so special to them. I stared into the crystal clear night sky and imagined what it would be like to immortalize someone with their own star. Was there any kind of permanence for Reed and me? Anything lasting? A love written on the stars like they had?

I hoped so. I wanted it but was afraid too. Afraid of wanting it so much, I would be left crushed under a falling star.

Each new thing I learned about him I found endearing and captivating. All the same things that might have been turn offs if I had learned them on a date at a restaurant, yet somehow, out here, it was all different. We were able to focus on each other, seeing past the surface things and first impressions, which I could admit I had not given him a proper chance before.

Every moment I spent with him cemented him to me. I enjoyed the fun, confident, showboat side. The soft, anxious side. The spending time getting his hair just right side. And the take what he wanted side. Definitely that part. Reed was a walking, talking wet dream, and damn, he had zero hesitations about using his body.

For six nights we slept together, cuddled through the cold nights, Reed’s body perfectly conformed to mine as if our spoons had been made as part of a set. In the mornings, we would wake up and give in to the needs that built while we slept, finding ways to warm our bodies and leave each other panting. Despite Reed’s aversion to the camp shower, my wet wipes only went so far, and we’d had to take a couple of quick rinses throughout the week.

For seven days we lazed around, ate camp food, went for walks, and talked. We talked more than I had with any other man I’d dated. Spending twenty-four hours a day together with no distractions, no social media, no Netflix, or the busyness that filled our daily lives back home felt like it had been the equivalent of months spent together.

In the evenings, we joined the hunts for the cryptid that hadn’t been seen or heard since our day by the stream. It had gotten easier; the group had a more relaxed vibe without the urgent fear pressing in on everyone, and Reed didn’t seem nearly as terrified as he’d been the first day, but he clung to me all the same, and I loved it. I loved the sounds of the woods, the fresh air, the comradery with the others, but especially the beautiful man who didn’t leave my side. This trip was everything I hoped for and everything I’d never dreamed of.

The last morning, we were breaking down the campsite, loading everything on the trucks, and all the what-ifs slammed into me. Everything would change after this. We would go back to the city, back to work, back to reality. Where we were two very different people who came together in isolation away from society, but who would be torn apart by the worlds we lived in.

With our stuff loaded, Reed came before me and lifted my chin to meet his gaze. “You’ve been awfully quiet this morning. What’s going on?”

I shook my head, not sure if I could bring myself to say what was haunting me.

He placed his hands on the sides of my waist, keeping me in place. Did he sense I would make a run for it? “Jesse, you can talk to me, whatever it is. We’ve spent more time talking with each other this week than I have with anyone, probably ever. You asked me not to hide from you, so now I’m asking you the same.”

I brushed the back of my knuckles over his cheek. “You’re so perfect.”

“I’m…sorry?” he said with a shrug. I let out a chuckle, appreciating the break from the tension. “Come on, boy scout, out with it.”

“Are we still just…having fun? I don’t want to go back to how things were.”

Reed sighed and gave me a wistful smile. “I don’t either. I’ve kept people at a distance for a long time. But with you, I don’t want distance. Yes, I’m having fun, but it’s so much more than that. I like you a lot, Jesse. No, not just like. I’ve completely fallen for you. You make me feel safe and seen. I don’t have to pretend with you.”

“You don’t, Reed. I swear. I like all of you. I like you when you are full of charm and hooking people with your stories, and I like you in the quiet moments when you let your guard down. I like you so much that I ache at the thought of losing you. A soul-deep ache I’ve never felt before.”

Reed tightened his grip on my waist. “You won’t lose me. If you want me, I’m yours.”

“God, you have no idea how much I want you. I can already picture a future together, and there are so many things I want to do with you.”

His eyes lit up, and his expression filled with wonder. “Yeah?”

“Hell yeah.”

“I want that too, Jesse. I was always so afraid of letting people in, but you’re already in, all the way in, and I don’t want to let that go.”

I grabbed his cheeks in my hands and sealed my mouth to his, kissing him until he leaned into me, kissing and pouring every vision of the future into it, kissing and picturing him naked in a hot, tropical location. Kissing and claiming him as mine.

When I released him so we could catch our breath, he gave me a punch-drunk look. “So…what do you say? We get back to the city, you come over to my place. We take a long, hot shower and clean all this filth off of us and then see how dirty we can get again.”

My heart and my dick jumped in tandem at the thought. “Fuck yes!”