4. Jacob

4

JACOB

W hat the hell was I getting myself into?

I'd been flirting with Leo pretty much since I'd laid eyes on him, unable to help myself. And now, he was asleep in my bed, his face scrunched up like he was in the middle of a meeting and had concerns. It was interesting, watching his expressions change despite his unconscious state, as I wondered if his dreams and his real life were so deeply intertwined he'd slip out of one and into another as soon as he woke up.

Since when did I watch people sleep?

I rested my back against the headboard, my mind reeling. I'd never been more than a one-night-stand kind of guy, sometimes a hook-up-a-few-nights-in-a-row type guy. I'd always been so busy with running Wild Woods that I hadn't really given relationships more than a second glance, much to the dismay and disapproval of the women I'd been sleeping with. Even though I was always up front about my lack of interest in full-time commitment, there were still those who thought they were going to change my mind.

And then, there was Leo.

I'd never been with a guy before, never even really thought about it. And yet, hooking up with Leo felt like it was second nature to me. It'd also felt pretty damn good, too, the kind of thing I was itching to repeat as soon as possible. Still, despite Leo being my first guy hook up, I didn't feel any particular way about it.

In the moment, all it felt was right .

My main concern with Leo? Not knowing how he was going to feel about how assertive I'd been the night before, not knowing if he was actually into me being the dominant one when he seemed like he was so used to being in control. He'd seemed pretty into the whole thing, but it wouldn't be unusual for him to change his mind once he woke up.

There was also the possibility that he saw this as a one-time thing and wouldn't want anything else to do with me afterward.

Shit.

That would've been the worst kind of irony.

"What happens if we can't collate the pages in time?" Leo murmured in his sleep. "Listen, if we don't get these documents faxed over, the dog is going to win the presidency… dog president… we can't have a dog president…"

I lightly chuckled before I kissed him awake, softly planting my lips against his cheeks one at a time. "Dear God, we can't have a dog president, now can we?"

Leo grunted before he loudly yawned. He then blinked a few times as he looked up at me, like I was slowly coming into view. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi."

"Good morning." Leo changed up his greeting, as a warm smile came over his face. "Fun fact, you look just as good in the morning as you do at night."

"Same to you."

Leo reached his hand out toward mine. "Last night was great. Like, really great. Did you have a good time?"

"I had the best time," I admitted as I shifted closer to him. "What about you? How are you feeling?"

"Like we should tip someone off about sanitizing the sauna," he joked. "And like…"

"And like?"

"Shit!" Leo's eyes suddenly went wide. "Fuck. I've got to go."

"Wait—"

Leo was already pulling his towel around his waist. "Sorry. I just need to put out a few fires. Or I guess, one really big fire."

"The whole photoshoot thing?"

"The whole photoshoot thing," Leo repeated, but his tone was manic. "I'll catch up with you later?"

"Yeah. We can catch up later. See you around?—"

Before I could even finish my sentence, Leo was already out the door.

"You look like shit, Bradley."

It was the first thing I said when I found my cousin sitting in one of the lobbies. He had an open bottle of Aspirin in front of him, with a shot of whiskey right beside it.

"Hair of the dog?" I asked, taking a seat next to him on the couch. "But also, a bad headache you're trying to magically make go away by drinking more?"

"Long night." Bradley grunted. "Those guys really know how to live it up."

"Yeah, I believe you." I chuckled. "I'll probably be keeping my distance. Only one of us can be the party guy, right?"

"I'm not the party guy."

"Weren't you up all night partying?"

"That's irrelevant."

I shook my head with a smirk. "So, what's the verdict on the snow outside?"

Bradley squinted before he tilted his head to the side. "I have a bad feeling."

"How bad?"

"I think we might be here for about a week, until things finally settle down?—"

"A week?!" Leo's shock interrupted our conversation. Suddenly, he was standing in front of us, his eyes open wide. "Did you just say we're going to be stuck here for a whole week?!"

"If we're lucky." Bradley shrugged. "We have to wait for the storm to stop. Then for the snow to settle. And then, we start shoveling."

"But we can't be stuck in here for a whole week!" Leo pleaded. "By then, the time we booked for the photoshoot with the guys will be completely over! We won't even be able to get any pics outside?—"

"Sorry. Just the way the cookie crumbles." Bradley took a swig of his drink. "There's no point in trying to argue with nature."

Leo turned his attention to me. "And? What do you think about this? Is it really going to be a whole week?"

"I think we should listen to Bradley. He's never been wrong about this kind of stuff before," I replied. "But I also think that there's a way to compromise here."

"Compromise? How?" Leo chuckled but it was hollow. "How are we supposed to work through this one, Jacob?"

"Well, what was your plan for today? Assuming we weren't snowed in."

"All the guys were going to hit the gym for a morning workout. And then, we were going to set up with Tommy to take photos outside."

"We can still do the first thing, can't we?"

"Sure, but what's the point?" Leo threw his hands up in the air. "They're supposed to get all pumped up, and for what? To hang out in the lobby?"

"I have an idea." I got up from the couch. "But I need to get changed first. After that, we'll go over to the gym."

"What's the idea?" Leo pressed, even as I was already walking away from the conversation. "Jacob? Jacob?!"

I turned around to offer him a playful wink before I headed off to my room.