Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“Our guide for the whitewater rafting took the pic,” Ethan explained. “Mom and Dad loved going on hikes and exploring nature. We were always going on these little adventures together. Dad had grown up doing a lot of hiking and exploring. He didn’t have much, but he didn’t need to because he could rough it when he needed to.”
“Roughing it? Like father, like son,” I teased.
“Right?” he said with a smile. “But Mom didn’t do a lot of stuff like that when she was a kid. She was from a very different sort of family. They were into traveling, but they were into champagne brunches and going to expensive restaurants and plays. Mom liked that she and Dad were different. She was more into a life like that than she’d been into my grandmother’s life.”
“What made this particular trip so special?” I asked.
His smile expanded. “They’d warned us the rapids were strong, but I guess they didn’t even realize how strong because the raft ended up flipping three times. I got carried downstream one of the times, and they had to send this guy who was in a kayak who followed along in case of emergencies. He had to pull me out of the river. But it was so turbulent and scary even, and Mom was screaming. Dad tried to keep his cool, but I could tell by the way he was looking around uneasily he wasn’t sure we were going to make it. When we finally all reached the end, we started laughing like crazy people because we were so happy we survived. It was a great time, and we didn’t stop talking about that trip afterward. It was our go-to because scary as it was, it was a hell of a lot of fun.”
His eyes watered.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to make you sad.”
“I’m not sad,” Ethan said. “I’m actually really fucking happy right now, thinking how lucky I was to get to share that moment with them. Sometimes you take things for granted when you have them…don’t realize how special they are until it’s too late, but I cherished that moment. I loved them as much as I could while I had them, and I’m glad that I had the chance. That’s why I refuse to take things for granted now. That’s why when I find something that feels good…be it a cute guy in a bar who catches my interest or a sweet feeling against my prostate, I don’t hold back. I know how much it matters to appreciate the time we have.”
I set his phone down between us and leaned into him. “Then I guess I’m the lucky man who benefited from that wisdom.”
“Yeah, you’re fucking lucky all right.” He laughed at his own playful remark.
“You laugh a lot more than when we first met,” I noted. “Were you just acting all serious or do I just make you this happy?”
“I think you know the answer to that.”
“Maybe I want to hear you say it.”
“You gonna beg for it? I know how you enjoy begging.”
“Only because I know how much you enjoy seeing me beg.”
He stole a kiss, and I submitted, enjoying the way his tongue slid right in, seized control of my mouth.
He wrapped an arm around me and forced me close to him so our torsos pressed together.
I got so caught up in the moment, I finally remembered to breathe, and I gasped.
He gripped the back of my head, unable to stifle his own smile. “Oh, I love the way I make you lose your mind,” he said. “I’m not ashamed of telling you how much happier I am being around you. Everyone can tell. Hell, Sadie keeps giving me shit about it at work. Telling me how whipped I am.”
“Oh, whipped? I don’t know that any man can whip Ethan Harris.”
“You did.” The amusement in his expression dissolved, and I could see his sincerity. “Hell, your parents can already tell I’m in over my head with you. I’ve never been able to find someone who I could stand to be around for more than a few hookups, but you changed the game. My ninja charged in and kicked down all the walls, and I enjoyed watching them fall. What you’ve brought into my life is so much more than what I had before you came into it.”
“I feel the same way. Straighty came in and twisted everything up. Always the contradiction. Always the guy who was a bit of a puzzle…who I couldn’t quite wrap my thoughts around. But I’m having a fun time figuring you out. We’re very different about a lot of things.”
“But similar where it counts,” Ethan pointed out.
“No, for sure. I never met a guy who loves winning as much as you do.”
“But I finally found someone who challenges me. Who can catch me off guard. Who can get me riled up and worked up in ways I wasn’t comfortable with before. And I lose to you all the fucking time, but at the end of the day, I know I’m still winning.…”