“Why do you have rum stashed in the cupboard?”
He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “In case there’s ever a storm, and we get stuck in here.” I rolled my eyes. “So, you don’t want any?”
Checking my towel to make sure it wasn’t going anywhere, I moved closer and took the now full glass. “To finding your happy place, Jas,” he toasted, but he sounded sad. I forced a smile, clinking mine off his, all the while wondering if I was leaving the only place I’d ever felt happy.
FOUR
TRAVIS
I downedmy drink and then poured another before I fixed my gaze on the storm hammering against the metal building; the wind reminding me how badly built our little shed by the water was.
“I’m so cold,” Jasper mumbled.
“Drink. It will warm you up. I think there’s a blanket in here somewhere. Let me look.”
I searched through one of the cabinets that were filled with odds and ends that Jas and I had collected over the years. More reminders of our time here together. I chewed my bottom lip as I tried to stave off my emotions. I didn’t want to get into another disagreement. Especially as neither of us had anywhere to run off to.
My hand touched something soft, and I wiggled it out, giving it a shake before I held it up triumphantly just in time to see Jasper down a full glass of rum.
“Woah,” I cried. “You don’t drink very often. You’ll end up hammered.”
He shrugged. “Maybe I want to mix things up. I’m always so safe, so in control. Maybe it’s time to let loose.”
I chuckled. “Mid-life crisis?”
He flicked me the middle finger. “Are we here for the night, do you think?”
“Well, we can’t drive now, so it looks like it. We can sleep on the boat if the waves calm down a bit.”
His forehead wrinkled. “In that tiny bed.”
“Well, one of us can sleep out there and one take the sofa in here.”
He nodded, his shoulders relaxing as my suggestion seemed to allay his concerns. Jas was uptight. He always had been, but it had got worse recently and tonight... well, he seemed like he was about to snap.
And as if he was proving my point, he poured another huge glass and downed it, hiccupping and then slamming his hand over his mouth, giggling. It was a beautiful sound, but a sign that the professor was halfway to being pissed.
“Sit, and no more booze.”
He dipped his head, looking up at me and batting his eyelashes. “Spoilsport.”
I stepped closer and took the glass from his hand, placing it on the workbench and replacing it with the blanket. He gave me a grateful look before he wrapped it around his shoulders and I tried not to think about him being naked under the towel that sat dangerously low, showing off his chiseled abs and the V in his hips that made me imagine where it was pointing and what it would look like hard and leaking precum as he begged me to give him some relief.
“Trav.”
Jasper had moved to sit on the floor, just like he always did at home, claiming he liked the firmness, but I’d never quite believed him. I think he liked the position we always found ourselves in. I know I did. Although I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy it tonight, wearing just a towel with nowhere to hide my erection when I popped some wood, which I inevitably did.
Jasper looked at me expectantly. I picked up the bottle on the way past, taking a large gulp of rum as I walked. Jas tracked my movement, gnawing on his bottom lip as his eyes traced down my body like he wanted to devour me.
No, I was reading into it. He was just looking at me like a friend. That’s all this was.
The wind slammed into the building again, lightning forking across the sky just as the lights went off.
“Shit,” I muttered. “I’ll find a torch.”
“Don’t.” Jasper’s voice was husky and slid over me like velvet. “It’s nice. We can watch the storm. The lights won’t be off for long.” He tapped the sofa next to him.
Against my better judgement, I sat.