We finish our food in silence, and when I offer him a tour of the house, he quickly jumps out of his chair with his empty plate in his hand.
Laughing, I pile his dirty dishes on mine and set them in the sink. He helps me wipe down the table without me asking, and then he’s right on my heels as I take him to the finished basement.
“Not sure why I’m over here following an almost stranger to their dark basement without thinking it through, but I think it’s too late for me to change my mind now.” He looks back up the stairs as we reach the bottom. I chuckle and flip on the lights, and his face brightens.
“This isn’t like any basement I’ve seen.” He marvels at the large flat screen TV on the wall and the large black leather couch that has two sides that recline. “This is incredible. You really have everything.”
With him standing in the middle of all my other possessions, I have to agree.
His attention moves to the other side where all my gym equipment is. “This setup is even better than the one at the studio.”
“That’s not hard to do,” I say flatly.
“You’re right.” His tone shifts to a higher octave, and he tries out two of my weight machines before falling back on the comfortable cushions of my couch. I lower myself beside him and we sit here running through a bunch of random topics. He opens up more about himself and his childhood, then talks about how he never imagined he’d be where he is now and how selfish he has to be to feel like something’s missing.
“Having all your needs met in this short life we’re given isn’t selfish at all.”
He turns his face toward me, his cheek pressing tightly to the couch. “It really does feel short sometimes, especially when time is moving faster than I am.”
“That’s why it’s important we make the best of it any way we can. If you’re not happy, then figure out why and fix it.”
He lets out a heavy breath. “I wish it were that easy.”
“It might be easier than you think.” I stroke his chin with my fingers and he vibrates against me, eyes fluttering closed. They open seconds later and he jumps forward, touching the spot I did, a muscle ticking in his cheek. “Can we see your pool now?”
“What about the rest of the inside of the house?”
“I have a feeling I’ve already seen the best parts inside. Now I wanna see the best parts outside.”
Not all of them. He hasn’t seen the filming room yet that I usually disguise as the guestroom. Not that I’ve had many other guests aside from him. “Okay. If that’s what you want to do next.”
“It is,” he says, with excitement ringing in his tone, and he jumps from the couch, offering me his hand. I take it and he smiles as I let him help pull me to my feet. He’s so busy thinking about where I’m taking him that he doesn’t notice how long we’re holding hands for. Not even when we’ve reached my back patio and he stares is in awe at all the decor I have surrounding the pool meant to mimic the beach.
“Now this . . . this is the best part.”
I squeeze my fingers around his, taking in his glimmering eyes and the happiness beaming in his face. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”
He looks at me and then my hand, his smile growing. “You think we could go swimming?”
I look at the water and nod. “Yeah, if you think you have the time for it.”
“Lisa wants us getting proper exercise in between working, so all I’m doing is trying to abide by her rules.”
“I’ll go get us some shorts to swim in, then, and you keep standing here, thinking about being in the water.”
His hand breaks from mine and he pulls off his shirt, kicking off his slides. “No need for that. I have the perfect swimwear right here.” He winks, shoving down his basketball shorts, andstands beside me like a beacon of light in nothing but his black boxer briefs. And just like that, this becomes my new favorite thing, and I can’t wait to see what might replace it.
Ten
Sterling
He has more tattoos hidden under his clothes, and man is he a work of art to look at. This man deserves to be part of one of those damn museum displays, because holy heck is he the most stunning thing I’ve ever seen. Hayden has muscles for days and is filling out his Calvin Klein underwear better than any other piece of clothing I’ve seen him in.
I thought I did a bad job trying to convince myself I had zero interest in him before, but it’s pointless to even try to lie to myself about not wanting him now. Because let’s be honest here, I didn’t go to Miranda’s place for a reason. It wasn’t where I wanted to be, and it would have done nothing to sate what I feel every time this man walks into a room.
Jerking off to thoughts of him isn’t going to get me anywhere either, and neither is holding his hand while telling myself it’s enough. Even though I’ve enjoyed doing it more than a lot of the things I’ve done with other people, I need much more. My body’s tired of me teasing it with samples and is begging for the whole damn platter.
This could push back the goal I’ve set for myself, though. I only have to stop things from going too far for three more days. I can handle that, can’t I? I’m not that fucking weak when it comes to a person from a gender I’ve been able to pretend I have zero interest in for the last five years.