Page 90 of Mr. Swoony

She pushes my chest. “I’m being serious.”

“So am I.”

“But—”

“But nothing. Just enjoy yourself. If we get into the tent, and you don’t want to have sex, no big deal. I’m a big boy.”

“Really?”

“I do know how to masturbate. I’ve become quite the expert at it since we met.” I wink at her.

She tilts her head. “Conor.”

I pull her toward me so there’s no space and kiss the top of her head. “I’m serious. There’s no pressure on that kind of stuff at all. But there’s a bonfire happening and look up.”

She tips her head up, and so do I. The dark sky sparkles with stars. It’s so much better than that time at the lakeshore.

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” she says, but I tilt my head down to look at her.

“Yeah, it is.”

She lowers her head, catching my eyes. “Smooth.”

“I thought so.” I chuckle, kissing her cheek. “But in all seriousness, nothing is as beautiful as you.” I slide my hand down to hers, capturing it. “Now let’s go have fun with our friends.”

“Thanks for talking me down.”

I stop her right before we walk by Henry’s truck and into view of where they’re all laughing and carrying on around the fire. Pushing her back against his truck, I keep our hands entwined behind her back. “It’s my job.”

She smiles. “But?—”

“I want the job. I want to be the one to calm your fears, to empower you, to be the one you seek out to find refuge.”

She sighs, and her eyes lock with mine. “Where did you come from?”

“Chicago.”

Her forehead falls to my chest again, and I lay my hands on her cheeks, lifting her head so she looks at me.

“Do we have a deal?”

She nods.

“Good.”

I lead us to the bonfire where everyone else has a drink in their hands and is shooting the shit. We sit in the two unoccupied chairs, leaving me next to Tweetie and Eloise.

“Sorry, Rowan, but it’s the one thing that comes with you that I hate.” Kyleigh turns off the screen on her phone and puts it in the drink holder on her chair.

“Me too, but most of all I hate that you have to deal with it.” Rowan frowns.

“What am I missing?” I hand Eloise a seltzer from the cooler beside me and grab a beer for myself.

“A picture that Rowan put up with him and Kyleigh yesterday got swarmed by the puck bunnies.” Tweetie cringes.

“It’s all passive aggressive bullshit. That he must be a great boyfriend because I’ve put on some pounds since we started dating.” Kyleigh gulps down a good amount of her seltzer.

The reason I almost didn’t move into the Nest was because the puck bunnies linger and hang around there, but I’m done being in hiding and not living my life. They don’t have access to me beyond the gate.

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