Page 35 of Strong Side

I chuckle, trying to ease the tension in his shoulders. “You don’t have to eat more if you’re full, but if you do want more, there’s plenty, I promise. Momma doesn’t know how to cook in small portions.”

Actually, that’s a lie. I think she does, but she just loves to feed people. Food is my momma’s love language, and it was always a huge way for her to teach us about Brazil. One of my favorite memories was listening to hertell us stories of her childhood while we helped her out with dinner.

He finally answers, “I would love more, but I can get it.”

“No, no, I’ll get it. You’re a guest in this house, relax.” I grab his plate and make my way to the attached kitchen. I can see my sister across the table eyeballing Clay before looking up at me. I know she knows there’s something more between us, but she’s keeping it to herself… for now. She’s most likely stock-pilling evidence to call me out later.

I hear my mom ask Clay, “They must come to all of your games while living so close to the school. What I would give to be so close to my,Filho…” She trails off, lost in thought, and I’m practically running back to my seat, throwing the plate down in front of a now stiff Clay. I completely forgot to warn my parents about the sensitive topic.

Quickly, I change the subject, announcing, “Did I tell you guys that Clay threw me a birthday party this year?”

Luckily Lil catches on and asks, “Oh! Let me see the pictures! I know your vain ass took some.” She loves giving me endless shit about the fact that social media is my job, but she can’t deny that it pays well and works perfectly with my hectic schedule.

I’m convinced Lil is just jealous of the fact that my socials have blown up over the last few years in comparison to the ones for her business. My sister is an incredibly talented esthetician, but the market here is beyond over-saturated, and she’s not getting the clientele base she deserves. I told her to move to Florida by me so I can refer everyone I know to her, but she’s always been iffy about leaving home. I know it’s because she’s scared to leave our parents without any children nearby, but, just like I do, they would only want what’s best for her.

Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I pull up the pictures from my party. My sister immediately starts laughing her ass off while scrolling through them. “Why the hell is everyone in crop tops? Is that Shania Twain?” She zooms in like a fifty-year-old on one of the pictures. “Let’s go, boys? All of you are dumb as hell.” She’s now howling with laughter and that’s what finally pulls Clay back to the present and out of that head of his.

“We did the ‘dress like the birthday… boy’ theme,” Clay stutters, realizing that is definitely not the word they used the day of the party.

Before I know it, he and Lil are chatting it up, and they quickly form a plan to go see Shania in concert by the end of dinner. I roll my eyes dramatically, but my heart is on the verge of bursting. I love being able to show Clay what a caring home looks like.

I throw the suggestion out there, “How about we have a cookout tomorrow? We all can run to the store in the morning to get what we’ll need.”

My mom’s looking at me like I’ve hung the moon, as Dad excitidly shouts, “I call grill duty!”

I catch myself staring at Clay as he slides his shorts down his muscular thighs, but stop that train of thought and instead ask him, “How are you feeling,Garotão? My parents overwhelmed you enough for a lifetime today. And don’t even get me started on Lil.”

“I love your sister. We’re besties now,” he states matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest while still only in his briefs. My eyes shamelessly rake over his corded arms before roaming down his stomach and each knot of muscle covering it, right to the patch of hair leading down into his briefs. And don’t get me startedon his V-cut. I suddenly have the ravenous urge to feel it under my tongue.

I pry my eyes off his gorgeous body and force them back to meet his gaze, only to realize he just watched me eye fuck him as I realized just how delicious he looks in my childhood bedroom.

His full-beam smile is out, and he raises a brow at me. “Are you done?”

“To be determined,” I answer with a shrug and a sly smile.

Clay booked a resort for the week, but my Mom was not about to let him stay in a hotel by himself. I offered him the couch but, in that same breath, told him he was more than welcome to sleep in my bed with me, fully aware that my parents wouldn’t care or question it. I’m not going to lie—when he decided on my bed, I was relieved, but I quickly remembered that we’d need to behave. I don’t know if anyone could stop us once we get going again.

The deep-rooted desire I have to hear his moans of pleasure again is visceral; the sounds that come out of him when he’s turned on need to be studied because no one has the right to sound that sexy.

Actually, better yet, somebody can study why they do what they do to me.

This is the first night we've actually planned to sleep together, and it almost feels like it’s going to elevate whatever this is between us. But I think we’re both ignoring that… for now.

1. I Mean It (feat. Remo) - G-Easy, Remo the Hitmaker

22

Momma Knows Best

Clayton

Rocky and I spent the night together in his bed, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love every single second of it.

??1 The two of us have spent the night together a couple of times, but this felt different. I’m not sure if it’s because it was in the home where he grew up, a place filled with so much love and laughter, or if it was because there wasn’t anything inherently sexual about it. Sure, we fell asleep wrapped around one another—which don’t even get me started on how completely right thatfelt—but there was nothing nefarious happening. We just held one another as we slept… all night. And when I woke up shortly before he did, with his head on my chest, I laid perfectly still so as not to wake him any sooner than necessary, trying to soak up as much of the moment as possible.

If this is what the next four nights are going to feel like, it’s seriously not going to help that I’m so deep down the Rocky Campos rabbit hole that it’s not even funny.

The five of us spent the morning sleeping in, followed by shoveling our faces with an all-you-can-eat buffet of waffles, bacon, and fruit, courtesy of Momma Campos. After some quick power naps, thanks to the food comas we were all sporting, we are now on at the store to get more, you guessed it, food.

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