Page 39 of Strong Side

“Say what?” I ask, clearly beyond confused.

“My name. Say it.”

“Rocky… what are—”

“No,” he practically growls. “You haven’t said it once since we got here. Say my name,Clayton.”

“I-I didn’t know.” I’m usually such a confident person, and I’m certainly the last person you’ll see stuttering and fumbling over their words when it comes to talking to someone I’m attracted to. But seeing Rocky be so passionate aboutmealmost has me at a loss forwords.Almost.“I know until me, you were one hundred percent straight, and I didn’t want to out you in front of your parents if you weren’t ready and calling you Baby would basically do that and not to mention I have no idea what you and I actually are, and I’m trying to be respectful when all I really want to do is hold your hand and kiss you and call you Baby, and also not to mention the fact that I haven’t gotten off in over a week and every time you so much as look at me, I feel myself getting hard and I’m worried that if I clench my jaw any harder to prevent that from happening at your parents kitchen table I’m going to crack a molar, and you’ll have to take me to the emergency dentist and then I’ll have to get put under laughing gas and the last thing I want for you is to see me high when—”

Rocky cuts off my incessant rambling by putting his hand over my mouth. His furious scowl now replaced by a small upturn of his lips. “I’m going to remove my hand, and you’re going to take a breath.” I nod against his palm and do as he says when his hand lowers. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say that many words in a single breath. Not even Lil, and she never shuts the hell up.”

I shrug my shoulders innocently, still pressed up against the bathroom door, his arms still caging me in. “Call it a special skill.”

“I appreciate the fact that you were worried about my feelings, but don’t worry about me. I’m ninety-nine-point-nine-percent positive Lil already knows something is up, and my parents are two of the most supportive people you’ll ever meet in your entire life. It’s not something that needs to be made a big deal of, nor do I want it made a big deal of. It’s not who I am. I’m fine with just being me, beingus,and everyone else jumping on board. You okay with that?”

Relaxing, I rest my hands on his hips and nod. “If that’s what you want, then yeah, I’m okay with that.”

“Good.” He brings his head closer so his lips dust against mine. “Now… Say. It.”

“Baby…” I whisper in the most sultry voice I can manage.

Rocky tips his head back, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he lets out a deep moan. Immediately, I feel his erection growing between us. Taking full advantage of the fact that we finally have privacy—not counting sleeping together and the quick moments we have before we go to bed and when we wake up over the last week—I lean forward and take the lobe of his ear between my teeth before repeating, “Baby.”

My lips skate lower, gently nipping at the skin of his neck just below his ear. “Baby.”

His hips thrust against me.

Trailing my tongue along the column of his neck until I get to the nape where I gently bite again. “My Baby.”

“Fuck,” he groans out. Threading his fingers through the back of my hair, he pulls so I’m forced to look at him. “You still have the hotel?”

My smile beams from ear to ear. “I never thought I’d hear you ask me that. Yeah, I still have it.”

“Get your shit. We’re leaving in twenty.”

1. I Feel Like I’m Drowning - Two Feet

25

Goodbyes Stink

Rockwell

Done is the understatement of the year of what I was after Clay called me “buddy” at the kitchen table while we were all playing Clue.

I’ll show him who his goddamn Buddy is.

??1 In the most seething tone I can muster, I tell him, “Get your shit. We’re leaving in twenty.” Clay’s eyes widen. “And we’re not leaving the hotel room until we need to be at the airport.”

I know my hard tone shocks him slightly since he’s used to being in control in thebedroom, but we’re not in the bedroom, and I need him more than I ever thought possible. I’m tired of us not knowing what we are or where we stand with each other.

My parents are the least of my worries.

They were sure to teach us growing up that love is love and to always treat people with respect.

I can hear my dad now.“Treat others the way you want to be treated.”The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to live by that saying. You never know what someone is going through when they walk into their home… if they’re lucky enough to have somewhere to call home. In the same breath, walking through those doors could be their living hell.

Mindlessly walking back into the kitchen, my mind wanders off to what I’m hoping happens in the hotel room tonight. The table is cleared and I hear everyone’s voices floating in from the living room. Heading to the fridge, I grab some drinks and late-night snacks to take with us, unsure of what the hotel will have and knowing we’ll need the energy boost, considering all of the filthy thoughts that are bouncing around in my head that are about to be brought to life.

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