Page 17 of Stetson

He ripped one of the marshmallows apart, throwing the pieces into his mug. “I don’t know how to ask.”

I stood next to him, redirecting his attention to me. The vulnerability in those blue eyes threatened to shatter my heart to pieces. It wasn’t like him. “Do you want to go home tonight?”

He shook his head, fighting to break his gaze away from mine, but my grip on his chin held him in place.

“Do you want to stay here?”

I loosened my hold enough to let him nod. “I shouldn’t be allowed to after you saved my ass,” he whispered so softly, I almost missed it.

“It’s my house and I’ll make those decisions. Drink. Warm yourself up.” I took a step back to let him pick up his mug.

“What about Barrett?”

“Barrett trusts my judgement. He wouldn’t have a problem with you staying here.”

“Where is he?”

“Boston. He comes home tomorrow for a night before heading to Fort Lauderdale.”

Stetson clearly had another question on the tip of his tongue, but I let him sip at his hot chocolate for an uncomfortable amount of time. I focused on my own, taking it much slower than he was. I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, and the smell of it alone was churning my stomach.

“Is that why you asked me to be your boy? Because Barrett travels so much?”

“No.” I claimed the stool next to him. “Barrett has no interest in being a boy. We talked about it, but the only conclusion we kept coming back to was that we didn’t want to break up. So, we started looking for a third.”

Stetson attempted to stall with his hot chocolate, only to realize it was empty. With a grin, I swapped our drinks. He tried to mask his joy, but I was too perceptive. “Don’t you want it?”

“No, you can have it.”

He took down half of it before I made him take a breath. “Slow down, baby boy. You’ll get a stomachache. Now say what you wanted to say.”

The name slipped out involuntarily. Stetson hadn’t agreed to be my anything yet. His cheeks were flushed, but there could be multiple explanations for that.

He took a deep breath. “If I agree to do this, are there rules?”

My heart rate spiked. “‘This’ as in…”

“A relationship, I guess. Was Barrett lying when he said you both wanted me?”

“He was telling the truth.” I paused. “How much did you have to drink tonight, Stetson?”

The boy dropped his gaze to his lap. “Quite a bit,” he admitted. “I-I’m sorry.”

My brow furrowed, and I tilted my head. “Why are you sorry?”

Stetson set down the second empty mug, and I started to wonder if the sugar combined with tequila may have been a mistake. “It was a bad decision. To drink in the first place, and to streak through the fountains. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Pride swelled in my chest. He hadn’t even agreed to be my boy and yet here he was, submitting to me without even realizing. As it was, now wasn’t the time to have that conversation. I reached forward to brush his damp hair out of his eyes. “Why don’t we talk about this later? You should rest and sober up. What time do you have to be at practice tomorrow?”

“Two.”

I glanced at the clock over the stove. “Go on. Guest room is all yours. The sheets are clean and I left the phone charger. Help yourself to anything you need in the night.” I gestured to the door off the dining room. “That’s my room there. I’ll leave the door cracked in case you need me. Don’t be scared to ask, okay?”

Stetson hesitated, opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but it snapped shut again and he settled for a nod. He collected both mugs, rinsing them out. “Where should I put these?”

I revealed the hidden dishwasher where he stored the cups away, closing the door. I was biting my tongue so hard I was surprised I hadn’t tasted blood yet, but it wasn’t enough to hold back the next words out of my mouth. “Good boy.”

Stetson’s breath hitched, but he recovered quickly. “Goodnight, Levi.”

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