Page 37 of Tall, Dark, & Ginger

“Will you leave Willow Bay?”

I shake my head. “Nah. I love it here now. With the house, my friends, the bar, it’s more…” I pause, searching for the right words. “It’s a full life. More than I expected, really.”

Wren nods, but his brow is creased.

“You can ask anything you want. I’m an open book.”

He blows out a breath, smiling slightly. “Not really a question. I was just wondering what it’s like to go through life without constantly attaching to people.”

“I’m sure there’s pros and cons to both. I didn’t do it on purpose. I’ve just never met anyone I truly clicked with in a way that made sense to stick around. I’m a quirky guy. Not everyone’s taste.”

He laughs softly. “You make it sound like it would be such a hardship to date you, but you’re hot, funny, sexy, successful. You check a lot of boxes. I’m guessing it’s you who had reasons not to pick a person.”

I shrug. “I’ve never dug into it because it doesn’t bother me. If it ever does bother me, maybe I’ll get a therapist.”

Wren smiles, nodding. “It works for you.”

“For now. I guess there’s a little part of me that wonders what it’ll be like as I get older, especially now that my friends are partnering up. Maybe I’ll just be the weird old guy creeping around the mansion, being everyone’s third wheel.”

We both laugh at that.

“I doubt that,” Wren says. “You never know what life has in store for you. If you’d asked me a year ago if this would be my life, I would’ve been shocked.”

“Good point. I didn’t see all this coming when I found out I inherited the house.”

We’re quiet for a few minutes until I finally ask the question on my mind.

“Do you still hope for that fairy-tale kind of love? The happily ever after storybook ending?”

Wren glances up at me, searching my gaze for a moment before looking back down at his hands in his lap. “I don’t know anymore. I’m working on letting life surprise me.”

That’s a promising answer. If he’s looking for love and romance, I’m not sure how long this thing with us can last, but if he’s willing to go with the flow, maybe we can hold on for a while.

“Good plan. Going with the flow always works out for me.”

We turn back to the screen just as a zombie gets his head ripped off his shoulders by the hero. Wren laughs, scooting noticeably closer, but I can’t tell if it’s intentional or not. That’salright though. I like him being close, even when we have our clothes on.

“No happily ever after for the zombies,” he says, his voice light and happy.

“Zombies never win.”

“No, only the good guys.”

I squeeze his shoulder, earning another bright smile. He holds my gaze, his smile fading to something far sexier. His hand slides up my thigh, landing on my growing bulge, and as he licks his lips, excitement spreads through me.

“Screw the zombies,” Wren says as he slides his hands inside my sweats.

Closing my eyes, I lie back and enjoy his hands on me, knowing his mouth is soon to follow. This is good, and we can ride this wave as long as it lasts.

FOURTEEN

WREN

I tapmy pencil eraser on the stainless steel counter, searching through hazy ideas in my brain to come up with new specials for next week, but I keep getting dragged back into memories of my steamy nights on the couch with Ridley. My body composition must be ten percent cum at this point with all the dick I’ve sucked since this started.

My cock twitches as more memories wash over me—Ridley’s sexy smile as he watches me suck him off, nodding with encouragement and whispering sweet things to me. I don’t hate that he calls me rabbit whenever we’re fucking around, and I definitely don’t hate the way he looks at me like I’m the only man on the planet. It feels incredible to be so seen and wanted, especially after years of feeling invisible unless Trent wanted a verbal punching bag.

The memory of my ex dampens the warmth I was just feeling and puts a sour taste in my mouth. He’s a loser, but what does that make me that I stayed for so long? I probably still need to unpack the bullshit that kept me holding on to something that was clearly broken, but just getting through each day feels like enough right now.

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