Page 28 of Best Friends, Tennessee

I hadn’t thought twice about it, but after he was in my arms, I realized it was the closest we’d been since… well, since our little fight at the bar.

This felt different, to say the least.

His body was warm. His hair still smelled shampoo-fresh, and he leaned in, returning the hug.

“Thanks, Ori.”

I could tell his heart was still pounding. He seemed so vulnerable in that moment, in a way he never was during regular waking hours. He was shirtless, and I got an eyeful of his hard-earned muscles.

He felt good to hold, if I was being honest.

My cock hardened as Finn stroked his open palm along my back.

Fuck.

It was happeningagain. I’d been trying to keep my distance from him lately, to avoid any more unwanted hard-ons in his presence.

This time it wasn’t as easy to hide.

I was in thin sweatpants, and if he moved any closer in the hug or turned on a light, he was going to see or feel the very obvious outline of my cock.

My heart raced like a rabbit. Why did he have to feel so good, physically? This wasFinn.

We’d always been physical with each other, but I’d neverlikedit. Not like this.

He let me go soon after, and I was left there weirdly turned on and wondering what the hell was going on with me.

“Do you think you’ll be able to get back to sleep?” I asked softly.

“Maybe in a bit,” he said. “But I need a breather.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep again right away either, and Finn seemed like he needed a reset as much as I did.

An idea dawned on me.

“Hey. You got a working fire pit out back?” I asked him.

“Of course I do.”

I almost laughed at how he said it—like anyone would beinsanenot to have a fire pit outside.

Finn had always been a fan of sitting around a fire.

I stood up, heading toward the door. “Night camp. Let’s go.”

Night camp used to be reserved for the nights that Finn and I were really bored, when he would sleep over at my house during elementary or middle school. All it really meant was that we would grab a big blanket, sleeping bags if it was cold enough, and lie down out back, looking up at the stars.

Usually there was a fire pit. Sometimes there were s’mores.

A few times, when we were older teenagers, we’d stolen a beer or a wine bottle and gotten along great as we passed it back and forth out in the backyard.

As Finn opened up the door to his backyard, my eyes lingered on the shape of his silhouette. He was still shirtless, and his skin caught goosebumps in the night air.

Had he always had dimples at the base of his back?

Off-limits, I tried to tell my cock, willing it to chill the fuck out.

Straight.

---