Page 90 of The Misfits of Copper County
I pulled Delaney’s plush duvet over us and held him tighter.
And just as I drifted off to sleep, I heard Delaney whisper against my skin, “I’m so glad you came home.”
The next thing I knew, weak morning light was filtering through Delaney’s bedroom and assaulting my eyelids. I had no idea how long I’d slept or what time it was—I was pretty sure my phone was on the floor somewhere along with my pants—but I felt like I’d slept hard… and apparently without moving a muscle since Delaney was still in my arms.
Hewasn’t asleep, though. The moment he realized I was awake, clear blue eyes flashed to me, and he gave me a shy smile.
“Good morning,” he whispered. “I?—”
I wrapped my fingers around the back of his neck and pulled him up to kiss him thoroughly, until those eyes I loved went hazy and his lips were shiny red.
“Now it’s a good morning,” I said with satisfaction.
Delaney shook his head as if to clear it. “Wow. You should go see Hayes more often if this is what happens.”
I laughed. “It was a good night,” I admitted. “There were… many revelations.”
“Oh?” Delaney’s eyebrows went up, but he didn’t press, though I could tell he was curious.
To my own surprise, I was eager to tell him.
“Hayes asked me straight off if I’d rather watch a movie or play his zombie game. So I said, ‘Hey, have you ever watchedWicked? It’s really good.’ And then I took a deep breath and said, ‘I really love musicals.’”
“And he was supportive?”
I rolled my eyes. “The little shit pretended to be all serious. He grabbed my hand and said, ‘Thank you for telling me, Brewer. I’m so proud of you.’ Apparently, Hayes heard me singing show tunes in the shower.”
Delaney pressed his lips together, but his eyes were filled with mirth.
“Go on and laugh,” I told him. “Apparently, I’m an open book after all.”
“Not true.” Delaney sounded serious, but he dropped an affectionate kiss to my chest. “Then what happened?”
“Then… we watchedWicked. Twice. And he and Kel loved it. Kel said, ‘Fuck, bro, Jonathan Bailey is asnack.’”
I laughed, and so did Delaney.
“Hayes was stunned. ‘But, Kels, you’re straight.’” I did my best impression of Hayes’s pearl-clutching shock. “And then… I left.” I looked down at him. “It’s way more comfortable here.”
“Comfortable, huh?” His hand drifted down my happy trail, and he grinned mischievously. “DidWickedget you excited? Be honest. It was Fiyero’s tight pants and boots, right?”
I laughed, stretching back into the mattress and propping my free arm behind my head. Delaney’s fingers were teasing me gently—too gently—stroking down my hip and thigh as far as he could go before making their way back up, bypassing my morning wood. It was the best kind of torture.
“Honestly,” I said once I remembered what the fuck we were talking about. “I’m more into the tousled hair and the vest.” I shrugged. “The vest does things to me.”
Delaney’s hand paused its exploration.
“I have a vest,” he whispered. “In fact, several vests. Vests for literaldays.”
“Is that right?” I grinned down at him and found his eyes hot, half-lidded, and focused on my jaw. “Lucky me, huh?”
Just when I thought I couldn’t be any more captivated by Delaney, the man blushed.
I grabbed him, rolled him to his back, and kissed him soundly.
“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” I said, propping myself on an elbow some long minutes later. “I love being with you like this.”
“Me too,” he said softly. He blinked up at me, trying to focus without his glasses. “I would—will—really miss this, if—I mean,when—you get a new camper.”
