Page 6 of Hammered and Nailed
He shrugged. "No time like the present. Why?"
"It’s getting late. It’s been a long day. Tomorrow will be easier."
"All the more reason." He yanked his shirt off and dropped it on the ground. "Come on. Don't be a party pooper."
I groaned and stood, my muscles already sore. "Fine, but make it quick." I tossed my shirt aside and followed Emery to the dock.Before he jumped in, he dipped down and tugged his shorts off—boxers included. We’d been friends for decades and I was no stranger to nudity around him, but somehow, this time felt different. The video from the other night flashed through my mind, the one with the Emery lookalike taking it from another guy. My stomach swooped and dipped as he stood and stretched in the moonlight.
"Coming?"
I nodded and pulled off my own shorts and boxers.
Emery grinned widely. "Ready? On three."
"Fuck that." I shoved his shoulder hard and he went toppling off the dock into the chest-deep water. A moment later, I jumped in a few feet away from him.
He came up for air, spluttering and coughing and swearing, blond hair stuck to his forehead, his light eyes sparkling with mischief. "Oh, it’s on now, you asshat." The next thing I knew, he was charging at me, sloshing through the water. I reacted too slowly and he caught up, shoving me to the side and knocking me off balance. I lost control and fell, going under.
When I came up for air, spitting out water, I shook my head. "Fucker. Get back here." He darted out of reach and laughed. I launched myself in his direction and the next thing I knew, we were grappling in the water, arms around one another, fighting for the upper hand. Eventually we released each other, laughing and breathing hard. Emery ducked under the water and cameup after a moment, running his fingers through his dark blond hair. His eyes, normally light green, looked darker with the shadows on his angular face. His body was fit without being overly sculpted, and in the moonlight, he looked soft, almost vulnerable.
He let out a deep breath and grinned at me. "That’s better."
I raised my eyebrows. "All clean now?"
"Close enough, anyway."
"Good."
After a few more minutes of swimming, we made our way back to shore, retrieving our dry clothes from the dock on the way. I pulled my shorts on, fabric sticking to my wet legs. I packed the food away while Emery doused the fire with lake water from a bucket. Once the fire was out, we stood there, looking at one another.
“Well…” Emery started after a moment. “I think there are clean linens in the closet. We should get to it.”
"Good idea. Only one flaw in your plan."
He frowned. "What’s that?"
"Only one bed." I laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of my neck.
Emery shrugged. "It’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before."
"Yeah, when we were kids."
“And tents when we go camping.”
“It’s not like we’ve shared a sleeping bag though.” I gestured between us, both approaching six feet. "Will there be enough room?"
He laughed. “Nowyou’re afraid of being affectionate with me? Too straight to share a bed?”
"Oh, fuck you." I shoved his shoulder playfully, rolling my eyes at his “straight” quip. We were both exclusively into women, but that didn’t mean I was afraid to share a bed with my best friend. "Fine, but don’t come at me if I steal the covers."
I followed him inside. The power was still off to the cabin, so we made our way carefully through the living room and into the bedroom. I stripped the bed while Emery hunted for clean sheets and blankets.
Once the bed was made, I grabbed our bags from the car and slipped on a pair of clean, dry basketball shorts before climbing into bed next to Emery. It took a while for me to settle in but eventually, my eyelids grew heavy and I found myself falling asleep.
I slept soundly and woke up with the sheet tangled around my waist and our feet tangled together. My stomach lurched once again as it sank in and I slipped away from him, worried he’d wake and find us touching and… I didn’t know what I was worried about exactly. Sharing a bed with your straight best friend was one thing. Waking up one step away from cuddling was another. And the way I liked the feel of his skin against mine was something else entirely.
Chapter Four
Emery
