Page 24 of Finally
“I’m not scared.” Jack wiped the back of his hand across his eyes again.
Gray raised his eyebrows. “Try again. And this time, remember who you’re talking to.”
“Damn it.” Jack sniffled, rubbed his nose, and then chuckled. “It’s impossible to act unbothered with a hot guy you’re trying to land when said hot guy already knows you’re an anxiety-filled nerd with no game.”
“The good news is this hot guy likes anxiety-filled nerds. I’m not looking for unbothered. And most critically; you already landed me.” Gray cupped Jack’s cheeks and met his gaze. “TheNotebook—a movie I never saw, by the way—lied to you.”
“If you never saw it, how do you know it lied?
“Well, if it has you thinking that it’s too late for romance when you’ve got half of your life ahead of you, that means it lied.”
“There you go again, telling me things are half full when I’m focused on the half that’s empty.”
“That’s right.” Gray grinned. “And since I’m on a roll with my always brilliant insights, I’ll keep going. Yes, you’ve built a great life. You have amazing friends, a gorgeous house, a blooming business. Now it’s time for fun.”
“Fun?”
“Yes. Fun.” Gray leaned forward, his lips a breath’s distance away from Jack’s. “Do you want to have fun with me, Jack Storm?”
Eyes still locked with his, Jack pulled in a shaky breath, held it, and then chewed on his lip as he let it out. “Yes.”
Gray squatted down, picked up his bag, and looked at Jack in question.
A couple of beats passed and then Jack said, “I want you to stay with me tonight.”
“Perfect.” He pressed his lips to Jack’s in a quick kiss. “I’ll go put this in your bedroom.”
Still looking nervous, Jack licked his lips. “Do you need me to show you where it is?”
“Your bedroom?”
“Uh huh.”
Gray and Jack had first seen the house together. Gray had helped get the purchase done, given his opinion on furniture and décor, and probably spent more time there than he had anywhere other than his office. He damn well knew where the primary bedroom was located.
“Sure.” Gray’s cheeks hurt from how widely he was smiling. “That’d be helpful.”
They walked down the hall shoulder to shoulder.
“I haven’t seen theNotebookeither.”
Gray laughed. “Then how can you know you’re missing out on anything by not recreating it?”
Shrugging, Jack said, “I was making a point.”
They reached the bedroom door, so Gray stopped and waited for Jack to open it before following him inside. “What point was that?”
“I don’t know.” Jack shook his head. “Something about a romance movie.”
“Well, since neither of us saw that one, how about we make our own?” He walked over to the bay window and set his bag on the ottoman in front of it.
“Make our own movie?” Jack’s voice took on a high, slightly panicked pitch.
“Make our own romance,” Gray answered, laughing. “I think both of us are past the sex tape stage of life.” He walked over to Jack and rested his hands on Jack’s hips.
“I was never in that stage.” Jack raised his hands, hovered, and eventually wrapped them around Gray’s biceps.
“Neither was I.”
