Page 77 of Topping the Jock
“Don’t know. Ask Celine Dion.”
It took him a moment… and then he started laughing. “If we were on theTitanicwhen it sank and we found that floating door, would you be like Rose and make me stay in the cold water and freeze to death?”
“No,” I responded. “I’d let you have the door.”
“But thenyou’dfreeze to death. I love myself a lot, Specks, but I couldn’t let you die for me. I’d pull you up there with me, and we’d give each other hand jobs until we were rescued. To keep the blood pumping.”
“The cold wouldn’t be good for our dicks. They’d shrivel.”
He choked on a laugh. “What are you doing?”
“Sitting at home. I just got back from Reed’s.” I walked over to the bay windows in the living room and peered outside as it started to snow again. “Your dad’s inauguration is today, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Monty’s voice wasn’t nearly as lively as before. “Do you think I should’ve sucked it up and gone to it?”
“No.” My answer was instant. “Family or not, you don’t have to subject yourself to that kind of shitty treatment. I’m a firm believer in cutting toxic people out of your life, and from what I know of your dad, he is the definition of toxic. You deserve so much more than that, Monty.”
He was quiet. And then, I heard a soft sniffle. Fuck. My heart cracked.
“Do you want to come over?” I asked. I didn’t want him to be alone.
“Like, to your house?”
“No, to space,” I said like a total smart-ass. “Of course to my house.”
“That’s new territory for me. It will be like exploring some uncharted land.”
“It’s just a house, Monty, not one of the seven wonders of the world.”
He chuckled. “Text me your address and I’ll head over.”
Once off the phone, I sent him a text before speed-cleaning the living room, the bathroom, and my bedroom. I normally kept a clean house, but I was nervous. Monty had never been in my space before. It was a part of myself not many people got to see. The only exception was random guys I’d bring back and fuck… but it had been a while since I’d been with anyone other than Monty.
He was the only one I wanted.
Dammit.
Around 5:00 p.m., Monty’s truck pulled into my driveway. I peeked at him through the living room window, smiling as he slammed his door and slid a bit on a patch of ice. He caught himself before looking around, as if to make sure no one had seen him. Too late.
“Have a nice trip?” I asked, opening the door as he reached the front porch.
“It was only a ten-minute drive. It was cool, though, I guess.”
He’d completely missed my meaning. The goof. But he didn’t give me time to explain before he was pulling me into his arms and greeting me with a kiss. Warmth radiated through my chest and spread throughout the rest of my body.
Each kiss meant a little more now.
“I’m excited to see your house,” Monty said, stroking my jaw with his knuckle. “I think there will be a ton of books and maybe a secret entrance into, like, a huge library where you have a collection of ancient artifacts and medieval weapons hanging on the wall.”
“Come in and find out.” I stepped back and opened the door wider so he could enter.
Reality wasn’t nearly as interesting as his fantasy. Other than the decorative plates and pictures I’d bought from Reed’s and my trip to Greece, my décor wasn’t anything too elaborate. I preferred simplicity. I had turned one room into a library, though there weren’t any medieval torture devices or anything else he’d mentioned. He scanned the books on the shelves and then plopped into my reading chair beside the tall window.
“How can you read in this thing?” he asked, sprawled in the plushy chair and looking up at me. “I’d fall asleep. It’s too comfy.”
Thinking he looked way too snuggly, I crawled onto the chair with him and curled against his side. He slipped an arm around me and kissed the top of my head.
“How did we get here?” I whispered, pressing my face into his neck.
