Page 15 of Slam Dunk
“Hey, boss. You in here?”
Quince pulled away and dropped his head on Jathan’s chest. He pretended to cry before lifting his head again.
“Yeah. I’m up here. Just give me a second.” His heated gaze slid Jathan’s way. Sexual promise flashed at him. “Later.”
Chill bumps rose on Jathan’s skin at the promise. It was definitely a date.
Chapter Six
Honestly,Quincehadthebest day with Jathan. Quince had still gotten everything done while also managing to get Jathan on a horse. He also copped as many feels as possible the entire time. Quince felt a little ridiculous admitting it, but he had never felt the way Jathan made him feel. He was way too old to have gone this long without whatever it was Jathan brought to his life, but here he was. Quince had all these crazy thoughts he wouldn’t share in a million years because they were just that—crazy. The one thing shouting loudest in his head was that he wanted to keep Jathan. He never wanted to let the guy out of his sight again.
Jathan came out of the bathroom, toweling off his hair. “A man after my heart. A tall man’s shower.”
Quince laughed, but it was true. He was after Jathan’s heart. “Don’t forget, I’m a tall guy too. I built this place with that in mind.”
Jathan dropped onto the couch beside him, giving Quince his full attention. “You built this place?”
“Yeah. When Tip first hired me, I stayed in the big house. Tip was never here, but for maybe one weekend out of the month—if that. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. Since I’d been raised on a farm, and knew all about running one, it seemed like a good fit, but I’d gotten used to a different life since moving away from home.”
“I imagine you traveled a lot, guarding such a huge star.”
Fuck. Quince didn’t know if Jathan had always known that or if his mom had filled him in. “Yeah. I was pretty much somewhere different every other day.” Despite the topic, Quince smiled. “It was quite the culture shock at first. As much as I hate admitting it, I wasn’t raised to tolerate anything or anyone different from me. Jayda took a huge chance on me, considering where I came from and who she was. Obviously, I completely failed her in the end. Just not in the way I expected.”
He hated the sympathy in Jathan’s eyes. Jathan rubbed his thigh. “You saw what happened to me this morning and I only play professional sports. That’s nowhere near the fame she had. I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been to keep her safe. At the end of the day, no one is infallible or indestructible.”
Jathan really was a good person. “As much as I appreciate the sentiment, there are lots of celebrities around the world. Mine is the one who ended up dead.” Terrible flashbacks tried to suck him under. He didn’t talk about those days for a reason. Quince swore he still heard the gunshots. Smelled the blood. He just hadn’t seen the gun quickly enough. The world lost a shining star because he wasn’t good enough. Hell, there was an entire documentary on it. To be fair, no one explicitly blamed him. There was an obsessed killer to focus on, after all, but Quince knew the truth. If he was just a little faster, then she would be alive today.
Quince couldn’t talk about it anymore. “Anyhow, we got off topic. After about six years of working for Tip, I finally accepted I wasn’t going anywhere. Tip gave me five acres of land for my five-year work anniversary, so I decided to actually use them, and broke ground. I didn’t need anything huge, so…” He motioned around, figuring the place spoke for itself. His house wasn’t that big, but it was nice in his eyes. He liked it.
“I love it. It’s very you.”
A laugh burst from Quince. “What’s that mean?”
Jathan shifted positions and straddled Quince. “It’s quiet. Peaceful.” Jathan swiped a sweet kiss across his lips. “Cozy.”
Quince chuckled. “That last one sounded a lot like fat.”
“You know better.” Jathan ran his hands up Quince’s chest. “Sexy.”
Quince couldn’t stop teasing him. “Country boy body. Hard-working but well fed.”
Jathan snorted. “You’re ridiculous.”
Quince took advantage of Jathan’s stance and squeezed his ass. “You’re sexy.”
“Actually. I kind of look like one of those orange cream pop flavored Twizzlers they had out for a while.”
A loud snort escaped Quince before he could stop it. He couldn’t stop grinning like a fool. “Where did that even come from?”
Jathan’s smile looked so real—like he was every bit as happy as Quince, and it felt fucking phenomenal. “This guy who works at the security booth during the week was eating one when I came through one day and stopped at the gate. He looked at the candy and then looked at me. The stick he held just kind of drooped over for no reason. I don’t know why, but we both burst out laughing. He said, ‘just like you. Too tall for gravity.’ Which is valid since I do fall over for no reason sometimes. Now I can’t look at the candy without making the comparison.”
Quince shook his head. “Being with you is the happiest I’ve ever been.”
Jathan’s expression softened. “No one has ever said that to me. I think people either see me as boring or as too much. Earlier, I wasn’t joking. I don’t get a hell of a lot of genuine human contact, so when I do, I overwhelm people.”
A sad smile tugged at Quince’s lips. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I live in the middle of nowhere with next to no contact with anyone outside of work. You’re perfect to me.”
Jathan’s expression made the confession worthwhile. He bit his bottom lip and turned almost shy. Jathan twisted Quince’s t-shirt, stretching it. “Well. That’s a nice thing to say.” He sounded like a teen, getting his first compliment. Jathan was such a conundrum to him. The guy was literally famous. People owned fan gear with his name on it. Stands were filled with screaming fans wearing his name on their jersey. But in a way, Quince got it. No one was real anymore. No doubt thousands of men were lined up to fuck Jathan, but Jathan wasn’t like other people. He had a soft heart. Jathan wasn’t the type to waste his time with fake people, looking just to say they had fucked Jathan Dexter. He wanted to be desired for being Jathan the person. Jathan was in the right place. Quince could easily and truthfully say he had literally never wanted a man more. He was after Jathan’s heart. Quince had no plans to stop until he owned it.
