Page 50 of John Wilder Gets Schooled
And I didn’t know if it was the way he was moving his fingers, or the tone of his voice, or just hearing him call me Johnny again, but I did. My muscles tensed, my body shook, and I came in ropes across my abdomen and chest. Avery shifted, drawing me through the tiny little aftershocks with kisses.
“Wait here,” he said, as though I had any choice in the matter. My muscles were jello.
He climbed off the bed and I watched his ass as he darted to the bathroom. I heard the sound of running water, and I might have gotten embarrassed at the thought of him washing his hands if I hadn’t been pleasantly floating still. He was back moments later with a washcloth and he cleaned me up, ignoring my mumbled protests that I could do it.
And then he leaned over, grinning like an idiot, and stuck a tiny gold star on my chest.
The asshole.
After he cleaned me up,Avery and I made out for a while, slow and lazy, and I jerked him off, then cleaned him up afterward just like he’d done for me. We lay there in a cloud of mutual satisfaction, and once I wasn’t so fuzzy around the edges I figured he’d want me to leave. But when I made a move to get out of bed, Avery pushed me gently back down with a hand to my chest, murmuring, “What’s the rush? Stay, Johnny.”
And yeah, him calling me that had me melting back into the mattress like a human-shaped puddle. And I hadn’t exactly intended to fall asleep, but with Avery curled up along my spine, when my eyes slipped closed I didn’t exactly fight it either.
The next thing I knew, a hand was shaking me gently. Iblinked awake and rolled over to see a dark shadow looming over me. “Wilder?” Avery said softly, “it’s almost five.”
It took a moment for my sluggish brain to make sense of what he was saying, but slowly the pieces came together. I hadn’t just napped. I’d stayed the whole night.
I half expected panic or regret to set in, but it didn’t happen. Instead, an overwhelming sense of satisfaction rolled over me. In spite of it being the ass crack of dawn, I felt more well-rested than I had since—well, since the last time I fell asleep with Avery, actually. Maybe he was my own personal Mr. Peanut Butter. I smiled at the thought.
Now that I was awake, though, I was aware that I needed to get my ass home before Gracie or anyone else woke up and realized I hadn’t come home last night. I didn’t want the guys to worry and think I’d been abducted by a bunch of horny bachelorettes or something. Plus I still wasn’t quite ready to answer any awkward questions they might have.
“I’m awake,” I said, sitting up.
Avery sat up next to me and turned on the bedside lamp, blinking owlishly, and stifled a yawn. With his sleep-mussed hair and no glasses, he looked all kinds of cute, and I leaned over and kissed his cheek without even thinking about it. He gave me a startled look, then shot me a lopsided grin and said, “Coffee?”
I really wanted to stay for coffee. For breakfast. Forever.
But I had a five-year-old and a heap of responsibilities waiting for me, so I ran a hand through my messy hair and said, “I would, but Gracie wakes up early.”
I could have sworn Avery looked disappointed for a second, but then his smile was back. “Next time, then.”
“Yeah.”
As I went to get out of bed, Avery reached out, his fingertips brushing my cheek, and then he held something up—my gold star, crumpled and folded in half from where it had come unstuck during the night. “Next time, maybe you can earntwostars,” hesaid. “It’ll be fun.” His teasing smile promised that whatever was involved in earning that extra star, I’d enjoy it.
Something fluttered low in my belly at the promise of next time, and I found myself trying to figure out when that might be. I could probably swing a Saturday night if Gracie was at the Moores and I wasn’t working. I might have to let Danny and the twins know what was what if I stayed out, and they’d probably give me shit about it. I could already hear Chase singing “Hot for Teacher,” loud and off-key and annoying as fuck. But I could live with a little teasing if it meant I’d get to spend the night with Avery.
I tucked the little star into my pocket when I got dressed and left Avery dozing in bed.
By the time I’d jogged to the next block and gotten my truck, the night was already fading into dawn. The sky was soft pink around the edges. I pulled into the driveway just as Danny was hurrying out the door.
“Hey,” he said. “What happened to you? You good?”
“Yeah,” I said, and the lie rolled easily off my tongue. “Truck wouldn’t start.”
“Damn.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Cash is awake, in case Gracie wakes up. I gotta hustle.”
“Yeah,” I said, guilt biting at me. “Sorry, man.”
“All good,” he said, hurrying to his truck. “Shit happens.”
When I got inside, Cash was wrapped up in his blanket in his recliner.
I dumped my gym bag on the floor and sat on the couch. “Hey, you can go back to bed if you want.”
He shook his head.
“Rough night?” I asked.
