Page 112 of Addiction

Before we know it, we’re lifted off, the wind taking the bright yellow parachute with a big-ass smiley face on it toward the sky as we watch the boat get smaller the higher we go. Excitement swirls in my stomach, and all I can do is laugh at nothing but the high sky. The view of Oceanfront beach and the boardwalk goes on for miles but it’s the peaceful sound of nothing but bliss that has every bone in my body instantly relaxing and enjoying the experience. I close my eyes as we glide through the air, the sun casting down on my skin, and it’s enough to make me feel like anything is possible.

“You, okay?”

I smile, keeping my eyes closed. “Never better.”

“Good.”

“What made you think of this?”

“I just thought it is something we could do together and it’s also something I’ve never done before.”

I turn my head to look at him. “Something else to tick off on your list of adventures?”

“Absolutely. I wasn’t sure if it would be your kinda thing but—”

“Anything I do with you is my kinda thing.”

He holds my gaze for a beat before he unexpectedly says, “I’m proud of you, Asher. Not just regarding your sobriety journey, but because of everything you’ve overcome, too. I knew the man you are today was in there somewhere, I just had to find him.”

I owe so much to Wade it’s beyond words. He hasn’t just found me, he’s changed me. He’s made me see the world from a different perspective and not fear what I thought was wrong for so long. I am who I am because of him.

Reaching out, I cup his jaw and speak from the heart. “All my life I’ve been searching for freedom, and I’ve found that in you. You came into my life without so much as a warning and changed everything for me. I don’t even know how to repay you for the ways you’ve made me feel.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” he whispers. “Just be yourself.”

“But being myself comes with so much baggage, Wade. And sometimes I wonder why you even want to be with someone like me. Especially when I can't promise that I won't break your heart.”

He mirrors my actions and holds my face with his hand, looking deep into my eyes and speaking the words that take my breath away. “Neither of us can make promises of which we are unsure. I know you have so much more to fight than I have, but I’m with you every step of the way. Just be you because I’ve fallen for the Asher you are. Not the one you believe everyone needs to see.”

My heart skips a beat, and my dick twitches.

Jesus, what is he doing to me?

He’s not the only one who is falling, and if what I feel in my heart right now resembles everything that love should feel like then I’ll take it hands down over any craving I’ve ever come to face. Lost for words, I pull him closer and crash my mouth to his, kissing him with a passion I know he’ll understand.

* * *

The second the door slams closed our mouths collide as our hands attack each other’s clothes as we make our way to Wade’s bedroom. The sexual tension has been high for the last few hours, and being unable to touch him has been torture. Don is a nice guy, but he’d not stopped talking once we’d come back down to the boat. I’d assumed we’d go straight home, but Wade had other ideas and we went for food along the boardwalk.

I’ve been going out of my mind, and if we’d stayed out any longer, I would have pinned him down and done very inappropriate things to him in public.

“God, you drive me fucking crazy,” I say against his lips after removing his T-shirt.

“I can tell.”

“I want to do very dirty things to you,” I groan. It’s my turn to push him against his bedroom wall.

“What do you have in mind?”

I want to fuck him. We’ve played around too long, and while I appreciate that, now I want more. I want my name on his lips when I’m inside him. I want his hand in my hair. I want him.

My shirt is discarded, and his hands run up my torso, causing chills to cover my skin. His mouth and tongue lick and suck along my collarbone, painting patterns in their wake as he tweaks my nipple.

“Fuck yes.”

I’m so hard. Our erections tease each other as he grinds against me through the thin fabric of our shorts. But when his hands reach my waistband, I stop him before stepping away. I rest my back on the other wall and lock eyes with him. They are full of fire as he scans my body. I don’t want him to touch me yet. I want to take control of this one.

“You never answered my question,” he says. “What do you want to do to me?”