Forest
I wake up to the smell of coffee and the sensation of the bed dipping under someone’s weight.
“Coffee?” Beck says. His knuckles take a leisurely trip through my beard.
I blink against the morning light, taking in his handsome face with the pillow crease still pressed into his left cheek. His hair is sticking up at odd angles, and somehow that makes him even more beautiful.
“You were out of bread, so I ran out to pick up some breakfast.”
“Out...of the house?”
“Yeah, we’re both surprised.” He grins. “It’s wet and gross out there. Quick, warm me up.”
He sheds a pair of sweatpants that I recognize as my own, and I get a glimpse of those long legs before he climbs back under the covers, immediately wrapping himself around me in a full-body embrace. His skin is cool from the morning air, and I automatically pull him closer.
“That’s more like it,” he says, planting his cold feet against my warmer ones.
I’m getting way too used to this. To him. To the way he makes everything feel lighter. “What did you get us?” I ask, hoping it wasn’t expensive.
“My treat,” he says, reading my mind like he always does. “It’s just egg sandwiches from this deli I like.”
“Thank you,” I say.
“I know you hate it when I pay for things, but I have to eat before practice or I’ll die.”
“When do you have to leave?”
“An hour? Today’s a late one. Coach must have had a meeting.” He nuzzles against my shoulder. “So, honestly, it’s a huge conundrum.”
“What is?”
“Eat the eggs while they’re hot, or...” He starts kissing my neck, his lips warm against my skin. “More sex.”
Ohhhh. I close my eyes as he nibbles at the sensitive skin beneath my jaw and I only feel contentment as Beck’s warm body presses against mine and his messy blond hair tickles my shoulder.
But then the kisses stop abruptly. He pulls back slightly, those blue eyes bright with mischief. “On second thought, egg sandwiches aren’t as good when they’re cold.”
“Seriously? You tease.”
“Always leave ’em wanting more. Hey—grab my arm? I think I can just reach the bag without getting out of bed. We’ll eat here where it’s warm.”
Gamely, I hold onto him while he stretches down to snag our breakfast off the floor, enjoying the view as his muscles ripple under his golden skin.
A minute later we’re both sitting up against my headboard, unwrapping warm egg sandwiches, mostly naked beneath the covers. “This is a level of debauchery that I could never get away with when I was married,” I confess.
“In a good way?”
“Yeah, buddy, in a good way.” I run a toe down his muscular calf.
Beck smiles, and my heart cracks open a little further. That smile is more dangerous than crumbs in the bed.
Beside me, he lets out a happy sigh. “When I taste bacon, it’s like seeing the face of God.”
“Truth. And it’s even better when you don’t have to clean the frying pan after.”
“Facts.”
We’re almost done eating when I hear Beck’s phone ping from the nightstand. He grabs it and squints at the screen. Then I see his blue eyes widen. “Oh shit!”
