Page 40 of Stars Like Confetti

"All settled in?" Sophie called over her music.

"Yeah, I guess so."

A slow, wicked smile curled her lips. "Oh, I get it." She picked up her phone and raised the volume on the obnoxious music. "I'll make myself scarce!"

"Wait!"

My tone of voice had Sophie pausing her music and furrowing her brow.

"Am I doing the right thing?"

My best friend smiled and rushed around the counter to me, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at her. "Shea Moreland, you are a lot of things, and you've been through so much bullshit. But one thing you aren't is reckless, or impulsive. Do you really think I would have let you up and move back to the place that broke you so viciously, much less track down this person for you if I didn't think it was the right move?" Sophie didn't give me a chance to respond. "I've never seen you as happy as you are with them. I thought I'd seen your true smile but it doesn't hold a candle to the one I see now—now that you're with them. If I knew this was what I was missing, I would have looked them up years ago."

A lump formed in my throat. I didn't do so well with emotion. "Well, I'm glad you waited until my transition was—ow!"

Not only had Sophie shoved me away, but she’d also smacked me in the chest. "Go be happy, Shea."

Chapter Twenty

Theo

Waiting for night to come was pure torture. If I hadn't had this planned for days, I would have said to hell with it and thrown Shea down on the first flat surface I could find and fucked him until he couldn't walk.

But my boy was a romantic, and I was going to wine and dine him before I made him see the stars.

When dinnertime came, I packed up our food and took it outside, spreading a blanket over the grass just beyond the back porch. Cujo was more than interested, but once I opened the door to his room and put his favorite show on the TV, he took it as a sign for an early bedtime.

Yes, my dog had his own room.

With his own TV.

Shut up.

The sun set at an agonizing pace. Once the deep reds and oranges of twilight had washed over the sky and cast a warm glow over the backyard, I finally led Shea outside. I’d invited Sophie to join us for dinner, but she only winked and accepted the offered bottle of rosé before retreating to her suite for the evening.

I found Shea in the living room, relaxed on the couch like he owned the place. Frankly, he did.

He already had my heart—why not my house too?

He watched the empty fireplace, and I found myself anxious for the first cool night where we could lay in front of it with nothing but the heat from the flame and our own bodies keeping us warm. I rounded the front of the couch, barely giving him a chance to register my presence before I straddled his lap. "Hi," he murmured, hands falling to my hips, his voice turning into a low groan with my mouth on his. His jaw dropped, and our tongues tangled briefly before he pulled back, licking a drop of my saliva off his lips.

"I've got a surprise for you."

His eyes brightened. "Oh?"

"Mhm… but I need you to do something for me." I mouthed over his cheek, ducking just out of reach when he tried to claim my mouth again.

"What's what?" he breathed, voice quivering with impatience. His hips rocked up, grinding against mine.

"Go find it." Shea reared his head back, brows furrowed. My hands fell to his, lifting them until I pinned his wrists against the couch. I rocked my hips downward, letting him feel the arousal seeping through my clothes. "You've found me after all these years. Go look for what I left for you, and let me be the one to find you this time."

Shea shuddered, rolling his bottom lip between his teeth. My eyes dropped to track the motion, watching the skin redden beneath the pressure. I dropped one of his hands, swiping my thumb across his bottom lip to feel the heat radiating from him. "Can you do that for me, baby?" My voice was thick with desire, and I was close to losing all control. My hips wriggled over his, clit pulsing with every heavy thump of my heart.

Shea's tongue darted out of his mouth, swiping across his swollen bottom lip and the pad of my thumb. Locking eyes with me, he nodded. "Yes, Da."

It took every ounce of strength in my body, but I peeled myself away from him and let him stand. He swiped his lips across mine again, with barely enough pressure that it was hardly a kiss but it was enough to drive me wild.

Another burst of heat trickled into my underwear, and I barely waited until he'd disappeared around the corner before crossing my legs and pressing my thighs together. Patience, Theo. I'd gone years without feeling so on edge. I could make it a few more minutes.