Page 5 of The Key Holder

“I’m sorry, I—” I pulled myself together and stood up. Glancing over at the bed, the man had pulled the blanket up, covering his muscles and most everything else. But not his face.

“Dylan?”

Holy shit.

What was my ex-stepdad doing here?

And more importantly, who was he fucking like that?

I hadn’t stood in the doorway for too long.

I think.

I had been sitting at the kitchen table for what felt like an eternity, waiting for Ford to come down. The groceries I had brought in were still on the table, minus the eggs and milk. They were in the fridge next to what I assumed was Ford’s stuff. I tried to remember the last time I saw him, but his perfect ass was the only thing currently coming to mind.

It had been so long I couldn’t remember.

To be honest, I wanted to get back in my truck and drive away—I likely hadn’t seen him in almost a decade, probably not since he moved out. But somehow he and my mom remained friends. He made an effort a few times to contact me, but I was too embarrassed about what happened.

From what I had just seen, it was clear he was still into fitness. His blond hair looked a little longer than I remembered, but the hazel eyes were the same. And despite the current situation, even I could admit it was a little funny. Now Ford knew what it was like to get caught in a compromising position.

There was something paradoxical about wanting to escape from reality for a while by going to a deeply impactful memory from my younger years and ending up in the middle of the woods with a man I’ve tried very lazily to forget.

As soon as I heard the footsteps coming down the stairs, the lump that had been forming in my throat solidified. Fuck, this was almost painful.

Ford appeared in the doorway and leaned against the frame, wearing a few more pieces of clothing than earlier. Somehow he looked as good as ever. His snug t-shirt barely contained his biceps. And the sweatshorts he was wearing were so low on his hips that I could see a bit of his tight stomach. Everything about his body screamed athlete though I was pretty sure he was still coaching.

“I feel like we might need to talk,” he said.

I unclasped my hands and drummed my fingers on the table. “Really? What makes you think that?” I said a silent thank you to the universe for not letting the distraction that was Ford’s body destroy my capability to make words.

Ford smiled. “Oh, I dunno. Here I was, enjoying my Saturday night, when all of sudden, I had an audience.”

“Don’t you mean we had an audience?” I asked.

He tilted his head. “What?”

“Are you a magician?” I motioned up the stairs. “Where did your…sexual partner go? Are they still upstairs or are they climbing out the window?”

Ford stepped forward, pulling one of the other chairs back, and sat down across from me. When he crossed his arms in front of his chest, I did my best to maintain eye contact.

“I…was alone,” he said.

“Oh.”

Oh!

I was completely certain that my surprise was obvious.

“Yeeeeah.”

He must’ve seen the expression on my face. “I texted your mom,” he added. “She forgot I asked to use the cabin for the summer.”

“The entire summer?!” I blurted without thinking.

“I can go. I should go. It’s not my family’s cabin anymore.”

Fuck, he almost sounded morose. And why the hell didn’t I think to call my mom?