Page 87 of Detour

I wave him off, muttering, “Don’t have any.” I’m lucky to have this one decent set. “Forget it, I’ve always wanted a water bed anyway.”

He throws his head back in a laugh, moving to search for his shorts. “Get dressed and we’ll go over to my place. My bed is nice and dry. Unless you’re up for changing that?”

I can just make out his bouncing eyebrows and now I’m the one laughing. I roll over to my back, wanting to dry off. The water from the shower’s been replaced with sweat, but my hair is still drenched and is in fact soaking everything. I’ve slept in worse conditions though. A little wet spot won’t keep me from my bed.

Wrapping the towel around my hair, I watch Coty hold up his discarded shorts and wring out the excess water before hanging them on the shower rod and doing the same with my swimsuit.

“Sorry to break it to you, but I’m not going anywhere. My legs don’t work.” Probably. I point to the heavy towel holding my hair. “I can’t lift my head.” Definitely. “Plus, it’s too far.” Eh.

“Is that so?” he says, coming out of the bathroom. “Then I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have any clothes anyway.”

“Good, it’s settled. We’ll stay here. Naked.” Forever.

What? No. That can’t happen, not only for sanitary reasons but this is a one-night thing. Tomorrow he’s back to my incredibly hot—fully dressed—neighbor again.

I look Coty over, the moonlight kissing his bare body as he moves through the dark to my tiny kitchen, almost filling the entire thing with his figure.

Glasses of water in hand, he returns to bed. To my bed. To me.

Tonight.

“What do your tattoos mean?”

Coty sets down our drinks, then joins me, lying on his side with his head propped on his hand.

He points to the birds on his chest. “These are sparrows.”

I reach out a finger, tracing the wings.

“Why those?”

I’m outlining the matured flowers below the sparrows with my fingertip when he blows out a breath and moves to his back.

Taking my hand, he rests it on his stomach. “They symbolize loyalty.” He turns his head toward mine.

“Loyal? To family?” My eyebrows crease and he nods.

“Among other things. Sparrows mate for life.” I drop my gaze to the intricate birds. “The roses, people sometimes associate them with love, too, but they also represent passion.”

That’s a lot of love-talk so I focus on the last bit, asking, “What are you passionate about?” I’m pretty sure I know the things Coty’s passionate about but there’s something else, something he’s holding back. His eyes search mine before he speaks.

“Riding. Working. My family—the guys mostly. I want to learn more about agriculture. And…”

And?

“And one day I want to settle down with a wife, and hopefully have kids after that.” He finally breaks his stare, glancing away. “Loyalty isn’t an option for me, it’s a given. I’m loyal to those I love and ask for the same in return. I got these tattoos to remind not only myself, but those around me, of what’s really important.”

The one remaining piece, my remaining piece, hovers dangerously close to finishing the puzzle of this arrangement. It’s statements like this that pull my mind away from everything I’ve ever thought, everything I’ve ever assumed. Coty is different from anyone I could’ve planned for, so even though I want to tell Coty he’s nothing like his father, I don’t. Self-preservation occasionally wins out, and this being one of those times makes me grateful. He’s already won everything else; my mind has to remain what I’ve always needed it to be—mine.

He faces me again, his gaze penetrating. “I don’t want you doing this with anyone else.” His words come out a plea and I nod before he can finish.

“Okay,” I whisper.

“Okay? That easy?”

I blow out a breath of my own and roll over onto my stomach again, hiding most of my face. The towel falls off in the process but whatever. “I mean it’ll be hard, don’t get me wrong, but I’ll try not to talk tattoos with anyone else while you and I are…discussing body ink.”

The bed shifts suddenly, then Coty’s there, hovering directly above me. I bite back a smile.