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The state of his dick proved me the winner of this little debate. I crowed in triumph until he pinched my nipple.
“Ow. Geeky homeowners are mean,” I muttered, rubbing the sore spot.
“You owe me a thorough rim job,” he said. “Now that we’ve agreed you’re all fine with the gay stuff.” He used finger quotes, but it wasn’t a joke.
I reached for his hands and pulled them against my chest. “Okay, I’m being serious now. I had a long talk with Carter today.”
Tucker stared at me in surprise. “My Carter? Carter Rogers?”
I must have made a face because he shook his head quickly and backpedaled. “I don’t mean my Carter. I mean, oh, Carter?”
“Mmpfh. Anyway, he pointed out some things I hadn’t really thought through well enough. And not because I didn’t know or care, but because I’ve never experienced them. I don’t know what it’s like being judged for being with another man or being perceived as gay by someone who has a problem with it. He helped me understand better. And… all I can say is, I’m willing to learn. I’m willing to go through hard times if that’s part of what happens when you and I are together. Because I can’t think of something that could happen that would possibly make me think you weren’t worth it.”
Tucker took a deep breath and let it out. “You’re a smooth-talker for a big strong handyman.”
“Don’t stereotype,” I said with mock offense. “I expected better from a learned man such as yourself.”
He searched my eyes for a beat. “You know you’re smart, right? You always have an insecurity around your education, but that has nothing to do with how smart someone is. You run a large, well-respected business, and even if you didn’t, even if your full-time job was scratching pigs behind their ears, I’d still love you and think you were one of the best men I’d ever met.”
I puffed out my chest. “It takes a strong man to love a pig, Tuck.”
He nodded solemnly. “So true.”
“Not that I would know,” I said with a sniff. I prepared to remind him that all of my pigs were stock animals, not pets, but he beat me to the punch.
“Since your pig is a cat,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
“You talked to Carter too,” I said, lifting an eyebrow. “Since I saw you last.”
“He took me out drinking,” Tucker admitted.
I sighed and reached for the shampoo. “Apparently he likes to do that. Meddling bastard.”
“Says the man whose family performed felony kidnapping to get us together tonight.”
I began scrubbing his hair. “Crime is their love language.”
He closed his eyes and preened like a cat in the sun. “I love them. You know that’s the best part of dating you, right? I get them too.”
I rinsed his hair off and forced him to open his eyes. “We’re not dating,” I said, using his finger quotes against him. “We’re together. Like… the m-word.”
His inky-dark lashes dripped as he blinked at me. “If you think for one minute, Dunn Johnson, that’s how you’re going to propose marriage to me—”
“What?” I squeaked, faking outrage and confusion. “Marriage? Who said anything about marriage? I was talking about moving in together. You know, the m-word… moving.”
He froze for a beat while his brain slowly caught up and reminded him I was a jokester asshole. “You suck,” he muttered. “And that’s still not a proposal. It’s doubly not a proposal now.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “I have it all planned out. It goes with the rim job I owe you. You’re never gonna believe where I’m planning to hide the ring.”
He laughed again which was all I needed. As long as Tucker Wright was happy, I was happy and all was right with the world.
“Why did you ditch me on Entwinin’ night to go out with Carter?” I asked after I got his body good and slicked up with the bar of soap.
“It’s a long story, but you should know Carter was looking out for you. He likes you, and he pushed me to give you another chance. He even saved my wreath from the trash so I could give it to you.”
That stopped me in my tracks. “You made me something for the Entwinin’?” I’d waited my whole life for the person I loved to make me a wreath, and Tucker had finally been the one to do it.
He nodded and his face softened. “It’s a clinch knot.”
“The one you don’t know how to make.”
“Except I do,” Tuck admitted.
“I know.”
“You do? Then why do you always tie it for me? And why did you make me one for my vine?”
After rinsing him off, I pulled him back into my arms and stood with him under the steady stream of hot water. “Because I always want to do the hard things for you, and I want you to know you can always count on me to try and make your life a little easier. I don’t want you to ever think you have to go it alone, even if it’s something as simple as tying a knot.”
