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“That’d be good. I think you’re made for that. Working with animals, helping them. I think you’d be happy doing that.”
“I think so, too.” His smile slanted, turning slightly bashful. “Speaking of the future and happiness and all that jazz—I’ve, uh, been thinking. About us.”
That made a brow arch. “Oh?”
“Obviously, things between us are a little complicated, but I’ve really felt like these last few weeks, being with you and feeling so… good, it’s made me want more. I want things to be official between us, Austin. Let’s be boyfriends.”
Annnnd both brows were in play now. That was surprising. Not unwanted whatsoever, but surprising.
“Char, that’s, I mean”—I could see his face quickly twisting into disappointment and realized I had to stop stumbling over my words before I fucked it up this time. “Yes, let’s make this official.”
His disappointment morphed into glee. He gave me a toothy grin and a rub of his sexy chest. He almost seemed as surprised as I was by the question. “All right, awesome. Fuck yeah.”
I laughed at the bro-ey phrase. The water in the tub was nearing the rim, so I turned off the faucets and went over to Charlie—my boyfriend. I kissed him, flushing my body against his, our semi-hard cocks pressing together. It felt like the night just couldn’t get any better.
“Bet you didn’t picture this happening on your flight back to Blue Creek, huh?”
I huffed a laugh, nibbling on Charlie’s bottom lip. “Not in the fucking slightest.”
We separated, staying inches apart, Charlie’s blue eyes locked with mine. The same eyes I had fallen for so long ago and the ones I’d find myself dreaming about, feeling guilty on the days I’d wake up next to Dean, wondering what was wrong with me, why I couldn’t move on from the boy with the sea-glass stare and songbird laugh?
Because I was always destined to move back, that’s why.
“Let’s get in the tub before the water gets cold,” I said, excited to make this a night to remember.
And then the power cut off.
22
Charlie Marsh
The lights went out, and I might as well have died. My heart pretty much stopped. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust and use the moonlight streaming in from the windows as light, and that moment stretched into infinity.
Austin’s voice broke through my fear freeze. “It’s probably just the storm,” he said, sounding confident in his guess, even though it was just that: a guess.
“Where’s your breakers?” I asked.
“Out in the backyard. You hang out here.” He went to a drawer in the vanity and rummaged through.
“Like fuck I’m hanging out here alone. Have you never seen a scary movie before?” I grabbed my phone off the counter and used it as a light as Austin moved to another drawer, digging all the way in the back and pulling out an industrial flashlight.
He clicked it on and sat it on the counter, facing up at the ceiling and throwing the bright white light all around the room. We pulled on our briefs (because I was sure as hell not going to die naked) and tried the light switches one more time, not getting anything to turn on.
“Stick close to me, then,” Austin said, grabbing the flashlight and taking the lead. I put a hand on his lower back and followed, my heart stuck in the middle of my throat. There hadn’t been any thunder or lightning when the power died, so Austin’s theory wasn’t exactly comforting. The wind and rain had seemed to die down, too, as we walked down the dark hall with windows that looked to Austin’s empty yard. Shadows stretched and danced toward the end of the hall as Austin waved the flashlight.
I grabbed a heavy ceramic pot from a decorative table as we entered the living room. Wide-open spaces in the dark weren’t very comforting. I didn’t know where to look, feeling like every corner held the glaring eyes of whatever assassin was sent here to kill me.
What the hell did I get myself into?
Austin put a hand in the air, and I froze. Thankfully it was a false alarm, and he kept us moving, cutting straight through the kitchen and out into the yard. The bright white beam of light shone toward the line of skinny trees surrounding Austin’s property. Nothing moved inside them, but I didn’t like looking too hard. The rain had definitely stopped, but the ground was still soaked, and I had to be sure I didn’t slip.
Austin redirected the beam onto the wall, where a steel box had been placed, the door swinging open. “They’ve been flipped.” Austin ducked down and picked something up. “And the lock’s been cut.”
If my heart had been racing before, it was raging now. My heart beat so fast that I felt light-headed and had to lean against the wall to avoid falling down. I wasn’t normally a fainting kinda guy, but fuck did this news send a shocking amount of adrenaline and fear coursing through my veins.
