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“So, you expect me to believe you didn’t sleep your way through all the Ivy League pretty boys? Surely there were people begging you to give them the old college try.”
Josh leaned over and kissed behind my ear before whispering in it. “If I’d known you were right down the street, maybe I would have left the library long enough to get laid.”
I shuddered from the feel of his breath on my neck. “Guhhh, don’t tease me like that,” I murmured, looking down at my groin. “I’m going to scare little children and get arrested by the Capitol Police.”
Josh glanced down at the bulge in my shorts before putting his palm flat on my abdomen and making gooseflesh raise all over my skin. “Where is a convenient cluster of tall bushes when a guy needs one?”
I batted his hand away and leaned to the side to disengage his lips from my ear. “Stop,” I breathed. “Seriously. You’re driving me crazy. I’m going to be the only person at the damned cemetery with a giant boner.”
“Giant, huh?” he teased. “I’m going to insist on verifying that claim later.”
Just then, a kid on a scooter zipped a little too close to us, causing Josh to step quickly into the grass from the paved walkway. His foot must have hit funny because he started to tip over, and I grabbed for him, shouting at the kid to watch where he was going. The kid waved a hand over his shoulder and called out a sorry without slowing his pace.
“It’s okay,” Josh muttered, getting his balance again. My arm was around his waist, and I noticed a new stiffness in his body. “Sorry about that.”
His apology sounded embarrassed which made me even angrier at the oblivious kid. “You’resorry?” I asked in surprise. “Why?”
“Never mind.”
“No. Not never mind. I assume you would have reached out to help me if I’d tripped the same way. Right?”
“Of course I would.”
“And would you have thought it was my fault after that kid nearly side-swiped us?”
“No.”
“So shut the fuck up,” I said softly, cupping his face. “I’m just glad I saved you from crushing this face. If you’d messed it up, I’d have had to ditch you like a hot potato.”
Josh’s gorgeous wide grin appeared again, making my stomach flip around several times. “You don’t date guys with crushed noses?” He leaned in and kissed my cheek before kissing my nose.
“Nah. I’m pretty shallow like that. I mean… not as shallow as… let’s say aHarvardgrad, but still… pretty shallow.”
His laughter was a balm to my soul, and I wanted more and more and more of it. We stood face-to-face with our arms around each other for a few minutes, simply enjoying being together on a beautiful fall day.
“You know,” Josh said, “I have to admit I didn’t have very high hopes since this date was chosen at random, but you’re really easy to be around. I’m having a nice time, Cam.”
“Me too. The last time I agreed to a blind date, I discovered I’d been set up with a woman. Needless to say, it did not go well.”
Josh’s laugh rumbled between us. “Are you bi?”
“No. Not at all,” I said with a smirk. “But this woman’s name was Chris, and I guess… I don’t even know what happened. But she was under the impression if I just tried to get to know her, I’d stop taking ‘sex and gender’ so seriously. I left the restaurant feeling like the lowest sexist scum for not giving her a fair chance.”
“You’re kidding.” Josh’s eyes were wide in surprise.
“I wish I was. I actually questioned my sexuality after that so much that my extremely straight brother had to sit me down and tell me I was for sure gay.” Laughter bubbled up in my chest, remembering Colton’s lecture. “If only I’d thought to get the entire conversation on video. At one point my mom came into the room and said, ‘Hon, I thought we’d already been through this.’”
A group of teenagers with matching shirts for some school group hustled past us on the way to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It was enough to get us walking again past the giant structure and toward the Arlington Memorial Bridge. I couldn’t help but make sure he was still doing okay.
“I know you told me not to worry, but are you doing okay? I don’t want to henpeck you, but I don’t want to be thoughtless either. If you want to slow down or sit for a bit… you’ll tell me, right?”
He squeezed my hand. “Thank you for checking in with me. I’m doing fine. I promise I’ll speak up if I need a break.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’d rather you ask than pretend it’s not a thing. And are people really still using the word ‘henpeck’?”
“If you’d met my mother, you’d know the answer to that question is a definite yes,” I said emphatically. “She defines the word. Just ask my dad. Or my sisters or my brother.”
