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“Come on. Time to refuel.” I took his hand, and Corbin let me, the two of us returning to the table. The wings were there but had to be cold by now. Corbin fell into his side of the booth, drinking down his whole glass of water in gulp after gulp.
“How many do you want?” I asked, putting a few wings on my plate.
“I’m not hungry,” Corbin replied, then frowned, probably at my look of disbelief. “What? I’m not. This isn’t a thing right now. I’m just not hungry.”
And that might very well be the truth. It wasn’t as if a person had to eat every time someone else did, but it worried me when it came to him. I also didn’t want to push too hard. I had no idea how to handle this situation. “Do you want something else?”
“I’m good, CB.” He winked at me. “So…you suck at games.”
“I won some,” I countered, before eating a bite.
“If by some you mean like one. It’s okay. Just one of the many things I’m good at. I know it’s hard to keep up.”
“You’re a cocky sonofabitch,” I teased.
“You say that like you didn’t already know it.”
When the waitress came by, Corbin asked for more water. He nursed that glass while I ate and we chatted.
“Should we head outside next?” he asked.
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
“If that were the case, we’d end this night naked.” He pumped his brows.
My emotions and thoughts were at war with what he’d said. Part of me was surprised Corbin wanted me, and I hated that because I’d worked hard to be confident in the man I was, to feel comfortable in my skin, and to be proud and feel attractive, but because I knew some of Corbin’s struggles with his own self-image, I couldn’t fit the pieces together. How could he be attracted to me but worry obsessively about his own weight? Stress out if he gained a pound or someone made a comment online? And even though I believed Corbin was attracted to me, or would want to hook up with me, I sometimes thought he made comments like he just had because it was part of the role he played.
“You’re thinking hard over there.” He tapped my ankle with his foot. “I was just giving you shit. I mean, I would definitely get naked with you, but you’ve made it clear you don’t want that. It was a joke. I’m having fun with you, and I want to keep having fun with you.” His gaze darted away.
“I want to keep having fun with you too.”
“It’s different with you. It’s strange as fuck. It almost feels like it did with Marcus, Parker, and Declan. Comfortable and no pressure. Like I can just be.”
Jesus, I didn’t know what to even say to that. How in the fuck did Corbin already have me so twisted up? “Maybe it’s because I’m not trying to fuck you. There are all these men who see how beautiful you are, which makes them want you. Part of you likes that, but you also know it’s surface-level shit. They don’t know the real Corbin. They want you for how you look, and with your past, you seek that out, needing to be wanted any way you can. But I like spending time with you…and snuggling you.” I winked. “Because I enjoy your company. It has nothing to do with how gorgeous you are, and that’s how it is with your friends too.”
“You think I’m beautiful?”
My brows drew together. “Yes. Fuck yes. Jesus, Corbin.” How could he really not know how beautiful he was?
“Why does it feel different hearing it from you than when people say it online? Or when…” When he was hooking up with someone. “You’re messing with my head, CB.”
“Maybe you need that.” And maybe something about being with him made me feel special too. Making him feel good filled something inside me I hadn’t even known was missing.
“Maybe I do…but I also need to ram the fuck out of you in bumper cars, so can we go do that, please?”
I laughed as I began wiping my hands with a napkin. “You’re so fucking spoiled.”
“Hey, maybe you’ll praise-kink me the way Elliott does Parker.”
“Praise-kink you? First you want to be cuddled, and then you want to be praised? You sure ask for a lot.”
“The cuddling is the best,” he replied, and damned if I didn’t feel the same.
We made our way outside and to the bumper cars, where he did, in fact, ram the fuck out of me. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed so hard. From there we did the racetrack, then ended the day with mini golf.
We were still laughing as we left the arcade later. And when we got home, I automatically unlocked my apartment and signaled for Corbin to go inside.
