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“Okay,” Gael replied, and I breathed out.
“Okay.” I stood then, and walked over and hugged him.
We sat there talking afterward, and I even ate part of one of his cookies. When Gael said he needed to take the bus back to LA to go home, I offered to give him a ride. I told him I could help him talk to his mom if he wanted, and Gael agreed.
It was nearly nine in the evening when I left their house, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever been hugged as tightly as I had been by Gael’s mom as she’d whispered a soft thank-you. It was the most amazing thing I’d ever felt.
I didn’t know what it was about me that made Gael open up, willing to get help… Maybe I really was The Charmer after all.
I texted Spencer when I was on my way home. I’d told him something had come up, that I would tell him about it later. He was likely worried, but I hadn’t wanted to get into too much detail when I was still with Gael.
Spencer was sitting on the couch, wearing… “Oh my God!” I said, taking in his shirt. He smiled, which made my heart beat faster and expand in ways I never would have thought possible.
I walked right over to him as he stood and opened his arms.
“Chubby Boys Cuddle Better,” I read. “I like it. How come you’ve never worn it before?”
“I ordered it special.” He winked, and I went straight into his arms.
“It’s true, though for me, I think it has something to do with it being you. Spencer cuddles better.”
“I like that, baby.” He kissed the top of my head, then tugged me down to the couch with him. He lay down and pulled me on top of him, arms around me. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is…better. I was with Gael. He was waiting for me outside my work. I took him to Beach Buns, and we talked. He’s having a hard time. I talked to him about therapy, and he agreed to start. We even went and talked to his mom about it.”
Spencer cocked a brow. “No shit?”
“No shit.”
“Jesus, that is…thank you.” He cupped my cheek. “You’re so fucking amazing. So good. Such a huge fucking heart. I don’t even have the words to describe how incredible you are.”
“You can keep trying later,” I teased. “There’s more.” Worry creased Spencer’s brow, and he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.
“Go on.”
“Talking to him made me realize what I need to do for myself, helped me see that I can’t keep going this way. And how can I expect Gael to get help at eighteen if I won’t at my age?”
His face completely transformed, taken over by that knockout smile of his I liked so much, his green eyes so bright and happy, but also, strangely unreadable.
“Are you kidding me?” he asked.
“No. I thought maybe you’d want to help me? Find someone and—oh shit!” I said when Spencer sat up, then stood with me still in his arms. I wasn’t a small guy. I had muscles I was proud of, damn it! But he held me and basically bounced with me in his big, beefy arms like I’d just made him the happiness man in the world.
How could hearing what I’d said make him that happy? How could he care that much?
“Put. Me. Down,” I said as he was still shaking me and squeezing me just a little too tightly.
“Shit. Sorry. I’m just so proud of you.” He set me on my feet, held my face in his hands, and pressed a loud kiss to my lips. “I love you so fucking much,” he said—and we both stilled.
Wait. Had I just heard what I thought I heard?
“Did you…”
“I did…wow…it just came out.”
My heart dropped because…holy fuck, I wanted Spencer to love me. “Oh. It’s okay if it was a heat-of-the-moment thing. Though I thought those happened during sex. But I won’t hold you to it if you don’t mean it.”
“I do, Corb. I think I really do.”
“Yeah?” I asked, cheesy-smiling because Spencer loved me, and Gael trusted me, and I had the best friends in the world. Sure, I hadn’t talked to my family since Christmas Eve, and my mom had only called twice, both times leaving messages where she made excuses and put the blame on Spencer. But everything else was going so fucking well.
“Yes. You’re…fuck, Corbin. You’ve charmed me. I’m fucking crazy about you.”
“I’m crazy about you too. I love you too. That’s a lot of toos, but I don’t even care.”
And clearly, Spencer didn’t either because instead of responding, his mouth slammed down on mine, and it was the perfect response.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Spencer
He tasted like every dream I didn’t know I had, like all those things I never would have thought I wanted before Corbin. After the way DJ left me, I hadn’t thought I would ever let myself fall in love again. Date, yes. Hook up, yes. But putting my heart on the line? Nah, I was good, but then Corbin came into my life again, and how could I not fall for him? How could anyone?
