Out of the Ashes (The Game 5)

I clapped him on the shoulder. “Count me in. What do you say we have a little dinner party at my place when you get back from Seattle? We could invite Ivy and Mack too. I’ve seen Gael talk to them.”

A relieved smile lit up Kit’s face. “That sounds amazing. I want to help out! Much less noisy than a restaurant.”

Exactly. And if Gael was shy, which, admittedly, I had noticed too, then a quieter setting might help him relax.

“In the meantime, we’ll tell our friends to include him more,” I suggested. “I don’t think I’m friends with him online.”

“Oh! You should follow him on Insta. I’ll tag you in one of his posts. He makes these insanely good figurines that he designs, 3-D prints, and paints himself. When I’ve found the courage, I want to ask if he can print a tiny version of an F-16 for me.”

That was a plane. A fighter jet. I knew of the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels—that was about it. The Air Force’s Thunderbirds consisted of F-16s. I was also fairly certain that was the jet Colt flew.

“You’re a cute geek, Kit.”

He grinned goofily.

Lee emerged from the kitchen down the hall and joined us. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Hi, Sir.” Kit smiled. “Tate and I are gonna host a dinner party at your place soon.”

“Oh yeah?” He grinned and rested his arm on my shoulder. “If there’s one thing Tate’s good at, it’s dinner parties.”

“Yes, that’s the one thing.” I shot him a mock-scowl.

He winked and kissed my temple.

“You two are funny,” Kit snickered. “Okay, I’m gonna go tell Daddy we have an Operation Dinner Party. See you outside!” He ran off.

I chuckled and glanced up at Master.

He rested his forehead to mine. “So what’s the plan? You wanna take a nap?”

Tempting. A lot had already happened today.

“I’m gonna say hi to some people first, and then, fuck yeah.” Which reminded me—I brought out my phone to show him Franklin’s message. “Our middle-aged kink child is gonna need some coaching.”

Lee read it and rumbled a laugh. “Middle-aged kink child. Yeah, that sounds about right. Didn’t you predict this Grindr thing?”

“To be fair,” I said, grabbing his hand so we could go outside, “it was only a matter of time. I lasted two months on that meat market. Bitches be vicious.”

“Two months is still impressive.” He grinned to himself as we crossed the club area hand in hand. “I remember downloading the app, creating a profile, and receiving a message that read ‘You hung, papi?’ And that was all she wrote.”

I laughed.

My papi was hung. And he was all mine.

We headed out onto the patio, and I breathed in the fall air and took in my surroundings. The trees that framed the property were shifting in dark green, orange, and red. Smoke was coming from the chimney of Penelope and Ella’s cabin, so at least one couple had switched off the AC and started heating their kink getaway home.

It was officially the season for fitted cashmere pullovers I’d bought on sale in the middle of summer.

I was a spring and summer guy, but I had to admit I loved fall and winter in this place. Memories of past years washed over me, from aftercare with hot cocoa and marshmallows and midnight dips into one of the Jacuzzis to Secret Santa events and our New Year’s formal.

Now that I was back with Lee, I was looking forward to every little bit of it.

Lee positioned himself with his chest to my back, and he squeezed me tightly. “I can’t stop picturing you and Franklin together.” He gave my neck a sharp nip.

“Ouch.” I rubbed the spot. “Right back at you, buddy.”

I couldn’t believe Cam, Noa, and Shay were in the pool. It had to be frigid.

I’d seen Lucas’s announcement online that this was the last weekend before we covered the pool for the season.

Movement caught the corner of my eye, and I looked toward the cabins. Reese was sitting on their little porch, and was that an actual drone on the table?

“Let’s go say hi to Reese,” I suggested.

“Actually, you can do that,” Lee replied. “I need a word with KC.”

Both KC and Lucian were sharing a double lounger by the pool, but they were dressed reasonably in warmer clothes, unlike their partners in the water.

Lee and I parted ways for the moment, and I hopped off the patio deck and walked over to River and Reese’s cabin.

“Did you buy a new toy, Sir?” I asked.

He looked up from the gadget; he appeared to be attaching the blades or whatever they were called, and he grinned a little. “I did. I got to see someone fly a more advanced version recently, and it made me wanna go shopping.”

“Tate!” I heard Shay call. “You coming in or not?”

“Not!” I called back. “I’m not in the mood to freeze my balls off.”