Well, shit, I didn’t even know that about myself, but it didn’t surprise me that Milo did. “I’ve been worried about you all day.” I looked around. “Are we alone?” It felt like he had something important to say, and that stupid fucking negative voice in my head kept telling me that meant this was over.
He nodded, then blurted out, “Rachel said you look at me like you want to eat me alive. I figured that could be just because of the sex we have, but then she also said you seem lucky to be in my orbit, and something about how when I walk out of a room, everything good leaves with me, which is crazy talk. I don’t know how I could be that special, but then I was curious, and I wanted to see, but you just appeared normal to me. Then I was sad because…well, because I feel lucky to be in your orbit every time I’m around you, and when I’m not with you, sometimes it feels like I’m not complete.”
I pushed off the counter, unable to believe I was hearing what I thought I was hearing.
Milo continued. “My brain knows that’s the most ridiculous thing in the world. How can I not be complete without you? We’re separate people. We don’t need each other. I lived my whole life just fine before you, but it’s all different now. I want to be your boyfriend and for you to sleep in my bed every night—not yours anymore, but you’ve been better about that. But we’re best friends, and I don’t want to lose you, and you can’t possibly want the same things with me. Not when I’m…me.”
I took a couple of steps closer to him. Just as he tried to speak again, I put my finger to his lips. “Shhh.” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t burst out of my skin. I hadn’t expected this—to want him or for him to want me.
“Did you wash your hands?” he asked, and I lowered my arm.
“After my last tattoo, yes, but not after cleaning up. Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
I cupped his cheek, then slid my hand to his nape so I could tug him forward and press a soft kiss to his lips. “I do want to eat you alive. It kills me how much I want you, but it’s not just the sex, Lo. You make me happy in a way I didn’t know I needed. I do feel lucky to be in your world. Sometimes it scares me how much.”
“Orbit.”
“Close enough. I’m telling you I want you to be my boyfriend, and that’s what you focus on?”
His smile lit up the whole damn island. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“But what about our friendship?”
“Maybe that’ll make us even better together,” I replied, even though I knew that wasn’t what he meant. It was a valid concern.
“If we break up, I don’t want you to decide you don’t want to be friends with me anymore.”
He was maybe the sweetest man in the world, and I didn’t think he knew it. “I hope we don’t break up, but I can’t promise we won’t. Relationships don’t work that way.” He could be the one who decided he wanted it to be over. “But what I can promise you is that I’ll always want to be friends with you.”
“Like you are with Kris,” he said, emphasizing the name in an exaggerated way.
“Milo Copeland…are you jealous of my other best friend?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “It’s part of why I felt weird at opening night, but I didn’t want to tell you.”
I plucked the broom from his hand and leaned it against the counter before tugging him against me. I kissed his neck. Milo dropped his head back and groaned. “You don’t have to be jealous. It’s not him I want.”
“It’s me,” he replied.
“So fucking much.”
Our mouths crushed together. He pushed his tongue directly between my lips, and I let him. Milo’s dick was hard against mine, our arms tight around each other, our bodies rutting together as we pulled at each other’s clothes. Not off, unfortunately, because we were in the middle of the bookstore, which was what made me stop.
“I want to fuck you, boyfriend,” Milo said, and goddamned if my whole body didn’t sizzle with need.
“Let’s go upstairs.”
“I don’t want to wait. I just want to let go and do it, like we want each other so much, we can’t take the time to go upstairs.”
“You and your goddamned porn,” I said, but my dick was definitely into the idea.
Milo didn’t respond. He grabbed my wrist and tugged me with him, stopping by the register to grab his bag. He led me to the bathroom, which was right off the main part of the store.
“Really?” My dick twitched. I was so down with this, but I didn’t think he would be.