“Yes,” he replied right away.
Fantastic.
I chugged my beer and wondered how far I could take things tonight. He wasn’t going home tomorrow, was he? Damn, I couldn’t bail on Angelo—I wouldn’t even consider it. Worst-case scenario, I’d get Archie’s number and flirt his ass off until he let me visit him in Pittsburgh.
We left the barbecue area, and I noticed the people crowding the rows had turned younger. And adults had ditched their kids. Now it was Friday night and time to get hammered.
We passed the section where all the rides were, and Archie walked a little closer to me than before. I liked that part.
“Hey,” he said, gesturing to my niece’s LED light, “you can put that in my backpack if you want.”
Good idea. “Thank you.” I stepped behind him and opened the backpack, where I couldn’t see a whole lot. A heart-shaped tea infuser, what I guessed was a sweater—and a bottle of water.
The crowd thinned out a bit the closer we got to the stage area. People were here for the rides, food, and games, but that didn’t mean the bands playing did so without an audience. The concerts were held at the bottom of a hill, creating nature’s own amphitheater, and I guessed some two hundred people were enjoying the rock band currently on stage.
The lawn wasn’t lit up whatsoever, something I wasn’t gonna complain about.
“Over there?” Archie pointed toward a remote corner without many people nearby.
I smirked and nodded with a dip of my chin.
He dug out his sweater along the way, only it was a hoodie with a zipper. “Beggars can’t be choosers.” He unzipped the hoodie and fanned it out on the grass.
Hm. I was unfortunately on a deadline here, so I had a better idea. I bent down and flipped the hoodie so a short end faced the stage. Then I sat down behind the top end and patted the spot between my legs.
His shy grin was back, and he dropped his backpack next to me before taking a seat where I wanted him. Fuck, that was much better. Not to mention transparent. My intentions couldn’t be clearer.
“Lean back against me,” I murmured.
I caught him shivering.
As soon as his back pressed against my chest, I planted my hands in the grass behind me and turned my gaze skyward in a silent plea for patience and mercy. And I wasn’t religious in the slightest. But suddenly, I wanted too many things at once, and I had virtually no time to get them.
The timing was shit.
I could sense Archie wasn’t entirely relaxed, but he was getting there. One of his hands came to my leg, and he tapped his fingers softly to the beat of the song.
“What music do you like?” he wondered.
I hummed. “This sounds pretty good.” Soft rock with a bit of country thrown in. “It usually depends on what I’m doing. Country rock, metal, whatever’s playing on the radio—I’m not picky. You?”
“Same,” he answered. “Except for metal. It’s just angry noise.”
I chuckled.
He tilted his head to my shoulder and peered up at me with a crooked little smile.
Fucking hell, he was sexy. For a moment, we just looked at each other in the darkness, and I tried to catalogue every feature on his face. Those eyes were a killer. The dimples even more so. And the dark stubble against his pale skin—okay, so everything about him called out to me.
My heart thrummed a bit faster. The air felt hotter.
I dipped down slowly and felt him tremble right before I ghosted my lips over his. Despite my urge to eat him alive, I refused to rush. I wanted to savor every bit of him that I claimed, so I kissed him unhurriedly, teasingly, and as if we had all the time in the world. And he didn’t try to push me. He melted against me and seemed just as content as I was to appreciate the moment.
I smiled into the kiss as he trapped my bottom lip between his, and he smiled back. He was adorable. A rush of warmth filled my body, and I palmed his cheek only so I could feel more of him. His skin underneath my fingertips.
He sucked in an unsteady breath, and I took advantage. I swept the tip of my tongue into his mouth and felt him shuddering, triggering one for me too.
“We weren’t supposed to listen to the music, were we?”
I grinned quickly. “There’s music?”
He exhaled a laugh, before I deepened the kiss further. That earned me a soft little moan from him. Yeah, good luck pacing myself now. I let my hand drop down his front; I stroked his chest and his abs, then snuck under his tee to feel his stomach properly.
Christ, this boy was trouble.
CHAPTER 1
“Took you long enough. I’ll be in Arlington in ten minutes,” I said. “Pack up the kids and be ready.”