But it was clearly so much more lived-in than my own house. There was a half-finished crossword puzzle lying on the bed. On one nightstand was a stack of books, all about computers and software. And on one of the walls, there were a bunch of framed pieces of kids’ artwork, clearly made by Chloe, Cooper, and Dayna.
“I know it’s a mess in here,” he said.
“Stop,” I said. “It looks great.”
He reached into one of his dresser drawers, taking out a pair of grey sweatpants and a T-shirt. “These have always been a little too long on me. Should be perfect for you.”
The bathroom looked like it may as well have been in a rainforest. The walls were covered in a beautiful grey stone. There was a giant corner jacuzzi tub, and the shower itself was bigger than a walk-in closet, with a showerhead that came from above.
“Just push that lever toward the right,” he said. He lingered at the door as I turned on the water, waiting for it to heat up. I kept expecting him to walk away, but he stayed there, leaning in the doorframe.
“You gonna watch me shower?”
It was a joke, but I loved watching his eyes go a little wide at the comment.
“I was just making sure you had everything you needed,” he said, but I could see the hint of a smile spreading across his face.
It made me want to mess with him. I quickly stripped off my belt and pants before he left the room, and I watched as his eyes danced across my body. All I had on were my boxer briefs, and I hooked my fingers into the waistband, starting to pull down.
“Fuck,” he muttered, swallowing hard. “Okay. Yes. I’m going to go get cozy on the couch.”
“Why so fast?”
“Because if I keep standing here staring at you, I’m going to wind up covered in your cum.”
Damn. I was definitely hard now.
“I see no problem with that,” I said.
He bit his lower lip. “Don’t get me wrong, I definitely want to end up covered in your cum tonight. You’ve just got to cuddle me first.”
I chuckled, clicking my tongue at him. “I will cuddle you, before and after,” I said.
“I knew I liked you for a reason.”
“You’re making me impatient,” I said.
He cocked his head to one side. “Maybe I’m just building your anticipation.”
“Well then you better get out of here, because I’m about to pounce on you. Pretty boy.”
“Fuck off,” he said, fire in his eyes.
“You know you love it when I call you that.”
“No comment,” he said, giving me one last once-over before walking off, leaving me with a big dumb smile on my face and a stupidly hard cock. I showered quickly, then pulled on Cam’s soft old sweatpants and T-shirt. I could clearly see the outline of my dick through them as I glanced in the mirror.
I headed out into the living room, ready to pounce on him. But I found him on the couch, looking down at his phone with a sad expression on his face.
“What’s up?” I asked.
He glanced up at me, quickly putting his phone away. “Ah, it’s nothing.”
“Bullshit,” I said, getting cozy on the couch next to him. “You seemed upset.”
“It’s just a stupid little thing,” he said. “I told you I’m in that group chat for singles, right?”
“Yes.”
He took a breath in. “I tried to reach out to somebody on there, but I don’t think they’re interested.”
I furrowed my brow. “I thought you weren’t interested in anything serious.”
“Exactly,” he said. “I’m really not. I shouldn’t care about some random person on the internet, who I’ve only exchanged a few words with. But… there was something I liked about the way they talked.”
I swallowed. “I see.”
“And maybe that’s why I like it, actually,” he said. “It feels safer. Lower stakes. Like if somebody’s only text on a screen, none of it has to feel serious or real.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what you need right now,” I said. “Something detached. Light.”
He nodded. “That’s why I wanted to see if this person would respond. I posted something in the group chat earlier, and just now I tried to send a private message, but they aren’t even accepting private messages.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He threw up his hands. “It doesn’t matter. I need to let things go. Not think of a million potential futures all the damn time.”
He scooted up on the couch, reaching onto the coffee table and messing around with the four or five different remote controls there. While he was in front of me, I slipped out my phone, opening up the BackOutThere group.
I scrolled up and saw the picture of the phlox plants earlier. I navigated to a notification in the bottom right corner.
New private message! Accept incoming messages from LittleBit?
My heart squeezed in my chest.