Page 37 of Ethan

"And you?"

"In there among the mayhem like a dirty shirt. I remember when I was eight, I had a pirate party for my birthday. My costume came with a plastic sword. Big mistake on my parents' part."

Daniel chuckled. "You became a bit of a swashbuckler?"

I snorted and laughed. "No one was safe."

"Did you typically have themed birthday parties like that?"

"Oh, my God. Did I ever. I love dressing up in costumes."

Daniel's eyebrows peaked. "Still?"

It was a bit of an obsession, to be honest. I had a packed second-bedroom closet to prove it. "My favourite holiday is Halloween. I've been collecting costumes for years."

Daniel's green eyes disappeared slightly as his eyelids hooded over them.

"Cute costumes?"

Oh, my, Daniel … is this turning you on?

"Some cute. Some silly." I winked at him. "Some sexy."

Daniel's Adam's apple bobbed, and then he went back to eating his steak. Following Daniel's lead, we switched to talking about how he was days away from finishing his tax season filings. The dry topic took the sizzle right out of the earlier sexual, costume-themed tension between us.

As we talked about my time as a young equestrian, Daniel put on more water to boil. He arranged two plastic bins on the picnic table after we'd scraped our plates clean. He filled one with both cold and boiling water, and the other with just cold water. He handed me a tea towel.

I dried as he washed.

"I set aside some special pastries for us," I said as I rubbed a plate dry.

He stared at me and licked his lips. "I know how I'd like to eat them."

A ripple of desire went straight to my dick. We were doing this again. Playing with fire. I could play that game. "I've been told I make an excellent naked serving platter."

For a second, it looked like Daniel stopped breathing.

I grasped his arm and smiled at him. "You all right?"

"Not sure my heart is going to survive you."

"Let's slow it down." I rubbed his arm. "Start the fire. I'll find the smore fixings you promised."

"Cupboard over the fridge."

I hauled the chairs over to the firepit along with the makings of the gooey snack while Daniel split some kindling off the logs and got the fire going. It was still light out, but it was cold for June. I went back into the camper, found two throw blankets, and wrapped one around myself.

Daniel put his blanket across his lap after he loaded the growing fire with logs. We sat like that for a long time, staring into the flames. Just enjoying the moments as they passed.

I reached for Daniel's hand, and he took it.

I'm sure an hour went by. The fire was reduced to hot coals. Without losing the warmth off my shoulders from the blanket, I grabbed a roasting stick and speared two marshmallows.

"Have you been around many campfires?" Daniel asked.

"For sure. Owen has a firepit in his backyard."

"So, you're an expert at smores?"

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