Page 23 of The Hot Shot

“Absolutely.” I chuckled as I did just as Walker asked of me. I turned around, curling myself into his warm arms, embracing the sensations of complete wholeness he provided me; something that I’ve never experienced before. “Night, Walker.”

“Night, baby.”

* * *

I woke the next morning to the smell of freshly ground coffee wafting in the air, mixing with the smell of fresh baked goods cooking away. It was heaven but nothing could have prepared me for the sudden melody of Walker’s cheery voice singing away in the other room. If I was ice, I’d be a puddle on the floor right now, unable to hold my form from the heat Walker’s voice had produced. In some ways, I’m glad he hadn’t woken me up and left the bed empty because this memory was too good to not have. I wanted to know if Walker was having regrets over last night or if his confidence was as strong and unwavering as it was before we fell asleep in one another’s arms.

I climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of Walker’s clean boxers, hoping he wouldn’t mind that I’d enjoyed having a quick nosy through his drawers in search of them before I took in a deep breath and headed out of the bedroom, following his voice to search him out.

“Are you going to give me another rendition of a song?” I asked the moment I walked in half-naked, watching Walker’s gaze trail up and down my figure. “Or do I have time to shower and borrow some clothes before breakfast? If that’s your waffles recipe I can smell, then I think I’ll definitely need to be working out more at the gym to keep myself in shape.”

“Morning, you,” Walker said with his towel in hand as he strode across the room toward me, wearing only a red striped apron that sent my mind straight to the gutter. Damn man. He flicked the towel at me, making me jump backwards before catching me and pulling me in for a kiss on the lips. “You taste good this morning but you deserved that for walking in here like that.”

“I could have walked in with nothing on.” I shrugged my shoulders, making Walker roll his eyes at me.

“Trust you. Now, I’m not doing any more singing, kissing or providing you with my wonderful breakfast until you are more appropriately dressed,” he said. “So, jump in that shower and I’ll leave some clean clothes outside the door for you.”

“Aren’t you an ever doting boyfriend?” I mocked, letting the word slip from my mouth before taking a couple steps backwards. I quickly covered my mouth, wondering how I could backtrack and take those words back. “I…”

“Sebastian, take a breath.” He reached for my hand and rubbed circles over it while slowly gazing deep into my eyes. “Aren’t we just that? I mean, if you wanted to assign a label to this thing. It’s not like we’re fuck buddies.”

“We’re not fuck buddies… but…”

“We’re us. Two guys that are happy together as boyfriends. It’s just that the world doesn’t know that, okay?” he asked, trying to reassure me. I nodded. “The only person who knows is Dee.”

“That’s right,” I said, realizing that Walker was completely right. “I had better go and get that shower, hey?”

I pulled back and started heading toward the bathroom, giving myself a few precious moments of clarity and settling the bundle of nerves within my gut. I didn’t understand why I was freaking out so much. I was the one that said the label, not Walker.

“Sebastian?” he called.

“Yeah?” I turned to face him, leaning against the door frame. “Stop thinking so much, okay? Anything that’s passing through that mind of yours can be shared, you know. I ain’t going anywhere.”

“I know. Thanks,” I said as I headed into the bathroom and shut the door behind me.

Walker was right. I couldn’t start allowing small things to eat away at me. I had to open up and not panic because I knew right now this wasn’t going to be a smooth path we would be traveling on. It would be full of many bumps, knocks and holes whether I liked it or not.

I just had to get onboard with the ride ahead and accept it because I knew I wasn’t getting off it, no matter how difficult it became.

This was my reality and Walker was the man I wanted by my side.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

WALKER

I’d normally have been a dead weight and be sleeping away after working a shift and then having a guy over but this wasn’t just any guy, this was Sebastian; the one I’d been pining for while also panicking that he wouldn’t show up last night, even though he did. It was as if all my prayers had been answered when he appeared at the bar. It also unveiled a lot about himself to me in the process and I secretly loved that.

That was why when I woke up at the crack of dawn after our little heart-to-heart, followed by mind blowing sex, I no longer had any qualms that Sebastian wasn’t fully on board with exploring this chemistry that had grown between us. Instead, I knew that I had to show him what life could be like with me. I showed him inside the inner me, that I had never revealed to another man before. The normal haze I would’ve experienced most mornings was gone and today I woke feeling full of life. I turned to watch Sebastian fully at peace as he rested in my space for a few precious moments. It was a sight I was certain I would never grow tired of. I stayed like that for a few moments before I slowly unwrapped myself from his form and climbed out of the bed. It was time for me to put my plan into action and get breakfast ready, just like I promised.

I knew that Sebastian would walk in and find me twirling around and letting myself go but I didn’t care. It was something I dared to hope that he would eventually do with me. I just didn’t expect the wobble to hit him already when he was only wearing a pair of my sexy tight boxers but if I had to reassure him constantly that the connection between us was stable and perfect then I would. I had no problem carrying enough strength and confidence for the two of us until he could finally discover that this was a permanent fixture that wasn’t about to change.

I dished up the waffles onto two plates topped with a mixed berry compote, fresh cream with a blueberry swirl and fresh fruits before taking in a pitcher of both apple and orange juice and a cup of coffee each with creamer in a jug to the breakfast bar. I really needed to learn what he loved and hated because I despised not having precision and control over a situation.

“Baby, breakfast is served. Are you…” I shouted through the hall to him, knowing that the pipes had stopped clanging which meant that the water had turned off around five minutes ago. They really did need replacing but the landlord didn’t want to spend pointless money for a new system when apparently—even though it was old and loud—it worked perfectly well.

“It looks delicious,” Sebastian admitted. At the same time, I turned around and noticed him looking over my shoulder which made me jump, having not realized he’d snuck up behind me. He slowly wrapped his arms around my neck and placed a kiss on my pulse point on the column of my neck that was rapidly beating away. “Thanks,” he murmured before pulling away from me, heading around to pull out one of the stools and taking a seat on it. “I wasn’t expecting all this. I mean, I could smell you were cooking but this… it’s something else.”

“I wanted to ensure you had everything you liked,” I said, sure that my cheeks would be slightly pink after that slip of the tongue. I pulled out my stool and took a seat alongside Sebastian before turning to him. “I wanted it to be perfect. Like I said, today is about us beginning our time together. We both know that physically we can’t keep our hands off each other…”

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