Page 42 of Crossed Sticks

The world faded until a mewling sound brought me around. Harper was wriggling underneath me, so I rolled off him. “Sorry.”

He flipped onto his back while he caught his breath, then turned on his side to face me. His grin lit up my heart, and hemade it skip a beat when he said, “That was the best sex I ever had.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“No.Godno. I just…”

Concerned about whether I’d been too rough, I asked, “What? We said we’d be honest with each other, remember?”

“You were perfect. I’ve dreamed about getting fucked like that for years, and you couldn’t have done better if you were a mind reader. Thank you.”

“It was amazing for me, babe. I think it was the best sex I ever had, too. I really got off on the domination stuff.”

“We’re great together, then.”

The alarm in my head blared again, but it was more distant now. Harper and I had shared the fuck of our lives. I already knew it wouldn’t be enough, that it would have to be repeated many times. I stretched, exhaling loudly, and an unwelcome, fleeting image of blond hair and blue eyes flashed in my mind’s eye. I shoved it away.No goddamn way. It’s time to think about what will make me happy.

Harper and I were exhausted, and after I disposed of the condom and cleaned us up, we crawled under the covers for a nap. It wasn’t long before we were awake again. Nonsexual body functions called, and after going to the bathroom—holy fuck, he even loved crossing the streams into the toilet as much as I did—we headed downstairs for a snack. After eating yogurt out of the same giant carton, we took four bottles of water back upstairs.

The night was a blur of napping, whispered conversations, and more adventures. Eventually, another wild fuck kept us up until almost five in the morning. Following a half-hearted cleanup, I declared we needed to sleep. He let me be his big spoon, and I was probably still wearing a goofy smile when I drifted off.

A few hours later, I woke to blinding sunlight. It seemed like everything in the room was glowing. “What the hell?” I mumbled.

“Morning, handsome.” Harper raised his head for a kiss. “Don’t worry, I’ve got blinds coming.”

Our incendiary night had turned Harper’s shaggy hair into a bedhead disaster. He also had pillow wrinkles on his face and crud in his eyes, but all that only added to his charm. Well-fucked, sleepy Harper was the handsomest man I’d ever seen. I gave a long, contented sigh and pushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “Last night was amazing.”

He blushed, then stared at my chest and tangled his fingers through the hair. “I realize now that I never even knew what to dream about.” He raised his eyes. “Thank you.”

My stomach lurched. Was he asking me to go? “Does it have to be over?”

“The night or this?”

“This?”

“You and me. Friends with lots of sex on the side. I don’t want it to be over.”

I didn’t either. Harper and I hadn’t known each other long, but I remembered what I’d thought the night before:it’s time to think about what will make me happy.Today, it was time to stop thinking and start living. A summer with him would be a lot of fun, and the nights would be legendary. Taking what he’d said a step further, we’d do things neither of us had known to dream about.

“It isn’t over,” I said, “but…”

He narrowed his eyes. “What?”

It was time to go for broke. If I wanted to be happy, I had to be brave. “Can we date? Officially? The sex blew my mind, and I want a shit-ton more of that, but Ilikeyou. It isn’t only about the sex. That might be confusing, but…”

He chewed his lips. “I feel the same.”

“I want to date, not just say we’re friends with benefits or fuck buddies. Does that scare you?”

He traced a finger across my cheek. “It scares the hell out of me, but I want the same thing.”

“So…” I widened my eyes. “That’s a yes?”

“For sure. But what I wanted last night, asked you to do? That wasn’t a one-time thing. Ineedthat, and you said you liked?—”

“Babe, it was only the start. We’ll keep going until one of us says the safe word.”

He grinned. “Won’t be me.” Easing a hand under the sheet, he found my morning wood. “Seal the deal?”

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