Page 34 of Covington Acres

Shaking his head while trying not to smile, Colby said, “I thought you were going to flex for me?”

“Oh, I see how you are. You think you got jokes this morning.” He came over and wrapped his arms around Colby, holding his down. “Bet you feel my muscles now. You can’t even break free.”

“Maybe I don’t want to break free,” Colby admitted. If Vince was going to flirt with him, Colby would flirt right back. Apparently, that was a thing they were doing with each other now, and he couldn’t pretend he didn’t enjoy it. Why waseverything he did with Vince more fun than it was doing it with anyone else?

“Wow…that was good. You win this round.” Vince pressed his lips against Colby’s, not slipping his tongue inside but giving him kiss after kiss, sensual enough to make his toes curl. Too soon for Colby’s liking, Vince swatted his ass and pulled away. “Breakfast now, more hooking up later.”

Colby snickered, grabbing his cell phone and wallet from the mattress. “That sounds good to me.”

There was abuffet breakfast at the hotel, so they both chose that rather than picking an item off the menu. When they were finished, they took Colby’s truck to the Biltmore.

“It says this is the largest home in the United States,” Vince said, clearly googling it as they pulled down the long, tree-lined road toward the parking.

“Yeah, it’s incredible. The grounds too. I remember the first time I saw it as a kid. It felt like it was bigger than the whole damn world.”

“If you could go anywhere, where would you go?” Vince asked, and…hell, Colby wasn’t sure. Where the fuck would he want to go? And the truth was, he could. It wasn’t like he couldn’t take a vacation somewhere or like he’d never been on one with his family. But he’d never chosen a place that interested him and gone for no reason.

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t accept that answer.”

Colby chuckled. “You don’t, huh?”

“Nope. Pick a place, any place.”

Colby pulled into a parking spot. They were in the Blue Ridge mountains, thick trees on the edge of the parking lot. “I’ve nevergone out of the country. It’s probably cliché, but I’d love to go to Europe. I feel like there’s so much to see there.”

Vince leaned over the seat and nudged Colby with his arm. “Then we’ll go one day.”

He rolled his eyes. “We can’t go to Europe.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Well, shit, why couldn’t he go to Europe if he wanted to? Why had he never just fucking gone if it was something he wanted? Colby wasn’t afraid to do it alone, he just…never really took the time to do the things that interested him. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “We’re going to go to Europe?” His pulse jumped excitedly. The thought of just taking off for a vacation like that made him shift, unable to keep still but not wanting to get too hopeful about this. But then, even if Vince didn’t want to go, Colby could. He should. And maybe he would. He just liked the idea of going with Vince more. In that moment, he wanted to pretend they didn’t have any responsibilities and could just go where they wanted, when they wanted.

“Well, not tomorrow,” Vince said, “but fuck yes. I love travel. I’ll go anywhere you want. We can plan for next summer.”

Was it silly that Colby liked the idea of Vince still planning to live in Harmony next summer? Actually, that didn’t mean Vince didn’t expect to move; maybe he did, but regardless, he still planned to be close to Colby. “Okay.”

“I’m serious, babe. We’re going to fucking Europe. You can drink beer there too, but I bet yours is better.” He winked before opening the truck door.

“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?”

“Eh, that’s kinda my thing. I like to make you feel good.”

Him. Vince didn’t say he liked to make people feel good. He said he liked to make Colby feel good. Like Colby was different than others to Vince. It was a reminder that their friendship meant as much to Vince as it did to him. “I like it too.”

“When I make you feel good?”

They chuckled, heading toward the bus that would take them to the entrance. “No, smartass. Making you feel good.”

“I guess that’s why this works for both of us,” Vince replied.

Yeah, yeah it did. Colby could explore himself or anything else he wanted with Vince—from Europe to orgasms to beer. It might not be romantic between them, but it was the best relationship Colby had ever had.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Vince

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