Page 69 of From Wink to Kink

"Anytime, sweetie. And hey, if you and Chuck ever decide you want to... expand your horizons, you know where to find me."

I laugh, shaking my head. "I think we'll stick to our boring, monogamous horizons for now. But thanks for the offer."

As I watch Jazz saunter away, I'm struck by how much my perspective shifted in just one conversation.

Life is full of surprises.

I head back to the bungalow, my mind racing. Despite my best efforts to play it cool, to not catch feelings, I can't deny the warmth that spreads through me at the thought of seeing Chuck again. My heart races when I remember his smile and laugh, and the way he looks at me like I'm the most fascinating person he's ever met.

As I reach for the door handle, I pause. Am I really ready for this? To open myself up to the possibility of something real, something that could hurt me?

But then I remember Jazz's words. Be brave. Take a chance on love.

I take a deep breath and push open the door. Chuck is awake, lounging on the bed with a book, one of mine, I realize. He looks up as I enter, his face breaking into that heart-stopping smile.

"Hey, you," he says. "I was starting to think you'd run off to join a library commune or something."

And just like that, my doubts melt away. Because this, this easy banter, this warmth, this connection, this feels right.

"Nah," I say, crossing the room to join him on the bed. "Turns out I kind of like it here."

His smile widens as he pulls me close. "Yeah? Any particular reason?"

I pretend to think about it. "Well, the weather's nice. And the food's not bad. Oh, and there's this guy..."

"A guy, huh?" Chuck says, playing along. "Should I be jealous?"

I lean in, my lips just brushing his. "Definitely not," I murmur, before closing the distance between us.

As we kiss, slow and sweet and full of promise, I make a decision. I'm done overthinking. I'm done playing it safe. For once in my life, I'm going to be brave.

I'm going to give this stuff a try. Because maybe this could be the start of something extraordinary.

I deserve that.

34

CHUCK

There,sitting on our bed, is a huge gift basket that definitely wasn't there when we left for breakfast.

"We got a present," I say.

Ruby peeks at the bed, her eyes widening as she takes it in.

We approach cautiously, like the basket’s full of explosives or maybe mousetraps. I start rifling through the contents, getting physically hotter with each item I uncover.

"Well," I say, trying to keep my voice light, "I guess we know what they expect us to be doing in our free time.”

Ruby groans, flopping face-first onto the bed. Her voice comes out muffled by the comforter. "Please tell me it's just chocolates and spa vouchers."

I pick up a bottle, examining the label. "Unless 'Deep Love' is a new brand of mineral water, I'm afraid not."

“Awesome,” she laughs.

"This is hilarious. Look, they even color-coordinated the... uh... accessories."

Ruby sits up. "Those aren’t accessories, Chuck, they are dildos. You can say the word. We're all adults here. Supposedly.”

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