Page 26 of Twink Heart

?“Alright,” I said. “I’m ready.”

?Rowan turned around, swallowed hard, and tucked one hand behind my back and the other under my thighs, lifting me clean off the floor with ease. My stomach turned happily as he swept me up. My dick flopped back, making a small slapping noise against my stomach. He glanced down, his eyes widening even further.

?I laughed again.

?He just sort of held me there as he forced himself to look away.

?“You can put me in the tub now,” I said.

?“Right.”

?Placing me gently inside the tub, I threw my leg up and over the edge. Thankfully it was oriented in just the right way so my injured foot could hang outside of it while the rest of me was pretty much submerged. The hot water swelled over my body, goosebumps breaking out over my skin. With my good foot I reached up and pushed the handle off with my toes.

?Silence.

?“Do… Do you need help?” Rowan asked, still trying to divert his gaze. “If not, I can leave.”

?As much as I wanted to pretend this was all some sort of weird fantasy porno film, the truth was you could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Clearly Rowan was upset about what had happened between us and I needed to get to the bottom of it. If there was one thing I couldn’t stand, it was unspoken bad feelings.

?“I might,” I replied, tapping the fluffy bath mat next to me. “Will you stay in case I do?”

?He sighed, but sat down facing away from me with his back leaning against the side of the tub. It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to do things, but it was a start.

?“So…” I began, searching for a delicate way to get this train rolling. “Did you get any more sleep this morning?”

?“No,” he grumbled.

?“Sorry.”

?Another sigh. “Not your fault.”

?“Anything wrong?”

?“No.”

?“Rowan,” I said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Talk to me.”

?He shrugged my hand off, pulling away from me. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

?“Clearly something is bothering you. If what we did wasn’t okay, you need to tell me. Or at least explain to me what’s going through that head of yours so I can understand.”

?He glared over his shoulder at me. “Why the hell do you care about what’s going on inside my head?”

?I smiled. “I’m your friend.”

?“Yeah fucking right,” he scoffed. “You don’t even know me.”

?“I’d like to know more if you’ll let me.”

?“Right. I’ll just sit here and spill my guts out to you so that way, come Monday, you can fuck off and never talk to me again.” He pulled his knees tight to his chest. “Or maybe you’ll just go fuck one of the other thirty-seven guys you have fantasizing about you.”

?Okay, that made me mad.

?“I don’t have thirty-seven guys waiting for me,” I growled. “And I don’t appreciate how much of an asshole you’re being. You’re the one that told me you wanted to try it this morning.”

?“And you were the one grinding against me in your sleep,” he shot back.

?“I already apologized for that! It wasn’t like I did it on purpose!”

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