Page 49 of Snowed In

We disrobed in the bedroom and walked into the bathroom together. I leaned in to turn on the hot water and caught somethingout of the corner of my eye. Jesse was twirling the knife between his fingers with a smirk on his face.

I snatched the knife from him, mid-twirl, and he laughed as I put it on the windowsill.

“How the fuck do you disarm me every time?” he asked as he stepped under the water.

I joined him in the tiny tub and tugged on my cock. “It helps that you’re too distracted by my dick to fully pay attention.”

“It’s not just that,” he insisted, grabbing the soap from the holder. “Tell the truth—it’s not just your gorgeous cock.”

I stood over him. “Fine. But you have to promise not to laugh at me.”

He snorted as he soaped up his armpits. “Okay.”

“I was a nerd in high school,” I admitted.

“Not shocking.”

“And I maybe had a thing for close-up magic.”

He clamped his hand over his mouth, and his face went red.

“I said no laughing!”

He snorted, then removed his hand from his mouth. “Can’t help it. I’m picturing you as a skinny, pimpled kid trying out card tricks on unsuspecting girls.”

I shook my head. “I was chubby, and I was doing it for the football gods.”

He thunked his forehead on my shoulder, his body shaking.

“So . . . yeah. I spent hours practicing my sleight of hand.”

He lost it, dropping the soap as he leaned up against me.

“Punk.”

“I can’t believe the school nerd got the drop on me.”

“Hey. Freshman year was awkward. But then I shot up, dropped some of the baby fat, and started lifting heavy. By the time I was a junior, I was on the varsity football team. After high school, I joined the Army.”

That set off another peal of laughter.

“What’s so funny about the Army?”

“I don’t know. Did you show off your magic tricks to your fellow service members?”

I pressed my lips together.

“You totally did, didn’t you?”

“Maybe.”

He didn’t stop laughing for a good long while. Something about his laugh filled my chest with happiness, and I was immediately sad about the fact that this was the only time I’d have a chance to hear it.

“Are you done?”

He wrapped his arms around me and smashed his face into my pecs. “Mm. Almost, Raff. I’m just trying to imagine the nicknames they had for you behind your back.”

“Shut up,” I said, but I didn’t mean it.

---