Page 43 of Believe in Caloosa Springs

Who was I kidding?If Jake said some crap about Tian, I’d rearrange his jaw…again.

I unlocked my phone, downloaded the two pictures and the clip he’d sent into a password-locked folder, and then deleted them from our text thread, just in case anyone ever got a hold of my phone. A better man might have just deleted them altogether, but I’d rather chew off my own arm than to erase them. As erotic as the photos were, they were so incredibly beautiful. The way he’d posed himself, the sharp angles of his body on full display as his milky, ink-decorated skin clung to the lean muscles of his chest. The way his arm was positioned behind his head…he should be in a museum.

What if we bought a secluded log cabin somewhere, and I just wallpapered the place with nude pictures of him? My dick was just about leaking again. I tried to shake off my train of thought before I turned into some psychotic stalker or something.

A quick one-two knock on my door startled me out of my thoughts. I immediately locked my phone, as if the person on the other side of the door could see me looking at naughty pictures.

I adjusted the half-chub in my jeans and threw a black pullover on.

“Hey,” Jake said as I opened the door. His voice was low, and he kept his head down, his eyes glued to the ground. Pardon my language, but what thehellwas he doing?

I opened my mouth to ask just that, but he held his hand up.

“So, uhh… I’m sorry about earlier.”

Wait… he wasapologizing?

I was a little stunned, and not sure how to respond. Fortunately he continued.

“Yeah. I’ve, uh… I’ve been a dick to you, and I deserved to have my ass beat. Which you did surprisingly well,” Jake chuckled, looking up for the first time.

“Wow,” I breathed, surprised by the damage I had caused to his face. His left eye was swollen almost completely shut, and a massive bruise was beginning to erupt across his right cheek. The sight of it made me feel kind of bad. “You’re no slouch yourself,” I admitted. ”I’m still having trouble taking a full breath.”

“Truce?” he asked.

I studied him for a moment. “You’ll leave Tian alone when he’s here, and you won’t talk badly about him anymore?”

Jake thought about it for a second before extending his hand. “You’ve got it.”

I shook it and agreed.

“Truce.”

***

6:48PM

ME:Are you going to let me take you to bed tonight, baby?

TIAN:I’ve been dreaming about it all day~

***

I was starting to get a little nervous as I pulled into Mandy’s driveway. I was glad to see the Jeep parked safely in its spot, just like Tyler had promised.

ME:I’m here. :)

TIAN:You didn’t bring me any flowers did you? JkJKlol.

ME:Just for that, I’m taking you TWICE before I bring you home.

TIAN:Just twice? ;)

I didn’t have long to psych myself out before the front door opened, spilling light out onto the front porch and casting long shadows from the railings down the driveway. Tian walked outside, closing the door behind him and hurrying down the stairs. He was wearing black skinny jeans, a gray pullover, and a large black coat that touched the back of his knees. His hair was getting longer. I could see a bunch of it cascading around his shoulders from underneath the black beanie he wore on his head. There was a thick layer of charcoal makeup around his eyes, bringing out the icy tones in the blue.

Like something out of a vampiric wet dream.

I stepped out of the car to get in his way and make him kiss me. I mean, I got out of the car and walked around it toopen his door…and then, he kissed me sweetly before ducking out of the cold night air and into the warmth from the heater.

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