Page 10 of Only One Beach House

“I’m sorry.” He gives me a sympathetic smile, then rounds the table to close his laptop and pick up his own mug. “You really need to stop reading your emails before you’re even out of bed.”

I take another sip of my coffee, feeling the sour look on my face melt and my heart beat a little faster.

“Maybe if I didn’t wake up all alone every morning, I could find something else to do instead,” I tease, shifting in my seat to feel all the places I’m still sore from him grabbing me and fucking me last night.

He arches an eyebrow and gets up from his chair, leaving his coffee behind. He comes around the table again, the playful, sultry look in his eyes making butterflies dance in my stomach as my breathing speeds up.

“Aw, if you need more of your man, all you have to do is say so.” He scoops me out of my chair effortlessly.

My surprised yelp turns into laughter as I wrap my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck. He sets me back down on the table and cups the back of my neck, drawing me in for a kiss.

My man. That’s what he called himself. I repeat the phrase over and over in my head as our lips move against each other in a deep, slow rhythm. He’s just being Cas, confident and flirtatious. Two and a half weeks together and it’s hard to even remember that this man I’m getting to know so well is Slater’s little brother.

Our tongues tangle and our hands roam, tugging each other’s clothes and groping at each other’s skin without any real intent. Our cocks are both hard, grinding against each other as I thread my fingers through his hair and swallow the soft, needy moans he feeds me, but there’s no rush in the kiss or in our touches. We still have months of summer ahead of us. Plenty of time for me to find a job. Plenty of time for everything.

*******

“That looks fucking amazing.” Caspian’s voice pulls me out of my focused trance, and I look up to smile at him.

Behind him, the sky is painted pink and orange with the sunset. The windows are open to let in the evening breeze, filling the house with the sound of the crashing waves and the far-off noise from the boardwalk, voices drifting across the wide-open expanse of the water and the sand to create a relaxing hum of white noise. It’s become our nightly routine to work on the couch together, the click-clack of his keyboard part of the beach symphony that lulls me into a creative space to draw.

I glance back down at the drawing I’ve been working on. I caved a few days ago and ordered a new digital sketch pad. It was a wildly irresponsible purchase considering I still haven’t gotten so much as an interview yet, but Caspian convinced me that it was an investment. I couldn’t apply for many of the game design jobs without a proper portfolio to include.

“Thanks. Once I’m finished with this one, I think I’ll have a decent enough sample to attach to my résumés. Why the hell not, right? The worst they can do is reject me, but so has every ‘sensible’ job I’ve applied to.” I let out a humorless chuckle and he reaches over to squeeze my calf reassuringly.

“It’s only been three and a half weeks. The right job is going to find you.” I want to roll my eyes at his constant optimistic platitudes, but the sincerity in his smile makes it impossible.

“Yeah. The right job will come along.”

He leans across the couch and kisses me. I part my lips and push my sketchpad aside, ready to climb into his lap and get to myotherfavorite part of our nightly routine, but Caspian pulls back and playfully nips at my bottom lip.

“Why don’t we go for a walk? I want to hear more about the summer you spent driving around after high school.”

I chuckle. As interested as he is in making me come screaming on his cock night after night, he’s weirdly just as interested in hearing all about my life. Even more weird, I feel the same way. I had no idea the author world held so much drama, but it’s been fun hearing all about it.

“Sure. Let’s go for a walk.”

CASPIAN

JULY

Slater:Sorry I never made it up last week like I wanted to. Work is kicking my ass. You and No having a good time? Not driving each other too crazy, I hope.

The clatter of pans from the kitchen draws my attention away from my brother’s text for just a second.

“You need any help?” I call out. I would go in and check, but Nolan banned me from the kitchen when I wouldn’t stay out of his way.

“No,” he shouts back with a laugh. “Keep your sexy ass out of here. I told you I can handle dinner. I might be going through a rough patch professionally, but I’m still an adult and I’m perfectly capable of feeding my…” He clears his throat instead of finishing his sentence and my stomach flutters.

Some guys might feel insecure about the fact that he’s still not ready to label whatever it is we’re doing, but I’m not worried about it. We fall asleep wrapped around each other every night, we’ve kissed and fucked so much that I think I know his body aswell as I know my own, and there’s something in his eyes that looks exactly the way I feel—happy and peaceful and just a little bit desperate.

“I never doubted it, lover.”

He groans at the pet name and I laugh. Until he’s ready for the b-word, I’m happy to torture him with embarrassing names instead.

CASPIAN:We’re definitely driving each other crazy, but it’s all good. Hope you can make it soon! Don’t worry though, there’s plenty of summer left.

*******

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