Page 44 of Lustful Nights

“Well, let’s hope they’re edible,” I mutter, shutting the oven door and placing the towel on the counter.

I help Lennox grab the groceries from his car. We take our time, putting everything together and then I cook the different food he bought while he decorates my house. Watching him walking in my space, making it his, has a ton of feelings flowing through my body. He fits. Perfectly. As though he was always meant to be here. I take breaks in between cooking to watch him bounce around the house. I’ve never met someone who’s perpetually so happy. He truly makes my life better by just being in it.

After a couple hours, my home is filled with Lennox’s friends, and everyone is having a blast. Declan came over early to helpLennox set up, and then the rest of the guys from Peaches showed up a bit later.

“Hey,” Declan says, walking up to me in the kitchen. I jumped in here real quick to grab another beer before we started a new card game. “I just wanted to thank you.”

“For what?” I ask him, confused. I have no idea why he would want to thank me.

“For making him happy. I’ve been his friend for most of my life. I was there for every disaster boyfriend he’s ever had, and I’ve never seen him this happy. The confidence you’ve given him to be himself…” His voice trails off as he looks behind him toward Lennox.

I follow his line of sight, instantly smiling when Lennox tosses his head back to laugh. He’s wearing one of my black sweatshirts, but he’s paired it with a charcoal skirt that flows when he moves. When he was getting dressed earlier, he kept debating on what to wear, and when I suggested the skirt, his eyes bugged out of his head. Of course, he’s worn skirts around his friends before, but he said they were only at work. He’s never worn one when he’s just hung out with them. When he decided to put it on, I twirled him in my arms, loving that he felt safe enough to wear it. I know he worried about his friends saying something, but one by one, as they walked in, they each commented on how amazing he looked, and I could see his expression brighten with each compliment.

“He’s always been confident.”

“No, he’s consistently been himself. But there has always been a piece of him he’s kept hidden. A piece other men would try to squash. You encourage him. You never attempt to break him down.”

“And I never will,” I tell him honestly. “What he chooses to wear doesn’t bother me. I love everything about him.”

“Fuck, you are cheesy.” Declan laughs, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. “Lennox said you were cute and cheesy, but dirty as hell. I can see it now.” He chuckles again as I stand there staring at him.

Lennox walks into the kitchen and comes to a complete stop. “Oh, no.” He turns to face Declan and points his finger in his face. “What did you say to him, big mouth?”

“Nothing.” He puts his hands up in surrender before laughing again. “Just about you calling him a cheesy, dirty man.”

I groan loudly and Lennox looks at me, his hand covering his mouth while he laughs. “To be fair, that’s a good thing. Being a sensitive, cheesy man who’s also dirty as hell. How could I not brag about that?”

“Thank you? I think?”

“Oh, it’s definitely a good thing.” He pats my chest playfully, then kisses my cheek. “Come on, let’s keep playing.”

We head back out to the living room, where Lennox and I take a spot on the couch next to Cole and his best friend, Oakley. When they first walked in, I thought they were boyfriends as they were holding hands and had been quite close. But when I asked how long they’d been dating, they laughed and told me they were just best friends. I’m not that intimate with Nick, but apparently, some people are extra touchy-feely.

The doorbell rings, and Lennox jumps up to get it, coming back inside with Preston. I’ve only met Preston a handful of times, but he seems to be extra shy, no matter what situation he’s in. He walks in behind Lennox, his shoulders hunched over and he’s holding a plate of food. Everyone says their hellos to him as he sets his container on the counter.

“Is it just you tonight?” Declan asks him and Preston nods his head, taking his bag off his shoulder and placing it down on a stool.

“He, uh—he had something planned for tonight, so I came alone.”

I glance up at Lennox, who gives a shake of his head at Declan. Declan doesn’t bring his boyfriend up again, but now I’m curious about the shy man in my kitchen.

“Well, that’s okay,” Lennox tells him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. “We’re going to have a lot of fun tonight and Jensen’s couch is so damn comfortable, so if you wanna crash there, you can.”

“Thanks,” Preston replies. He walks over to the sofa and sits down next to Tristan.

“All right, let’s play some strip poker,” Bash yells, jumping off the couch and showing us the deck of cards in his hands. Where I thought there would be more protests, almost everyone nods their head excitedly.

Lennox chuckles, leaning into my space. “You might have forgotten, but you’re sitting with a group of men who take off their clothes for money. So, we have no problem taking it off now.”

We play a few rounds of poker, where I make a complete embarrassment of myself. These guys must moonlight at a casino or something because most of them still have most of their outfits on, while I’m sitting at the table in just my briefs and one of my socks. I probably should have gotten rid of my other sock a long time ago, but for some dumb reason, I held onto it. Lennox passed out my brownies earlier, and they were a big hit with everyone. I’ll call it a win since I didn’t see anyone spit one out into their napkin.

Bash sticks his lollipop into his mouth while he shuffles the deck of cards again. “Maybe we should play something new. I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m 100% enjoying the view, but I don’t want to be on the other side of Lennox’s wrath whenJensen has to strip down completely naked.” Bash fans himself dramatically and I chuckle.

“It’s only fair for Lennox to share. He gets to stare at his man nude all the time. We deserve a little goodness, too,” Declan adds, tilting his head back and laughing loudly when Lennox glares at the both of them. “You know we’re just fucking around with you. Come on, let’s play a different game. We’ll even let Jensen get dressed again.”

I stand up and grab my clothes when my doorbell goes off again. Without waiting to change, I walk to the door, swinging it open. Jonas looks me up and down before raising his eyebrow.

“I didn’t think it was this kind of party.” He smirks, his bulging arms on display in his tight-as-hell shirt.

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