Page 56 of Lustful Nights

Jensen walks toward us wearing a pair of jeans. “Hey,” I whine. “What happened to no jeans?”

“We’re moving on to new games. I don’t know why I thought this time would be any different and I would actually win a round or two.”

I pat his stomach playfully. “It’s okay, baby. We all enjoyed the view.”

Nick howls, moving away from Amber, jokingly punching Jensen as he walks away. “Maybe you should join them all onstage, Jensen. I bet you would earn a lot of tips dancing your ass off.”

“Oh, hell yes he would,” Declan pipes in as he walks by us. “He would probably make more tips than me. Hell, he would probably make more tips than Tristan and Bash, and that’s hard as hell to do.”

“Nope. He’s not allowed to take away my tips,” Bash says, grabbing another lollipop out of his pocket and putting it into his mouth.

“I have enough competition withMr.I Can Dance My Ass Off Overhere,” Tristan replies, hiking his thumb in the direction of Cole, who gives him a sheepish look, his face turning bright red.

“Can I just say that I need to go to the place where you guys’ work? I can be the judge of the best dancer,” Amber cuts in, fanning herself, everyone whooping and hollering in response.

Amber walks over to Bash and I use the time to sidle up next to Nick. “I really like her. I love how she can keep up with all of us and how she keeps you on your toes. She just might be the one for you.”

“You really think so?” he asks, his eyes following Amber around the room.

“I do.”

“Thank you. And back at you. You and Jensen really were made for one another. I’ve never seen either of you as happy or yourselves as you’ve been since you’ve gotten together. I think you’ve finally found a good one, Lennox.”

“I really have,” I gush, looking at Jensen from across the room. He glances up at Nick and me and winks before turning back to Bash.

“Plus, I love seeing you be yourself. Happiness radiates off you.” Nick reaches out, touching the hem of my skirt. “You’ve both brought out the good in each other.”

I pull at the hem of my light blue skirt, twirling it around. “We really do.” It was a no-brainer when I was debating what to wear tonight. Jensen had bought me another beautiful skirt that I just knew I had to show off to everyone.

“Who’s down to play this?” Tristan asks, pulling out a new card game. It seems pretty simple; you match cards to a meme and whoever has the funniest card wins.

We all say yeah, taking up the spaces on the couches and floor. Bash and Declan are sitting on the floor in front of the table, dealing the cards. Preston, Jonas, and Tristan are all sitting on the couch talking and joking about some cat video Jonas is showing them on his phone. Cole and Oakley are in their own little world, whispering something to one another. Jensen, Nick, and Amber are sitting next to me, talking about some game on TV they watched the other day.

I scan the room, filled with all my friends and family. Since joining Peaches, my life has changed so much. My little group of me and Declan has grown to include so many new people I now consider my family. And Jensen. I look over at him—the love of my life. If I had never worked there, Jensen and I might never have started. And I can’t imagine my life without him.

“As cheesy as this may sound, I’m so damn thankful for all of you,” I tell the group of people surrounding me. They all echo my sentiments, all of us smiling at one another.

“This is so peaceful. I love coming here and sitting with you. I can’t wait till it gets warmer and we can go swimming in the water. Have you ever tried surfing?” I ask, turning my head to face Jensen.

Jensen and I took his bike out for a ride today. It’s a little chillier than I thought it would be, with the wind blowing roughly against us. As soon as we sat down on the cliff at the beach, Jensen pulled his notebook out and started sketching. He started taking a couple of drawing skills classes a few weeks ago, and he hasn’t been able to put his notebook down since. I glance at him again, his hands flying across the paper. I peek over his shoulder to see what he’s sketching. It’s the sunset in front of us, but down at the bottom of the picture is the silhouette of two men holding hands as they walk on the sand.

“I’ve tried it a few times. Have also fallen down a few times,” he chuckles. “What about you?”

“No, I haven’t, but I really want to. Would you want to go surfing with me? When the water gets warmer, of course.”

“I’d love to. You know I’d do anything for you.”

Oh, don’t I know it. Jensen has been more than amazing the past couple of months since making things official. He’s helped me learn to cook more things and I think I’ve finally mastered breakfast. Or at least eggs, pancakes, and bacon. And when the guys and I learned a new choreography for our routines, Jensen helped me in the middle of his living room, posing as a stand-in while I practiced the moves.

“Question number 19?” I ask, kicking my legs against the cliff overlooking the ocean.

“Ask away,” he says, his eyes never leaving his paper.

“What are your thoughts about the future?”

Jensen glances at me, putting his notebook over to the side. “What kind of thoughts about the future?”

“Like, what do you see for yourself? Marriage? Kids? Staying single your whole life?” I joke, hoping the last one isn’t the case. I’ve always wanted to get married and start a big family. Growing up, it was just Nick and me, and I always wondered what it would be like if we would have had more siblings.

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