Page 40 of Bull Riders Don't Swoon

He nods and drains his coffee. “I need sunscreen, too. If I’m lying on the sand all day, I’ll need it or I’ll be as red as a lobster.”

Griff has always been fair. With his sandy blonde hair and lighter complexion, he’s often used sunscreen even just in the rodeo ring. The one time he didn’t, he burnt his nose and was actually kind of cute when it was peeling.

He slides out of bed on the way to the washroom, and I notice him. I mean, really notice him. The way his toned ass fills his boxers and how solid his torso is. Griff is strong. Even his legs are muscular and not thick, but sturdy. I don’t understand how a man with so much strength could allow someone to hurt him physically. His guard had to be so low to get caught like that.

Griff pauses and looks over his shoulder.

“I see you looking, Jamie.”

A laugh bursts from my mouth, and if he had said that months ago, I’d likely have joked about it and not noticed his secret smile. Or maybe the smile would be hidden, too. This total change in how we speak and act with one another is almost like a new dimension, but I like it. No… I think I love it.

This ismyGriff, because he’s always been mine. It’s just different now. Nobody has made my chest ache like Griff has the past few days. I’m not always the brightest guy, but if I’m honest withmyself, I think he’s always been in my heart. But just like him, I was afraid to examine it too closely.

“Yeah, I’m looking. I like what I see, too.”

Griff laughs and blows me a kiss, then steps into the bathroom. He doesn’t wait to see if I catch the kiss.

But I catch it anyway.

thirteen

Griff

“This place is gorgeous, Jamie! Oh my god! Look at all the sand!”

If I didn’t have a cast on my arm, I would dive off the boat to swim to shore. Sure, the people on the dock would give me some serious side eye, but I’m vibrating like a toddler on Christmas morning.

I’m at a mother-fucking beach!

I grab Jamieson’s hand, pulling him off the boat at a jogging pace and towards the beach shelters.

“We have four hours out here, babe. Don’t use all your energy in the first fifteen minutes.”

It’s the second time Jamieson has called me babe. Each time he does, my whole body tingles like it’s not sure if it’s itchy or cold. It’s weird to hear him call me that, but holy hell, do I love it! Nobody has ever called me anything so simple and made it sound like a royal title.

I’ve been called a lot of things, none of them with genuine affection like Jamieson does. A simple endearment so common and yet unique to us flips the switch from soft butterfly wings in my gut to flapping Canadian Geese running across the water before flight.

“I know. It’s just…I’ve never been on a vacation like this. Well, ever actually.”

Jamie tugs on my arm hard enough for me to stop power walking, and I turn to face him.

“You’ve never been on a vacation? Ever?”

Jamieson’s brows knit as he thinks through our history, and he has every right to be confused.

“Um…no. My dad never…” Puffing out a breath, I squeeze his hand. “Can we get settled, and I’ll explain after?”

Jamieson nods in agreement, and I continue along the path to our little slice of beach. Shelter #7 sits on the corner before the beach curves around and gets a little rockier on the other side. It’s no beaches of white sand from the vacation channel, but it’s groomed and, well, sand.

We drop our bags inside the small tent, which is more like a giant umbrella pinned to the sand with flaps at the back to provide some privacy than a fancy cabana. I think it’s perfect. More so since I’m here with Jamieson.

The water is mostly calm, only lapping at the shore when tired waves from a boat’s wake finally reach us. A couple at the shelter next to us run into the water, hand in hand. The man pulls the woman to him and dunks them underwater as they laugh and sputter, and I feel the weight of Jamieson’s gaze on me.

When I turn, he’s still standing next to the shelter, watching me with a question on his handsome face. There’s so much I’ve kept to myself the past few years, not wanting to burden him with any of it. He’s always so carefree. The sunshine I need when life feels too dark. I didn’t want to dull any of his shine with worry about me.

But now he knows the biggest thing I kept hidden, and rather than push me away and make it weird, he’s all in. That still doesn’t seem real.

Turning back to the water, I watch the couple laugh and float before they kiss, and I look away again to find Jamieson beside me.

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