Page 9 of Hot Neighbor Summer

Stellan pulls back the top sheet, and I carefully lay Bailey down. As I do, he stirs, blinking up at me a few times, a small smile forming on his lips. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Where am I?"

"We brought you back home."

"You came so hard you passed out," Stellan reminds him, standing beside me, his voice low and deep.

Bailey's eyelids grow heavy again, and he absently pats the mattress. "Can you stay with me? Please?"

"Of course, baby," Stellan replies.

We climb into Bailey's bed, lying down on either side of him. Bailey curls up into Stellan, and I big spoon him, wrapping my arms around his warm, lithe body.

He falls back asleep in no time, and after a few minutes, I hear Stellan's breathing even out. I lift my head and smile when I see he's drifted off, too. I suspect they'll both be out for a while.

Propping myself on my elbow, I take in both men. Stellan, who I've known for close to twenty years and love with all my heart. And Bailey, someone we've only just met but has quickly found his way into our hearts just the same.

Could he be the one we've been waiting for all this time?

6

Stellan

"This has been the longest week ever," I groan over breakfast the Friday after our day on the lake with Bailey.

Duke grins. "I assume you're referring to Bailey and not the stormwater management permits we're still waiting on."

"Of course I'm talking about Bailey. I couldn't give a shit about the permits."

That's not entirely true. Of course I want to get started on our project to build affordable housing. It's just that since last weekend, I've been unable to focus on anything other than the man who is stealing our hearts. Being with him on the lake and then falling asleep in his bed has only cemented my feelings. I'm hooked on the guy, and I am convinced he's the one for us.

"It sucks that he works so far away," I add, sailing my spoon absently through my bowl of cereal. "I miss him. Is that weird?"

Duke puts down his toast and comes over to sit next to me. "It's not weird. I miss him, too."

"This is all happening so fast."

He breathes out through his nose. "It really is."

"Is that okay? I know we agreed to going slow. Treading carefully."

"We did, but I can't help the way I feel, and it's clear as day how you feel. Now all that's left is?—"

"To find out how Bailey feels," I finish for him.

"Exactly. He should be back tonight, and hopefully he'll want to spend the weekend with us again."

"You realize the second I see him pull up, I'm running over to his place?"

Duke chuckles. "Can I remind you you are a grown, forty-three-year-old man?"

"Fine. I'll walk. Briskly."

"I'll take it." He smiles his sexy smile at me. "Now hurry up. We need to get a move on. We're meeting with the civil engineer, and we're running late."

The meeting with the engineer goes well… I think. To be honest, all this talk of plans for grading, stormwater management, and foundation stability goes over my head. Duke's, too. We're doing our best, and our intentions are good, but I think we severely underestimated all the planning involved in undertaking a massive project like this. And we haven’t even broken ground yet. We're former athletes. We're not equipped to deal with project management and spreadsheets for chrissakes.

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