Page 35 of Sass in the Grass

“How do you know?”

“I have lived in the woods most of my life. I know the sounds of the forest.”

“Creepy,” Jovian said, and Dix let go of his arm.

“Just move.”

They went ten feet from their blankets and Jovian took out his dick to piss. Dix averted his eyes, though he was pretty sure Jovian didn’t mind him looking.

In fact, Dix suspected that was the reason for being woken.

“Don’t you…have to go?”

And he was right. “No, I’m good.”

“Really, you know, so we don’t have to do this again, you should…go.”

Leaning in as Jovian tucked back in, Dix whispered in a growl, “If you want to see my dick, baby, you’re shit out of luck. You have to get much better at being a human being to get anything from me.”

“I never…I didn’t…what are you talking about?”

The feigning of his innocence was cute, but it was so fake, Dix had to laugh. “Stop.”

“Fine. I don’t know what you want from me. I practically offered my ass on a silver platter, and you act like that doesn’t mean a thing.”

“It doesn’t. Offer me more than an ass, and I might feel differently.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Dix started heading back to the camp. “Figure it out.”

“Wait. Up! If I get eaten by some creature, my mother will sue you!”

“Cool,” he grunted.

“Cool? What is cool about being sued?”

“She wouldn’t get much. A little piece of land and a cabin.”

“Wait, what?”

Dix’s entire being clenched as he turned around to face a shocked Jovian. “I’m not rich. If you want a rich guy, you’re barking up the really wrong tree.”

“What? I never said that!” Jovian’s head dropped, and he fidgeted while he tried to be casual, but he couldn’t pull off casual to save his life. “What…is it you do?”

“I’m a guide for hunting, hiking and mountain climbing. I do tours down river as a whitewater rafting guide when they need an extra hand. I make enough to get my essentials, and I grow or hunt for the rest.”

The fidgeting stopped as he thought about all that. He was thinking about what he’d give up to be with Dix, and Dix knew that would be the end of the pursuit.

Then Dix was thrown for a loop. “Do you really like me? Well, except for my attitude, which is weird. I mean, I am no worse than anyone else.”

At first, he was speechless. Then he found his voice long enough to say, “Yeah, Jovian. I like you.”

As Jovian’s head rose, a smile was revealed that was so lovely, Dix felt his heart pounding and his entire body warming. “Well, it’s a start, like you said.”

“Yeah. It’s a start.”

Chapter Eleven

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