Page 61 of Accidentally Joining His Cult

His entire expression relaxes into one of pure joy before he leans in for a slow, sweet kiss. We take our time before finally pulling apart, and he wraps me in his arms with my head resting on his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart.

“I was drawn to you from the beginning,” I admit. “Looking back, even before I realized how attracted I was to you, I knew I was way more excited to go to dinner with you than I’d been with anyone else I met through the courses or while traveling.”

Beck runs his fingers through my long hair as I speak, and I love how calming the sensation is, how connected I feel to him.

“I love your sense of humor. How you can always make me laugh,” I continue. “I love how different we are, how we seem to complement each other so perfectly with our different strengths. I love how smart you are and how hard you work, even though you don’t need the money. I love that you’re unapologetically you. Not some trust fund kid rebelling against his family or attempting to fit into their perfect mold.” I trace the tattoos on his arms and chest as I speak, wanting to memorize every detail of his perfect body, to know the story behind each one.

“I love how fiercely you love the people you trust, how you treat your friends just like you do your family. I love how you make me feel seen, like I’m allowed to be myself at all times, even in moments when I’m not happy. And I love that you can work to make me smile again in a way that doesn’t make me feel bad or guilty for being sad,” I trail off, realizing just how untrue that is about almost everyone else in my life.

“I want it,” I whisper. “That future you talked about, I want it all.”

“Then I’ll make it happen,” he promises, kissing the top of my head.

And as much as I want to believe him, we both know it isn’t that simple.

CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE

Beck

That stupid fucking alarm tone goes off well before the sun rises, and I cannot fathom why in the world anyone wouldchooseto wake up this early. We can still work out and be healthy after the sun rises. I’d seriously much rather still be awake at four a.m. than be starting my day at this hour for fucks sake.

The things I’m willing to do for love.

I already knew I loved him. But hearing Cody say the words back to me last night, and finally getting to be inside him, was incredible.

I’ve never been happier.

It only cements how much I want to share a bed with him every night and how fiercely I want to keep my promise to him. Hopefully, that will involve some actual sleep, though. Or at least missing out on sleep for more fun reasons than a fucking sunrise hike.

Despite the very minimal rest I know he got, Cody is staring at me with a giant smile on his face when I finally crack one of my eyes open.

“Good morning, I love waking up with you in my bed,” he says with a happy sigh.

“I’d love it more if it wasn’t four a.m.,” I grumble, making him laugh.

He leans in and kisses me on the tip of my nose before rolling out of bed. “Come on, sleepyhead, let’s get you some coffee.”

I finally open both eyes at the promise of caffeine, practically falling out of bed because my body refuses to cooperate at this ungodly hour. I brush my teeth, then put on all the hiking shit I got specifically for this trip. I’m a fit guy, but there aren’t any mountains in Chicago—my home gym works just fine and doesn’t require me to wake up this fucking early. I head to Cody’s kitchen, following the scent of coffee as I walk down the stairs with my eyes still only half open.

“Here you go, boyfriend,” Cody says in a tone so chipper it would annoy me on anyone but him.

I do like the upgraded title, though.

I attempt a smile, though it’s more likely just me baring my teeth as I take the coffee and plop onto a chair at his breakfast bar. I close my eyes, focusing solely on consuming enough caffeine to become a functioning human.

“I’m glad to meet Nick,” I grumble after chugging most of the cup. “But I don’t think I can do another four a.m. wake-up call.”

“You probably don’t have to since you’re not assigned to an accountability group or anything, but I’ll have to get up this early almost every day so I don’t get fined,” Cody says with a laugh.

“Why would you get fined?”

“It’s part of the wellness program I was telling you about.” He adds powders and vegetables into a blender, making what I assume will be a very healthy smoothie.

“So, you have to pay if you miss a workout? Who are you paying?”

“It gets added to your gym membership fees. It’s a great motivator,” Cody explains casually as he blends up his health concoction, as if the whole system isn’t completely absurd.

“And what about the accountability group? Who are they?”

---