Page 8 of Snowed In Sucker
I snap out of my thoughts, looking over at Landon. I can feel my cheeks heating and I do my best to act casual despite the way my brain feels like it’s being turned into scrambled eggs.
“What?”
“I asked if you were okay. You were staring at that onion for a really long time.”
“Sorry, just got lost in thoughts.”
“That’s okay. Seems to be good thoughts,” he says with a grin that makes me flush even brighter.
“I think I’ll make a stew, if that’s okay. I have leftover roast in my fridge. I’ll throw in some onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, celery, and then cover it all with gravy and stock.”
“Jesus, man. You’re gonna make me drool all over myself. That sounds delicious!”
And there my mind goes again, thinking about Landon drooling which shouldn’t be sexy yet somehow in my mind is? This is all so confusing! I’ve spent the last twenty-nine years blissfully ignorant about all this stuff and now suddenly, mybody feels like it’s coming alive in a brand new way for the very first time and I can’t even control it.
Landon is the one with all the control and he doesn’t even realize it.
I get to work chopping everything into bite sized pieces and tossing it onto a pot. Despite Landon and his wonderful scent being close by, I handle cutting everything without getting distracted.
“Are you originally from here or did you move here?”
Landon smiles over at me. He does that, smiles when I talk. I don’t know what that means but I like it.
“I moved here,” Landon explains. “I went to college here actually. Got a scholarship and everything. I have an English Lit degree. I just kinda fell in love with the area and as soon as this place went on the market, I knew it was meant to be.”
“How did your parents react?”
“Oh, they were beside themselves at first. They didn’t want me to see it but they were hoping I’d move back home once I graduated. I was very much a velcro kid growing up, attached to them at the hip but once I went to college, I realized having my space wasn’t such a bad thing.”
I nod my head as I dump the gravy into the pot, stirring everything together. “I imagine it was hard at first, for all of you, but your relationship sounds incredibly mature. I like that you can have that with them.”
“Me too. I love them to pieces. They make sure to come visit me at least once a year and I go see them as well. They live in a big city and it always feels so strange going back. Too much going on, you know?”
“I understand what you mean,” I tell him. “There’s something very peaceful about being out here. I like animals more than people. I don’t think I would do well in a bustling city.”
“I think you’d make it work if you had to,” he says, reaching over and giving me a quick touch against my arm. Warmth surges through me, threatening to take me to my knees.
I give Landon a small smile, hoping he’ll ignore the color of my cheeks. “It’s kind of you to think so.”
“Gods, this smells incredible,” Landon says, his statement proven further by the sound of his stomach rumbling. He looks down at himself, like he can barely believe the noise came from him. I can’t help but laugh. Thankfully, Landon knows I’m not laughingathim and he joins in with me.
I stir our stew as it simmers, everything coming together perfectly. It doesn’t take long before it’s completely done and I can plate up our food. We take our bowls into the living room, eating in front of the fire.
I’m so used to being alone yet somehow, spending time with Landon doesn’t seem that bad. He somehow fits, sliding into place beside me at the fire. His presence is soothing. If it was anyone else beside me, I’m sure them being here would be oppressive, like they’re taking up my space. That’s not at all what I feel towards Landon.
I have no idea what makes him special, but there’s certainlysomething. When I was a little boy, I remember seeing a cartoon of a fox who had heart eyes and would follow the girl fox around. It was like he could follow her perfume and her scent put him under a love spell. That’s how I feel about Landon’s scent. I feel drawn to it in a way that’s unexplainable.
Not only is my mind captivated by this man, but I think my body is as well. I feel warm and tingly around him. My hands long to touch him. My stomach quivers when he smiles at me. And all of that is without thinking about my cock which keeps stirring despite my best efforts to ignore it. I have never in my life felt like this before.
It’s equal parts exciting and terrifying.
“This is amazing,” Landon says, digging into his bowl. “You’re an excellent cook, Jett. Thank you.”
“It was nothing,” I tell him right away, brushing off his praise. I look out the window, unable to meet his pretty blue eyes. The snow isstillfalling. By now, the snow must be up to the window and if this keeps up until morning, we won’t be able to get the door open with how high it’ll be.
“Do you always do that?” Landon asks, snapping me back into the present.
“What?”
