Page 53 of Awakening the Sheriff

“I wasn’t planning on staying anyway.” I wasn’t sure why I said it, but as soon as I did, Auden’s face lost some tension.

“No?”

I shrugged, pretending to be casual. “Wasn’t in the mood.”

“Oh.”

We kept staring at each other.

“Is everything okay?” I tried to keep my voice steady despite the pounding of my heart.

“Can we talk inside?”

I nodded and led him into the house. There was a heaviness in the air, thick and electric, that seemed to wrap around both of us. I dumped my keys in the bowl on the dresser in the hallway. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Water, please.”

I grabbed two glasses from the kitchen and filled them with cold water, then handed one to Auden. Once we both had a drink and had settled in the living room opposite each other, he seemed to find the courage to speak.

“Keaton,” he said, his voice shaky, his usual calm demeanor strained. “There’s something I need to tell you.” He hesitated for a moment, then met my gaze head-on. “I’ve been feeling…attracted to you. For some time now. And I was wondering if you feel the same way about me.”

My mind raced, trying to process his words. Did he really say what I thought he did? My pulse quickened. “Are you sure?”

“About my feelings for you? Yes. I’ve taken the time to analyze them, and I’m dead certain. During our hike, I was so close to kissing you, but I wasn’t sure if I should because I was doubting myself and wasn’t convinced you felt the same way.”

So I hadn’t made things up. He had been about to kiss me. A joy beyond words filled me. “I thought you were… But then you didn’t, and I figured I had imagined it.”

“You didn’t. Dare I ask how you feel about me?”

My body was buzzing with nerves and excitement, but I still smiled. On some level, Auden was wonderfully old-fashioned, and I loved that about him. “I’ve been crushing on you for a while now.”

A sense of relief washed over me as the words left my lips. The weight of my confession hung between us, heavy with potential and promise. We stared at each other as if daring the other to make the first move.

“You’re not straight, then,” I said cautiously.

“Apparently not, but I’ve never been attracted to a man, so it’s a new experience for me.”

“And you’re okay with it?”

He waved his hand. “All things considered, that’s the last thing I worry about.”

“What do you worry about?”

“Jesus, where do I start?” He chuckled. “Let’s just say it’s been a week of revelations and I’ve learned a lot about myself.”

“But you’re not concerned about your feelings for me.”

“No, not even a little bit.”

“And where do you see this—

“I want a relationship with you. Not just sex, though I’m not saying no to that, but I want the real thing. Companionship. A partner.”

This man was killing me. Instead of taking it slow, he went all in, straight into the deep end. He knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t afraid to ask for it. “If we do this, if you’re asking me to put my heart on the line, it can’t be an impulse you’ll come to regret. This is not a one-night stand or casual sex. If we do this, we do this in the open. We tell our kids, our ex-partners, the whole freaking town if needed. I won’t hide in the closet anymore, Auden. I can’t go back there. This would force you to come out, and the possible repercussions if things went wrong would be huge.”

“Yes to all that, I swear. I don’t care about coming out or the possible repercussions. I want this. I want you.”

“You’re not worried it could affect your job or your chances of getting reelected?”

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