partners and conceiving. He sounds so comfortable saying all of it, but my entire face feels cherry bombed. Only one word is playing on automatic repeat in my head: Sex. Sex. Sex. And my face gets hotter each time I think it, like I’m strung up by my toes and hanging right over barbeque flames. Sex. Sex. Sex. I can feel every inch of Garrett’s body against mine. Sex. Sex. Sex. My cheeks are boiling and prickly and they could explode at any second. And I still can’t stop thinking it. Sex. Sex. Sex.
But Garrett just keeps talking. “The weird thing is that Dai and Lorie were never even bound. They could have, but they just stayed together and Dai raised Teagan as his own.”
There’s a weird pause, and I’m probably supposed to ask something or be interested in Teagan’s story more than sex sex sex. I rub my forehead, shielding my face from Garrett, and manage to ask a question.
“ Where’s her mom?”
“ Lorie died a few years ago. Brain aneurysm. Sean and Teagan met because Teagan was in Canada for her mom’s Wake. We happened to be visiting family friends that lived in Lorie’s home town. Even though Lorie’s Memory ceremony had been done in Vietnam, Teagan had flown in, to meet her relatives on her mother’s side for the first time.
“ Sean ran into her at a store. They literally bumped into each other and started talking. They kept in touch over the internet and Teagan even came to town to visit him for a few months last year. It seemed like everything was going good for them, but they ended up breaking up right before she went home. I still can’t believe she didn’t tell him she was pregnant. Would you ever do something like that?”
Cherry bomb. My brain runs right off track: Sex with Garrett, a baby with Garrett, pregnant with Garrett.
“ No,” I say, rubbing my forehead with a visor-hand again. “At least he knows now. He’s a dad and you’re an uncle.”
“I am,” he says with a grin. “That’s wild. My mom’s going to kill Sean though.”
“ She’s too busy with Brandon for now.”
“He’ll come around soon. That blast we gave him was nuclear. Your energy mixed with mine is like nitro. I could actually feel him healing right under my hands.”
“That’s amazing,” I giggle, relieved that we’re not talking about sex anymore and that my face is starting to return to normal. I am such a loser.
“ Maybe my mom will go easier on him once she sees her granddaughter. Good thing the baby is cute,” Garrett says.
“She’s cute?” I can talk about how cute a baby is all day long.
“Unbelievably.”
“I can’t wait to see her,” I say as Garrett slides his hands down the sides of my ribs. The warmth that ricochets between the skin of my ribs and his palms, even though my shirt is layered in between, seems like it could heat the entire hotel. As long as we don’t talk about it, I’ll be okay. He continues down my body until he catches my hands and intertwines our fingers.
“Hard to say when that’ll h appen,” he says, his voice deep. “Sean and Teagan just bound. Since they already had a baby, who knows…they might not come out at all until the week is up.”
“What happens,” I begin carefully, but my face has already gone to tomato soup. I can’t finish. I look down at Garrett’s chest and feel the rumble of his chuckle. One hand untangles from mine and appears under my chin, lifting my eyes to his.
“ During binding? This,” he says, and he kisses me. It’s a slow, warm kiss that starts at my lips and seeps into my blood stream, speeding up my pulse, until I swear I can feel my own heartbeat throbbing against his lips. I move closer, pressing my body to his. I can feel the strength of his legs, the hard wall of his chest, the tensed muscles in his arms. His mouth moves against mine like a language. It’s crazy and lovely, how I can’t
But Garrett just keeps talking. “The weird thing is that Dai and Lorie were never even bound. They could have, but they just stayed together and Dai raised Teagan as his own.”
There’s a weird pause, and I’m probably supposed to ask something or be interested in Teagan’s story more than sex sex sex. I rub my forehead, shielding my face from Garrett, and manage to ask a question.
“ Where’s her mom?”
“ Lorie died a few years ago. Brain aneurysm. Sean and Teagan met because Teagan was in Canada for her mom’s Wake. We happened to be visiting family friends that lived in Lorie’s home town. Even though Lorie’s Memory ceremony had been done in Vietnam, Teagan had flown in, to meet her relatives on her mother’s side for the first time.
“ Sean ran into her at a store. They literally bumped into each other and started talking. They kept in touch over the internet and Teagan even came to town to visit him for a few months last year. It seemed like everything was going good for them, but they ended up breaking up right before she went home. I still can’t believe she didn’t tell him she was pregnant. Would you ever do something like that?”
Cherry bomb. My brain runs right off track: Sex with Garrett, a baby with Garrett, pregnant with Garrett.
“ No,” I say, rubbing my forehead with a visor-hand again. “At least he knows now. He’s a dad and you’re an uncle.”
“I am,” he says with a grin. “That’s wild. My mom’s going to kill Sean though.”
“ She’s too busy with Brandon for now.”
“He’ll come around soon. That blast we gave him was nuclear. Your energy mixed with mine is like nitro. I could actually feel him healing right under my hands.”
“That’s amazing,” I giggle, relieved that we’re not talking about sex anymore and that my face is starting to return to normal. I am such a loser.
“ Maybe my mom will go easier on him once she sees her granddaughter. Good thing the baby is cute,” Garrett says.
“She’s cute?” I can talk about how cute a baby is all day long.
“Unbelievably.”
“I can’t wait to see her,” I say as Garrett slides his hands down the sides of my ribs. The warmth that ricochets between the skin of my ribs and his palms, even though my shirt is layered in between, seems like it could heat the entire hotel. As long as we don’t talk about it, I’ll be okay. He continues down my body until he catches my hands and intertwines our fingers.
“Hard to say when that’ll h appen,” he says, his voice deep. “Sean and Teagan just bound. Since they already had a baby, who knows…they might not come out at all until the week is up.”
“What happens,” I begin carefully, but my face has already gone to tomato soup. I can’t finish. I look down at Garrett’s chest and feel the rumble of his chuckle. One hand untangles from mine and appears under my chin, lifting my eyes to his.
“ During binding? This,” he says, and he kisses me. It’s a slow, warm kiss that starts at my lips and seeps into my blood stream, speeding up my pulse, until I swear I can feel my own heartbeat throbbing against his lips. I move closer, pressing my body to his. I can feel the strength of his legs, the hard wall of his chest, the tensed muscles in his arms. His mouth moves against mine like a language. It’s crazy and lovely, how I can’t
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