Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
There, they had all been friends.
Here, they were all like family.
They’d finished their game of football a while ago. Vince was sitting with Holden, while Colby was on the other side of the group, chatting with Clint and August.
Colby laughed at something Clint said, and seeing him enjoy himself made Vince smile too.
“You guys are close,” Holden said quietly. They were sitting on the top of a picnic table, feet on the bench seat.
“Yeah, he’s good people. Not sure why it works with us, but it does.” In ways Vince still couldn’t wrap his head around sometimes.
“I won’t ask any questions because it’s not my place, and I don’t expect any response either. Your business is your business, and Colby’s is his business as well, but I’ve known you too long not to notice the way you look at him. The part that is confusing the fuck out of me is how he watches you even more.”
Shit. He wasn’t surprised Holden had seen through him. They were too close, too open with each other for him not to notice a difference with Vince and Colby. “Anyone else think they see something they don’t?” he asked because Colby wasn’t out.
“Not that I’ve heard. Roe hasn’t said anything, and he would if he thought something was up. Just…be careful, okay?”
Vince frowned, turning to look at Holden. “It’s not what you think. We’re just having fun together. We’re friends. He’s my best friend along with you. I would never hurt him.”
“Like I said last time we had a similar conversation, I’m not worried about him,” Holden said, then shook his head. “Let me rephrase: of course I don’t want Colby hurt, but he’s got a lot of people here for him if he does. You’re my concern, Vince. You’ve been through a lot with Greg, and while Colby is nothing like Greg, he doesn’t seem to want to settle down with anyone either. I don’t want you hurt again.”
No, Vince couldn’t say he wanted that. It was the last fucking thing he wanted. He didn’t know how he could survive that again, and a quiet voice in the back of his head, one he tried to ignore, told him it would be even worse to lose Colby. That Colby meant more to him than Greg or anyone else ever had.
“I won’t,” he told Holden. “We both know what this is, and we both want the same thing. You’re worrying over nothing. You didn’t use to be such a worrier. Does that happen when someone is almost married?”
Holden laughed, then bumped Vince’s leg with his. “I’m happy, man. I love Roe so fucking much. Spent most of my life thinking I never wanted this—the commitment, marriage, this easy, small-town life, and now it’s all I want. It feels so right that I wonder how I ever survived without it.”
“You’ll never have to spend another day without having all this. He’s crazy about you. Y’all have a good life, brother. It couldn’t have happened to a better person.”
“Yeah, Roe is pretty great.”
“I meant you, asshole, but he’s pretty great too.”
They laughed together, Holden’s gaze finding Roe, who seemed to feel it. He glanced over and gave Holden a look so sincere, so full of love, that for a moment Vince was almost jealous.
And when he looked away, when his gaze landed on Colby, damned if the man wasn’t watching him…and Vince couldn’t stop himself from smiling.
“I need a shower,” Colby said when they got home. They’d spent most of the day and into night hanging out at Holden and Roe’s place.
“Me too. Want some company?” Vince waggled his brows playfully.
“If it’s you, the answer to that will always be yes,” Colby replied, a lightheartedness in his tone that said he hadn’t meant the words the way they sounded. The way Vince shouldn’t want them to sound but feared that ship had sailed or would soon.
“Race you there,” Vince joked because that was much easier than focusing on his feelings. They raced to the bathroom in Colby’s bedroom, panting and laughing as Vince turned the water on, and then Colby kissed him.
“We should have started the benefits part of our friendship a whole lot sooner,” Colby said before letting Vince taste his tongue. They kissed against the wall, grinding against each other, hands grasping and rubbing.
“Agreed.” He slid his hand between their bodies, cupping Colby’s bulge. “You gonna give me this tonight?” Colby had taken his ass numerous times now, and Vince fucking loved being full of Colby’s cock.
“Yes. God yes. Let’s hurry and get cleaned up.”
They stripped, laughing while they did so, as if they couldn’t have each other if they didn’t hurry.
They climbed into the shower together, frantically going back and forth between kissing and touching each other before cleaning themselves with soap and water, then going back to exploring each other again.