Almost Just Friends (Wildstone #4)(48)

“When are you going to tell me what the hell we’re doing?”

It was midnight, quickly becoming Gavin’s favorite time in Wildstone. “You work too hard.”

CJ laughed roughly. “What does that have to do with anything? You showed up at the end of my shift, insisted I come here to the lake with you, that you had something of vital importance to show me. So? What is it?”

The cop was in street clothes tonight. Sexy jeans. Long-sleeved button down opened over a T-shirt advertising CJ’s brother’s motorcycle shop. Bad ’tude all over his face, which came, no doubt, from a tough shift. And possibly a general pissiness from feeling things for Gavin that he didn’t want to feel. Overall look: hot as hell.

CJ hated to be managed. Gavin knew this because he was the same. So if anyone in the world understood CJ’s current mood, it was Gavin. He stopped and stripped out of his shirt, then kicked off his boots.

CJ just shook his head. “Are you crazy? It’s February.”

“Yes and yes. It’s also still sixty degrees. We’ve done this in far colder weather.”

“This being . . . ?”

“Skinny-dipping.” Gavin smiled. “You telling me you don’t remember?”

CJ didn’t budge. He also kept his emotions close to the vest. Whatever he was thinking, he wasn’t about to share. “The last time we did this,” he finally said, “we were young and stupid. And high.”

Gavin laughed. “Come on, old man. Strip. Let’s see what you’re packing.”

“You already know. You’ve seen it all before, most recently the other night.”

Gavin had no idea why, when the guy was acting all buttoned up, that it totally turned him on. Clearly, he was mental. Proving it, he just smirked. “Some things bear repeating.” He unbuttoned his jeans.

CJ raised a brow.

A challenge. And Gavin Manning had done a lot of things, but he’d never backed down from a challenge, even when he should have. So he shoved his pants down and off, and then gestured for CJ to get on with it.

CJ took in the sight, which was more than slightly gratifying.

“Well?” Gavin asked. “Am I doing this alone?”

“You avoided my question.”

No shit. “Which one?” he asked innocently.

CJ just shook his head at him.

“Right. The whole ‘what are we doing’ thing.” Gavin decided not to press his luck. “Spending time together.”

“We already tried that when we were kids. It went spectacularly wrong.”

It had. And all of it had been Gavin’s fault. “Maybe I want to see if it could go spectacularly right this time.” He held his breath while trying to look cool and nonchalant—not easy when bare-assed naked, by the way.

Their gazes locked and held for a long beat. Gavin waited for another objection, but one didn’t come. Finally, CJ swore and muttered to himself, but tugged off both his shirts and tossed them aside.

Gavin smiled.

CJ rolled his eyes and lost the rest of his clothes, and Gavin blessed the moonlight that gave him a front-row view of the only body that had ever driven him crazy.

Beneath the moon, they stood on the tire swing together and catapulted themselves into the water. They raced, swimming their asses off to the rocks about a hundred yards out. They bodysurfed on the swells. They spent time, hours of it, just . . . being.

Later, much later, lying flat on their backs in the wild grass staring up at the stars, CJ reached for Gavin’s hand. “Thanks.”

Gavin turned on his side and propped his head up with a hand, smiling. “Anytime.”

This tugged a rough laugh from CJ. “I meant for . . .” He shook his head. “Look, I don’t make time for this stuff anymore. I don’t make much time for myself at all.”

“All work and no fun?”

“There’s more to life than hookups and fun, Gavin. I’m still not sure you get that.”

“I do.” Gavin ran a finger along CJ’s set jaw. “I’m done with that life, Ceej. There’s nothing for me there anymore, nothing but emptiness and loneliness and trouble.”

“How do you know you’re done with it?”

“Because I’ve been lucky enough in my life to have it all, and then stupid enough to throw it away and have to live with that. I’ve seen both sides. I guess some of us have to sink as low as we can sink before understanding what life’s really about.”

“And what’s life really about?” CJ asked.

“It’s about being with the people you care about most, about living in the present with honesty and no regrets.” Gavin managed a half smile. “Or at least as few regrets as possible.”

CJ stared up at him for a long beat and then pulled Gavin on top of him. “Then here’s to as few regrets as possible.”

And that was the last time they communicated, at least with words, for the rest of the night.

THE NEXT MORNING, Piper groaned her way out of bed at the crack of dawn. The new locks for the front doors on the cottages had arrived the day before and she wanted to get started on installing them.

And not because she hadn’t slept, thinking about Cam’s accusation that she was running scared. True, by the way, and she hated that.

She staggered into the kitchen seeking caffeine. She stopped short at the sight of Gavin and Winnie. “Seriously,” she said. “The two of you are starting to worry me.”