Looking for Trouble(59)
He didn’t know how much time had passed when he felt arms around his shoulders, the gentle scrape of Clay’s stubble against his face, his lips pressed to Dylan’s cheek.
He turned off the music. “Mmm. I didn’t hear you come in,” he said, putting his hands on Clay’s arms.
“I know. You were busy. I love coming into the house and seeing you at this table. You should share some of your designs online.”
“How about I share this pair with you instead?” Dylan held up the turquoise trunks.
“These are for me?”
“Yeah. I mean…if you want them. You don’t have to wear them.”
“Of course I want to,” Clay replied. “I love them. They look a little small, though.”
“They’re not small. You’ll look hot in them! Do you complain when my underwear is small?” he turned to look at Clay, who grinned mischievously.
“Of course not.”
“Then I’d like the same visual.”
“Whatever you want,” Clay told him. “I’ll model them for you tonight, but first, I’m going to make you dinner.” They had a schedule of switching nights, and it was Clay’s turn.
“Okay…I’ll just be lazy and watch you,” he teased.
He sat at the table while Clay made hamburgers and fried potatoes. He was such a red-meat kind of guy. They were going to have to figure something out about that, or Dylan would gain a hundred pounds. Not only that, but typically Dylan was more careful about his diet than he’d been since coming to Bailey Springs. It was important to him to eat the right foods so bottoming was a whole lot easier.
They chatted about their day—Dylan leaving out Renée, but Clay did talk about his lunch with her. It reminded Dylan of their conversation and made him question stupid things. He could tell himself it was dumb all day, but it didn’t change anything.
Dylan fed Dakota before the two of them sat down for their meal together. It was such a simple thing, but one Dylan enjoyed. Sitting at the table with Clay, sharing meals with him as they spoke about both nothing and everything, felt so permanent. God, he wanted this to be permanent.
After they finished eating, they washed the dishes and took Dakota out, then watched a show on Netflix.
When the credits began to roll, Clay tightened his hold on Dylan and asked, “What’s wrong, Trouble? You seem a little down today.”
“Do you like to go to bars or clubs?”
He heard the frown in Clay’s voice when he replied, “No…it’s not really my thing.”
“We met at a bar.”
“Because I wanted to get laid. And maybe I was feeling a little lonely, but I wouldn’t have acknowledged that back then.”
“And because you don’t need to go out to get laid and because I’m fabulous company, you don’t think you’ll ever want to go?”
Clay tugged at him until Dylan turned to look at him. “What’s this all about?”
“Troy asked if you and I wanted to go out with some of his friends.”
“And you want to go?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t think I will?” Clay asked.
“I don’t know if you will.”
“You’re worried about that? Trouble, you don’t have to stress about something so small. If you want to go out with your friends and I don’t want to, then you go. Have fun. I’ll be here when you get back.”
He knew that, he did. And he would likely want to just go out with Troy and some other people if they got close, but… “That’s fine and all, but what if I want you to go with me? Like…we can have friends and do dinners or go out with them. Maybe we’ll meet other couples.” He’d never had something like that before. He knew Clay had with Gordon, but this was all new to him.
“If you want me to go out with you, I’ll go. Did you think I wouldn’t?”
Well, now he felt silly. He didn’t know why he was making such a big deal out of it. Still, did he want to drag Clay if he didn’t really want to go? “So you don’t think you’ll ever want to? I don’t want it to be something you’re suffering through because of me. I like to go out.”
“It’s not really my thing,” he said again. “I’m sorry. I feel too old for that shit most of the time, but I’ll enjoy it because you’re there.”
“I am fun to hang out with,” Dylan teased.
“You are. And who knows…maybe I’ll like it more than I thought I would because we’re going out together. Eventually I might be dragging you out.”
Dylan’s heart leaped. He hoped so. He wanted to share that with Clay.
“Tell Troy we’ll be there. It’ll be another new experience with you.”
Dylan climbed on his lap and kissed him until his jaw hurt. “I can’t wait to show you off.”
Clay playfully rolled his eyes and swatted Dylan’s ass. “So you want me to try those underwear on or not?”
In that moment, there was nothing Dylan wanted more.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Clay
Clay could hardly keep his eyes off Dylan as he practically bounced around the house, getting ready for their night out. It was obvious he was excited, and Clay…wasn’t. He would have much rather stayed home with Dylan, or have Dylan go out with his friends alone. But then, he did enjoy seeing Dylan so thrilled about it. That, along with how sexy he looked, having just gotten his hair trimmed and wearing a new pair of black jeans and a white cropped T-shirt, definitely got Clay hard. Dylan’s abs were tight, flat, and Clay couldn’t help but think about the ink he’d put into Dylan’s skin.