Page 33 of Up All Night

“Fair enough.” Dad nodded, voice pleasant, but his level gaze said the subject wasn’t closed. I glanced over at the mayor. The first lesbian mayor in town history. Could the town handle a gay fire chief? Not that I was at all interested in the job, but the consequences of coming out kept seeming more and more real. This casual fling with Denver had led to several uncomfortable truths.

“I’ll be right back.” Rosalynn excused herself to the restroom, which gave my dad ample chance to return to his favorite topic: me.

“You know we only want you happy. Fire chief, captain, part of the crew, whatever you want. Just be happy.”

He said those words, but how would he react if I told him I was happier with Denver than I’d been in a long, long time. This might be the right moment to test the waters…

“You being happy is why your mother wants you to come to dinner sometime soon. She’s met the most lovely single mother at church. Mom will tell you all about her, but if you make it to church tomorrow?—”

“On duty.” My voice was clipped right along with my hopes. Nope. No water testing, not right now, at least. “And I can find my own dates.”

Like Denver. My earlier thoughts in Eric’s kitchen about dating Denver returned in full force. Why couldn’t this all be easy? We were already sleeping together. We got along great. Why not date? Why did things have to be so complicated?

“Then find one. Bring your date around for dinner and make your mother happy. Or bring someone to the pancake breakfast. Be happy, Sean.”

I had a brief flash of Denver eating my mom’s mac-n-cheese with ham and green beans on the side, her Sunday special. He’d make her laugh. My sisters and their kids would be there, running around. Maybe Bridget or Declan would be in town. And Denver…

Would likely hate it. Image gone. He was a nomad at heart, allergic to domesticity, and the big Murphy clan might give him hives. But now that I’d had the thought… Oh, how I wanted. I glanced at the grill area, watching Denver flip an omelet onto a plate.

Complicated indeed. And the wise thing would be to follow my dad to my parents’ home, get some good-son points by helping with yard work, but the second Denver subtly glanced toward the parking lot, I nodded. I wasn’t giving this up, not yet.

ChapterSixteen

Denver

“Fancy seeing you here.” I opened my apartment door to let Sean in. I didn’t bother faking surprise. I’d known he’d show up eventually. All it had taken was a momentary meeting of our eyes, and I’d known. Exactly how I’d known when he’d first walked into the diner that he’d come to see me, not his old man.

“Is this okay?” Sean twisted his mouth this way and that, giving his jaw muscles quite the workout. I wasn’t sure how to answer. Was it okay? My body was sure as shit happy enough to see him, but it also felt like something had shifted between us. I stayed silent as I shut the door behind Sean. He was in jeans and a fire department polo. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you more at the diner.”

“Eh.” I shrugged and adjusted the waistband of my low-riding workout shorts. I hadn’t bothered putting anything else on after my shower. “We both know what this thing is.”

“Do we?” Following me toward the kitchen area, Sean sounded as confused as I felt, which was no help. This was sex. A fling, as Sean himself kept calling it. But the time I’d spent helping him with the carriage house wasn’t sex. Nor was all the time Sean spent at the diner or the way we tended to linger after sex. I’d had purely sexual arrangements before, and this wasn’t it. Friends with benefits?

I wasn’t sure I liked that either. Leaning against my narrow stretch of kitchen counter, I pursed my lips. “Whatever it is, I’m hardly expecting to meet the folks.”

Sean exhaled hard as his eyes narrowed. He was thinking way too hard. “I know you don’t want any sort of family thing. But I still feel bad. I wish?—”

I pushed away from the counter, closing the distance between us to silence Sean with a kiss. I didn’t want to hear his wishes. I’d heard a million pretty speeches before.

I wish you could meet my mom. You’d love her.

I wish we could be together for real.

I wish we could take a vacation together.

I wish I could take you out on a real date.

I wish, I wish, I wish.

Wishes counted for less than nothing. Empty air. But this, what happened when our mouths met, was real. The chemistry between us was a living creature, large and more than a little scary but undeniably alive and potent. I kissed Sean to shut up the voices in my head, but as always, the beast had a mind of its own. The kiss went from hard and rough to deep and intoxicating passes of lips and tongues.

Sean clung to me, hands digging hard into my shoulders. He always grabbed me like I might be about to make a run for it.

And I probably should.

But I was powerless to do anything other than steer Sean to one of the nearby dining chairs. Still kissing him, I shoved his jeans and briefs down to his knees and pushed him to sit in the chair. He opened his mouth like he might be about to talk again.

Couldn’t have that. This time I silenced him by sinking to my knees in front of him and swallowing his cock in a single motion. Pretty nifty, if I did say so myself, and his gasp went straight to my own aching erection.