Page 36 of Up All Night
“I want to ask you to dinner.” He spoke quickly, but his tone was decisive, the sort I’d heard him use with his fire crew. “With Eric’s kids and me. Your next night off. We’re going to do a new thing with a whole schedule for meals, and you promised Wren cooking lessons.”
“I did.” I nodded, hips still pushing up at Sean. My cock was already over this pause. “You really want to talk dinner date logistics right now?”
“You called it a date.” Sean beamed at me. Gone was his blush, replaced by a golden glow. Even his freckles seemed happy.
“I guess I did.” I groaned, knowing full well I’d been had. And that I’d regret letting Sean think we were dating. Dating meant a future, and I didn’t have that to offer him or anyone else. But then he kissed me, sweet and slow, and I’d promise him a thousand dates.
“Thank you.” He started rocking again, grin firmly in place.
“Thank me after I make you scream my name again.” I matched his every movement until the friction became a bit much. I grabbed the lube and slicked us both.
He shuddered. “How am I so close again? It’s too easy with you.”
“I know. I love it.”
There was that word again. Harmless and deathly terrifying at once. Sean’s gaze went soft, voice dropping to a whisper. “Denver, I like this.”
“I like it too,” I whispered back. Some things were easier to share in a whisper, like a secret. Yeah, we liked each other, but maybe we didn’t have to talk about it. I pulled him in for another long kiss, moving against him, cocks sliding past each other as we thrust harder and faster.
“We’ve…got…a good thing…here,” Sean panted against my lips. I was way, way too far gone to argue. Not that I would. We did have something good here. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I couldn’t deny how good this felt. How good it was, full stop.
“Gonna.” Sean moved franticly, losing control in the way most guaranteed to take me with him. I held him tightly, thrusting against his abs, letting his moans take me higher and higher until we were both coming.
“Denver.” He said my name like a final prayer, head falling back, hands braced on my chest. I’d never seen anything so magnificent in my life. It was a cheesy name from a father I had no memory of, but it had never sounded better than that moment. “Denver.”
He collapsed on me, and we lay together in a sticky heap. I was beyond blissed out and almost asleep as Sean fetched a towel and cleaned us. But instead of returning to my embrace, he sat next to me on the edge of the bed.
“Guess I should leave you to your sleep.”
“Nap with me a while.” I tugged his arm. “Unless Eric or the kids need you?”
“Nah. He wanted some one-on-one time with the kids. I could stay awhile.” Sean smiled shyly.
“Then lie your ass back down.” I gave him a fake glare until he stretched out, head on my chest.
“Yes, sir.” Sean gave a sleepy sigh as his hand found mine and held tight. Well, maybe this dating thing wasn’t all bad. And yeah, apparently, I’d agreed to dinner with a bunch of teen chaperones, but if it meant getting to hold Sean like this, I could deal.
ChapterSeventeen
Sean
“What’s with the goggles?” I asked Wren as I came into the kitchen. Denver was due any second for our long-awaited cooking lesson date. It had taken longer than expected for our schedules to align. In the meantime, the rotating chart of meal duty had brought a lot more order to the household. But Wren was still Wren, as evidenced by the white lab coat and goggles with a graphing notebook and tablet at the ready on the kitchen island.
“Safety first.” Wren waved a hand dismissively as if everyone sported lab wear for weeknight dinner prep. “Burgers are notorious for splattering. And I want to experiment?—”
“No experimenting.” I groaned. “Patty melts. Home fries. A salad. Let’s stick to the basics.”
“Do you know where the world would be without science?” Wren’s tone turned scornful. “My dad always said—sorry. My other dad.” Wren sucked their lips in, then pushed them out in a pout, eyes going from mocking to sad. “Guess it doesn’t matter now.”
“Of course it matters.” I stepped closer to the island. Wren could be funny about touch, so I didn’t offer a pat, but I tried to pitch my voice as sympathetic as possible. “Wren, it’s okay to say your dad’s name. You kids called him Dr. Dad, right?”
“Yeah.” Wren’s pouting expression made them look far younger than thirteen. Because they were so smart, it was all too easy to forget they were still a kid. A kid grieving an enormous loss. In my opinion, Wren needed a hug, but their stiff body language said otherwise.
Instead, I leaned into Wren’s favorite subject. “Dr. Dad would be proud of your commitment to scientific inquiry.”
“Then why isn’t he here?” Wren practically spit out the words, the most emotion I’d seen from them. “Why’d he have to die?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers.” In my own parenting experience, I’d learned that admitting when I didn’t know something was even more important than sharing things I did know or having the perfect explanation. I kept my voice soothing, hoping that helped. “All I know is that it’s okay to miss Dr. Dad. It’s okay to be sad and angry and upset all at the same time. And it’s okay to talk about him, to remember things he said.”