“Greer already has that.” Sloan’s eyes brimmed with amusement.
I looked to Greer. “Can I see?”
He snorted around a mouthful of scrambled eggs and bacon.
He wasn’t gonna show me his fat, dammit.
Kinda hard to picture, though. And I’d seen Greer without a shirt. He was a beast, a muscular one, with arms as thick as my thighs. It was all the heavy lifting he did at work.
As more people got their food and found a place to sit, it was too easy to forget my own company and listen in on others’ conversations. I wasn’t too interested in Greer’s topic change to repairing the roof on the chicken coop anyway.
Kit, Colt, and Lucas were seated at the table behind me, and they were discussing something much more interesting. Apparently, they were planning on inviting people over for Christmas. Kit suggested a kinky Secret Santa game, and Colt was seemingly thinking out loud on logistics. How many could fit into the guest rooms and where they could cater food from.
Sounded like a party I wanted to attend!
At the sound of another voice chiming in, I had to turn around because I didn’t recognize it. And I froze. And blinked. Oh my God, was that Ty? He laughed at something Colt had said, and Lucas grinned tiredly and said, “This is nothing. Wait till the house is up and running again.”
“I picked a good time to recruit you,” Colt laughed. “Consider this a nice adjustment period—not that you need one.”
It was Ty. I just…I couldn’t make the connection. Why was he here? I hadn’t seen him since my high school graduation. Wait, he’d been in the Air Force, hadn’t he? Was that how he knew Colt?
I was so confused. Obviously, I had to tell Lane.
They changed the topic when Ty said, “After y’all’ve corrupted me, I’ll end up usin’ our R&R to Florida as mental aftercare.”
They were going to Florida?!
“Oh, you’re gonna put on an act, huh?” Colt snorted. “As if your ass ain’t corrupt enough already, you dirty fuck.”
Ty let out a gorgeous laugh that brought me back to high school. He’d been such a fun dad.
“Who are you eavesdropping on?” Sloan asked quietly.
My heart thudded, and I whipped around again to meet his knowing little smirk.
Oops.
I smiled sheepishly. “Colt and his gang,” I admitted. “The man sitting across from him—he’s gotta be new here. I kinda know him. Or I used to.”
Sloan glanced over his shoulder too, then back to me. “From your old community?”
I shook my head and took a bite from the roll. “I went to school with his daughter, and Lane dated her.” Actually, Marina and I had been very close before college life caused us to drift apart.
I wondered how Lane would react. Because he’d broken up with Marina after realizing that he was attracted to Ty—and men in general. But Ty had been the catalyst. And he’d been the coolest dad ever. Like, I’d freaking loved hanging out at Marina’s house. He was one of those who’d had an oops baby at, like, seventeen or eighteen, and he’d pulled through mostly on his own.
Dammit. Now I missed Marina. I had to shoot her a message. Maybe we could reconnect.
I chuckled to myself. I could barely believe it. Ty! In a kink community!
Funnily enough, Lane and I had both gotten our first glimpse into the world of reptiles because of Ty, who’d owned an Iguana back then. But my dad had steered me toward frogs in the end, while Lane had stayed with reptiles.
“It’s a small world sometimes,” Sloan mused. “I take it you grew up right around here?”
“In Arlington, yeah.” I nodded. “What about you?”
“Pretty much the same,” he replied. “I moved around quite a bit with my mother, but we stayed near DC.”
I had to learn everything about him, I decided. “I think I want to interview you tonight. I need to know everything from how many siblings you have to your favorite song and if you like to slow dance and stuff. I’ll compile a list of questions if you don’t mind.”
His immediate response was to cup my cheek and kiss the other. “Stop being so damn irresistible, Corey.”
I smiled goofily as he peppered my cheek with kisses, and I knew I had a chance right fucking here. In the middle of the terrace, with people around, I had a chance to push my luck.
I sucked in a breath and tilted my head just a couple inches, and that was enough. His playful kisses slowed down as his lips brushed the corner of my mouth.
“I will if you will.” My heart started pounding, and it was freakishly easy to tune out the rest of the world. It happened automatically. Right now, it was only the two of us here. “Can I be little when we get back to the house?”