“You have anything else you can put on besides clothes for a Hawaiian vacation?”
“Um, yeah. Maybe. Dunno.”
“You have a beanie? Gloves? An actual jacket?”
Emery shrugs. “Don’t need those things where we live. Didn’t pack to survive.”
“Jesus, Em,” I say.
I am digging through his clothes, all of which seem totally inappropriate for a winter vacation in the mountains, when my hand hits something hard.
Slowly I pull it out.
“Seriously?” I ask with raised eyebrows as I hold up a big red dildo. “No hat, no gloves, but you brought this?”
Emery’s scrambling toward me, his cheek bulging from the lollipop, and he swipes the large silicone cock from my hand.
“Oh my god. Lex. I am going to kill him. Murder him. Chop him to pieces and flush him down the toilet.”
“You don’t have to blame Lex for this,” I say with a chuckle, and Emery glowers at me.
“I mean, it is mine, but I didn’t pack it. Lex snuck it in to be funny. The asshole.”
Emery holds it behind his back and looks everywhere but me as I dig around in my duffle bag, the odd chuckle slipping from my mouth at how mortified he looks. Damn, he’s cute.
Finally, I pull out a beanie and an extra pair of gloves and hand them to Emery, who is scooting covertly toward his duffle bag.
I meet his gaze and his cheeks flush. “I can see you clear as day. There are literally two feet between us. Go on. Put it away. I won’t tease you about it…much.”
Emery huffs. “Close your eyes. I don’t need you to look at it again. It’s bad enough that you saw it once.”
I cock my head and then slowly let my eyelids drift shut.
A few seconds later, he says, “You can open them now.”
My eyes blink open, and I see Emery scowling at me, stuffing my beanie on his head. Whisps of hair stick out at odd angles from under it and I smirk as I reach out and tug the knit hat down over his ears. I grab a scarf and wrap it loosely around his neck, and then––I can’t fucking help myself because he looks so cozy and cute––I brush my thumb over his jaw.
“Alright. Ready to go take a look around?” I ask. “We won’t go far. Just want to see what we’re working with.”
Emery nods, pulling away from me slightly and reaching down to pull on a pair of gloves.
I toss him a jacket and then shrug one on myself as we step outside into the cold winter air. The sun is nearly behind the horizon, and I know the temperature will drop very quickly, very soon. Better get a move on before things get dangerous.
I move around to the driver’s side and shut off the engine, and when I turn back around, I nearly knock into Emery, who is watching me warily.
“Do you think there are really bears out here? I mean, what are the chances?” he asks.
“They’re probably in hibernation,” I say, zipping his jacket up, so it’s tucked under his chin.
He glances around quickly. “Right. Hibernation. And wolves?”
“Not sure. Maybe the lone wolf or something. Honestly, I think we’re more liable to freeze to death.” I wrap the scarf around him a little tighter andaccidentallylet my finger brush against his bottom lip.
“Better to freeze to death than be eaten,” he says.
Emery leans against my side as we move forward, and I can’t help but reach around and place my arm over his shoulder. His hand slides around my back as we walk away from the stuck and slightly tilted SUV.
“What if we get turned around?” he asks.