“Guilty.” Derrick rolled his eyes at me. “I’ve had better uses for my time.”
“Yeah, you have.” I nodded, a certain understanding passing between us that couldn’t have a few months ago. I got it now. I was here and having fun, but I was also missing Felix and counting down until I could sneak into bed with him and quietly snuggle and hear all about the shopping trip. “I’m happy for you. Both of you.”
“Oh, please don’t go getting sappy before I win,” Arthur scoffed. He’d unexpectedly decided to join us, and I was glad. I wanted to say something more, even if it was sappy, about how I could have done a better job of being happy for them earlier on, and how I was happy, truly happy, that they had each other now. But both of them were laughing and it wasn’t the right moment. I’d save it for my toast at the reception if I could find the words then.
“Speaking of sappy, your wedding present arrived before we left,” Derrick added, leaning back in his chair. “It’s perfect.”
“Good.” It was pretty awesome, a custom House Rules sign with all sorts of geeky references the two of them would appreciate, and their names and wedding date in big font at the top.
“But fess up. You had help picking it out.” Arthur gave a smug smile.
“Yup. I did.” I wasn’t too proud to admit when I needed a little help, especially not lately. Looking at presents together had been fun, way more fun than bumbling through on my own. “Felix is pretty good at that sort of stuff.”
“Bet that’s not all he’s good at.” Waggling his eyebrows at me, Derrick did an excellent job of reminding me exactly how long it had been since I’d had Felix naked. Not that I was complaining. I had my duty schedule and he had the girls, and if that meant that most sleepovers were quiet affairs, I’d take the togetherness anytime.
“Now, are you raising or what?” Arthur demanded. Unlike Derrick, he was still in, and evidently itching to get a win. Too bad for him that I was holding a sweet hand. I might have a personal resolution to be a better brother, but I still played to win.
“Calder?” called one of the cousins, who had been drinking a beer and watching us play. “Your boyfriend’s here.”
“Hey, you.” I couldn’t help my wide smile as Felix entered the suite. Arthur could wait a minute. “You going to join us next round?”
“I can, yes.” He’d said he might try to stop by this very low-key bachelor party, but I hadn’t expected him to actually get free. I’d had every intention of giving him a break in the morning, though, taking the girls to breakfast while he slept in.
“How’d you escape kid duty?” Arthur asked.
“Your mom. I think she’s working on her application for sainthood.” Felix shook his head, wonder in his tone. “She’s hosting a movie and sleepover night in their suite. The girls were excited to go, and now I’m yours all evening.”
“All night you say?” Perking way the hell up, I set my cards down.
“Yes, they changed into pajamas and took bedding with them. I’m under strict orders to enjoy the kid-free time.” Laughing, he moved toward one of the empty chairs, but before he could sit, I pushed away from the table and stood.
“I fold.” Didn’t matter that I’d been holding the winning hand. Like Derrick said earlier, I had better uses of my time, and I wasn’t about to squander this opportunity.
“Seriously? You’re out?” Arthur faked being all wounded as he revealed he’d been holding a full house. I’d been holding a straight flush, but I didn’t flip over my cards.
“You win.” Chuckling, I pointed between him and Derrick. They’d been making eyes at each other all damn evening. It was rather clear that they weren’t doing the whole wait-for-the-wedding-night thing, which I could now find cute rather than irritating. “Don’t even pretend you’re not relieved by the early night.”
“Oh, I’ll take the early bedtime.” Predictably, Arthur gave Derrick a heated look. “Trust me. No problem there. But I never thought I’d see the day when you turned down the chance to win.”
“Sorry.” I didn’t mean about ending the game early. I wanted to apologize for all the stupid bets I’d goaded him into over the years, and I tried to convey that with my eyes, waiting for Arthur to nod before I continued, “And hey, I already won this trip.”
I glanced over at Felix, who blushed rather adorably. I couldn’t wait to make him blush more.
“Look at you, having priorities and shit. I’m impressed.” Derrick’s smile had a different sort of warmth to it, almost like he was genuinely proud of me. And maybe he was. I was proud of me too.
“Thanks. ’Night.” After saying our goodbyes, I all but raced Felix back to our room. The space was a small suite—teeny living area where the girls had been planning to sleep and small bedroom with bathroom.
“All alone.” I grinned at Felix as he shut the door to the bedroom.
“Yup.” He beamed back at me, and my gut fluttered like we were two teens left unsupervised for the first time. “You want to watch a movie? Something with an R rating?”
I liked how Felix never presumed when it came to sex, but right then I knew exactly what I wanted. “I want to watch you. Adults-only rating.”
“Yeah?” Felix started in on my shirt buttons, stopping to kiss me every other one. I returned the favor with his clothes, stealing kisses and appreciating each bit of revealed skin until we were both naked and sprawled on the bed.
Stretching, I arranged myself on my side so that the maximum amount of my body was touching him, tapping his foot with mine before kissing him long and slow. “Damn. I missed this.”
“Me too.” He looked as bemused as I felt, dazed but twinkling eyes and soft mouth just calling out for more kisses. “Phone calls aren’t the same as you sleeping over.”
“Agreed.” Even when all we did was sleep, I still loved being next to him. In the lead-up to the trip, I’d pulled some long hours and so had he and even shared dinners had been sparse. “I’m gonna sleep terrible the whole time I’m at training.”
I had dates for the training, which was in Groton and meant getting to see Derrick and Arthur again, but I was going to miss Felix and the girls something awful.
“It’ll go fast. I’m proud of you.” Felix stroked my shoulder. His faith in me and trust that I was doing the right thing for myself went a long way to reassuring my nerves. I was looking forward to work after the training, the new role I’d assume, and the more I prepped for it, the less I minded not being on a sub. This was going to be good.