Page 53 of Snowballing

“How am I supposed to know you have indestructible tires?”

“Ooh.” I snuck a bite of a crab rangoon. “This is tasty.”

“Don’t distract me with your lip smacking and finger sucking. Do you want me to retrieve your giant club before you drag me back to your cave?”

“What?”

“I can’t believe you were jealous of a kid flirting with me.”

I shrugged, moving onto the chicken. “I wasn’t jealous.”

After about a minute and a half of Gareth staring at me, I broke.

“Okay, I was a little jealous.”

“A little? You practically ripped off your shirt and flexed in front of him!”

“Fine, I don’t want anyone flirting with you. You’re mi-”

I stopped before making a fool of myself. We hadn’t defined the relationship yet, and I certainly had no specific indicators telling me this was anything but physical for Gareth.

“I’m only teasing you.” Gareth put his plate down and snaked his arms around me from behind. “I am yours, by the way,” he whispered into my ear. “I hope that’s what you were going to say. But in case it happens again, I think Henry was fucking with you.”

“Why would you think that?” I asked, leaning back into him.

“Because, one, he knows it’s illegal for me and him to be a thing, and two, I’m pretty sure Trey suspects something. He likely told Henry about it, and being a good friend, Henry was trying to get a rise out of you by flirting with me. Mission accomplished.”

I turned around, still in his arms, speechless.

“You didn’t think kids were that smart, did you?” Gareth asked.

I chuckled. “To tell you the truth, no, I did not.” Scratching my head, I asked, “You really think Trey knows?”

Gareth pushed my chin up, so he could look me in the eye. “I hope so.”

“You do?”

Gareth nodded. “Because if it’s obvious to your son how much you care for me, then I know I’m not imagining it.”

I pulled him closer to me, pressing our bodies together. With jeans, it was too difficult to tell if he was as hard as I was, but either way, I tried to show him my feelings with the gentlest kiss I could muster.

A kiss that would hopefully tell him he wasn’t imagining it. I did care for him. More than I ever imagined I would, and it scared me, if only a little.

Surely, he felt the same?

* * *

Eli: You are not coming over!

Gareth: Come on! It’s a snow day, it’s not the apocalypse.

Eli: The whole point of a snow day is that it’s not safe enough for kids to get to school.

Eli: You are NOT driving over here.

Gareth: Ugh, fine.

Gareth: Can I come over tomorrow?