Dire

“Do I want to know why you have a sleeping bag back here?” The bag seemed even smaller than I pictured, my nerves picked up.

“You never know when you’re going to need it.” He hesitated with his hand on the zipper of his coat. “Are you serious about this body heat thing?”

“I think it’s the best option to stay warm tonight.”

“I have no problem with it.” He unzipped his coat and kicked off his shoes.

I still held his phone, and the light was giving me a clear view of him. I slowly unzipped my jacket as I watched him slide out of his jeans and pull off his shirt. I thought my heart might stop.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the show, but don’t forget you’re supposed to be getting naked too.”

“We’re not getting naked.”

“Ok, keep on your underwear, but body heat means stripping down.” Dressed in only a pair of plaid boxers he slipped inside the sleeping bag. He didn’t shiver, giving me hope that the lining of the bag was warm.

“Could you turn around?” I still held his phone with the flashlight illuminated.

“You watched me. Fair is fair.” He grinned wickedly. “And if you could go ahead and start the show now I’d appreciate it.”

I tossed him the phone and mustered all my confidence. I’d wanted Gage to notice me. This certainly wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was probably the only one I was going to get. I tossed my coat aside and kicked off my boots. I let out a deep breath before pulling off my sweater.

“Take it all off, baby.”

“Shut up!”

He laughed. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.”

I unzipped my jeans and took them off, quickly moving to slip into the sleeping bag. “Make room for me.” He shut off the light while I struggled to find space in the sleeping bag.

“We’re going to be close.” He adjusted himself so he had his arms wrapped around me. Close was an understatement. “I was wrong about you.”

“What?” I held onto him, enjoying the warmth of his body.

“You’re more than attractive.”

“Oh.” I smiled. “Thanks.”

“What about me?”

“I’d already seen you without your shirt on.” I had every inch of his chest memorized; down to the little grouping of freckles I’d been dying to run my fingers over.

“Oh?”

“You take it off to run and play sports.” I was pretty good at randomly passing the playing fields at the right time.

“So I’m in a sleeping bag with my stalker?”

“Not a stalker.” I adjusted my head on his chest. “Just a fan.”

“Are you a virgin?”

“What?” Had I heard him right?

“I assume you know what the word means.”

“Of course!” I tried to move away, but that was impossible in the small space.

“So are you?”

“Why does it matter?” My heart was beating erratically. Were we really having this conversation while almost naked?

“I guess it doesn’t, except I’m wondering if you realize what you’re doing to me right now.”

“What am I doing to you?” I knew exactly what he meant. The evidence of his arousal was pressed firmly against me.

“You tell me. But first answer my question.”

“I’m not a virgin.” Admittedly my experience was limited and nothing worth writing home about, but my answer was honest.

“Good.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to corrupt you.”

“You’re not corrupting me. I’m not as innocent as you think.”

“Oh yeah?” His voice was thick with curiosity. “When’s the last time you had sex?”

“Do vivid sex dreams count?” Where was this boldness coming from? Maybe knowing how turned on I was making him had something to do with it.

“They don’t count, but I’m curious who they’re about.” He tightened his arms around me.

“Every single one of them is about the same guy.”

“Yeah?” His breath was warm on my face. “Who is it?”

“You.”

His heart beat faster in his chest—I could feel every beat of it with us pressed so closely together. “You dream about me?”

“All the time.”

“And is it good? The sex?”

“Yes.” So good I never wanted to wake up from the dreams. His body wasn’t the only one responding. His closeness was making it hard to think coherently.

“How not innocent are you?” I could hear the struggle in his voice.

“I’m not a virgin, I already told you that.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you’re cool with something happening right now.”

“I’ve wanted you longer than I’ll admit.”

He groaned. “You’re killing me.”

“Have you ever thought about having me?”

“Yes. I mean not all the time, but the thought has crossed my mind.” His breath was warm on my face. “It’s definitely on my mind right now.”

“Yeah, I figured that.”

“Yeah… it’s hard to hide.”

“At this rate you might as well not have those boxers on.”

“Take them off me then.”

“Take them off?” My voice wavered.

“Yeah. You’re going to have to make the move here, Mary Anne. I need to know you really want this.”

“I want this.” I reached down and grabbed him. He was already poking out of his boxers, so it wasn’t hard.

He groaned. “That feels so good.”

“Yeah?” He was as big as I imagined, and I felt powerful holding him in my hand. I was the one making him feel good, and it wasn’t just a dream.

“Do you want me to touch you?” His voice came out breathless.

“Of course.” Hadn’t I just admitted to having tons of sex dreams about him?

“Where?”

“Are you purposely making this hard on me?”

“I told you, I need to know you want this. I’m not taking advantage of you.” He was struggling. He didn’t want to take things slow.

I was going to have to move things along myself. “Fine.” I attempted to unclasp my bra, but it took three tries and an elbow to Gage’s face to manage it. “I want you to touch my breasts.”

“Good, but the question remains, what you want me to touch them with?”