I blinked rapidly as red curly hair came into focus. “Dammit, Ava,” Garrett cursed from the floor.
“Do your parents know about this? You two were so cozy.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, one foot still propped up against the foot of the bed.
Garrett grumbled before he crawled back up onto the bed sitting on the opposite side. “God, no. You know they don’t.”
She laughed before she turned her gaze to me. She dropped her foot and then spun to sit at the end of the bed. “And what about you? Has he deflowered you yet?”
My ears were already ringing from having been caught in bed with my stepbrother, but now my face felt like it was on fire. I snapped my eyes to Garrett who had the decency to look guilty. “You told her?”
“It’s Ava, Ty. She’s nosy as fuck.”
Ava shrugged but didn’t deny Garrett’s claims. “Well, did he?” She motioned between us.
My heart hammered against my rib cage, and I chewed my lip. I shook my head and debated what all was okay to say. Was it weird to have this type of conversation with your cousin? She didn’t seem weirded out by the possibility of Garrett and I fucking around.
“Shame.” She sighed and slouched, picking at the hem of her shirt.
“Okay, that’s it. Time for you to go. What the hell are you doing here, anyway?” Garrett got up, grabbed Ava’s hand and yanked her from the bed.
“Guess y’all forgot about the family camping trip?”
“Shit!” Garrett cursed, scrubbing his hands through his curls. He rubbed his hands down his face before he looked back at me. I huddled underneath the sheet. Honestly, I’d forgotten as well. We typically went every summer a few weeks before going back to school. Maybe a part of me thought we wouldn’t go this year with us going off to college in the fall.
“Oh, did I just mess up your plans?” she teased. Garrett glared, grabbing her shoulder and steering her out of the room.
“Don’t be too long guys, don’t want anyone thinking anything suspicious is going on in here,” she cackled as Garrett slammed the door before he marched back to the bed. He collapsed backwards, and I scrambled to his side.
“What the hell was that? Why would you tell her about…” I gulped, struggling to say it.
He sighed, twisting up and pulling me down next to him. We lay facing opposite directions, his feet to the foot of the bed and mine toward the head. He played with my hair for a moment before he answered.
“Because I stupidly tell Ava everything. So she knows… everything.”
“Everything?” I screwed my face up while I thought about that. Then it occurred to me that Ava had a girlfriend. If Garrett had needed someone to talk to about being attracted to guys as well, Ava was probably a safe bet.
“I didn’t mean to tell her about you being a virgin. I’ve just never navigated this before. She obviously isn’t going to be the person to judge us.”
I nodded at his explanation, but it still made me nervous. We’d discussed keeping this as quiet as possible and it felt like anyone knowing about it could cause issues, no matter how much you trust them.
Garrett sat and stretched before leaning down and placing a soft kiss against my lips. I closed my eyes at the contact and wished we had more time this morning. But neither of us had remembered this trip and we needed to get dressed and packed.
Reluctantly, I crawled from the bed after Garrett moved away from me. I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, noticing how he followed my every move. We stood side by side at the sink shooting playful glances at each other while getting ready.
Garrett pulled out an electric razor and turned it on. I listened to the buzz as he ran it over his cheeks and chin, transfixed as he ran it over his neck before he turned his attention to me.
“Lift your chin.”
“Wha—What?” Why did he want me to?
He tipped my chin up and brought the razor to the right side of my face, rolling it against my skin, and bringing it to the other side of my face before working it across my chin and down my neck. His brow furrowed in deep concentration as he worked. I swallowed thickly at his attention.
The razor clicked off and Garrett set it on the counter. He ran the back of his hand along my freshly smooth cheek. My mouth ran dry because who the hell knew having him shave my face for me would be such a turn on.
He stepped closer and placed another chaste kiss against my dumbfounded lips before pulling back and laughing. “You’re hard?”
I cleared my throat and attempted to adjust myself in my briefs. “Dammit, yeah. It’s not that funny. Seems to be a growing problem with you.” My eyes widened. “Literally.”
Garrett laughed, giving me another quick peck, grabbing a rag out of the cupboard and wetting it beneath the faucet. He whipped his shirt over his head and I wanted to lick him, which was inconvenient because we didn’t have the time.
