Common Goal (Game Changers #4)- Rachel Reid Page 0,105

fucking bad.

“Where would you go?” Eric asked, hoping to derail this dangerous line of thinking. “If you could travel anywhere?”

“Anywhere. Everywhere. I want to see it all, but I’ve been looking at Greece lately. Maybe do a language course there.”

“Sounds nice.”

“I want to hike on the Pelion Peninsula.”

“And follow in the footsteps of Achilles?”

Kyle grinned. “Exactly. Maybe find a handsome centaur who wants to teach me a few things.”

“Is that what you’re into? Horses?”

“Nope. Just intelligent older men with thick cocks.”

Eric was sure the hike down the mountain wouldn’t be improved by having an erection. “Behave,” he scolded.

Eric silently told himself to behave too. Last night, when he’d gone to the Kingfisher, he hadn’t wanted to make plans for an outing today. He’d wanted Kyle to go home with him, but this unexpected day together was worth so much more than sex.

“Should we keep going?” Kyle asked.

“Sure.”

They didn’t speak for a while. Kyle walked in front of Eric and kept glancing up at the trees. It was wonderfully quiet on the trail, the silence only interrupted by birds, squirrels, and the occasional gust of wind rattling the tree branches. It was perfect and peaceful and made it far too easy for Eric to think as they walked.

Even just walking behind him, Eric’s heart would swell every time Kyle turned his head to look at something, giving him a view of his profile. His pink cheeks, his glasses, his content half smile. He could imagine walking behind him like this in Greece, in Italy. Anywhere Kyle wanted to go.

Or he could imagine quiet nights at home in Manhattan. Maybe reading together on a couch, Kyle’s toes tucked under Eric’s thighs. Then falling into bed together, laughing and kissing and—

Eric nearly crashed into Kyle, who had stopped abruptly.

“Wh—?”

“Shh,” Kyle whispered. “Look.”

Eric looked where he was pointing and saw two deer standing in a clearing. He went perfectly still, not wanting to do anything to spook them. The deer stayed for a while, calmly eating something that grew close to the ground. When they finally disappeared into the forest, Eric let out a whoosh of breath. “Wow.”

Kyle beamed at him, eyes bright under his glasses. “You don’t see that in the city.”

“No.” Eric’s heart was thudding against his ribs. He was filled with a strange adrenaline after being so close to wild animals, even ones as serene as those deer had been. In that moment, Kyle looked achingly beautiful.

Kyle eyed him curiously. “What?”

Eric shook his head. “Nothing.”

Kyle stared at him for another beat, then grinned and said, “You know what I could go for after this? Pancakes.”

Eric laughed, partly with relief that the tension had been diffused. “I can’t remember the last time I ate pancakes.”

“Well, that’s depressing. There’s a diner nearby that serves them all day. I checked.”

“You checked out pancake options before our hike?”

Kyle shrugged, still smiling. “I’m from Vermont. We take our pancakes seriously.”

Oh god. This version of Kyle was dangerously enchanting. When he was cheerful and flirty and playful, it took down all of Eric’s defenses. He wanted nothing more than to press Kyle against a tree and kiss him breathless.

But Kyle had already resumed his trek down the mountain, leaving Eric to trail, spellbound, after him.

An hour later they were sitting in a cozy booth at a classic New Jersey diner. Their server had just dropped off two large plates of pancakes. Eric tended to eat nutrient-packed, high protein meals, and pancakes were mostly empty calories, but he could indulge this once. They smelled amazing.

Eric watched as Kyle poured an ungodly amount of maple syrup on his pancakes.

“Vermont,” Kyle reminded him again when he caught him staring. He slid the bottle over to Eric, who poured a modest drizzle on his own plate.

Eric moaned when he had his first bite of pancake. “Oh my god. These are so good.”

“Right? You shouldn’t deprive yourself of pancakes.”

“I don’t know if you’re a good influence or a bad one.”

“Clearly good. Before you met me it was a dark existence of no pancakes and weak orgasms.”

Eric nearly spit out his next bite of pancake. He managed to swallow. “That’s true.” It was true. His life had been far from terrible before, but Kyle had made it fun.

Kyle was smiling at him now. His cheeks were still rosy from their hike, and his hair was a mess from being stuffed under a hat.

God, he was cute.

Eric tried not to imagine a life with Kyle based on their incredible day together. This day was