-Avery-

I felt a hand slowly running up and down my arm, gently pulling me from sleep. When I opened my eyes, Devin was sitting up beside me in bed, looking down at me and smiling.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

I pushed myself into a sitting position, expecting the room to start spinning, but fortunately nothing happened. "Better," I replied. "I wasn't that drunk."

Devin chuckled. "You fell asleep on the drive home and I had to drag you up to our condo. I'd say that's more than tipsy."

I remembered Devin's arm around me, helping to support me as we walked through the parking garage to the elevator. I hadn't thrown up, but I hadn't felt great. I thought back to Carter's party and the treehouse, and then I froze. Devin and I had hooked up, and I'd been rough with him. I felt my face heating up as I remembered what I'd done. When I looked over at Devin, he was smirking, and I knew he could tell exactly what I was thinking about.

"So, am I going to have to get you drunk the next time I want to repeat what you did in the treehouse? Where did that come from?" he asked.

I knew I shouldn't feel embarrassed, but what I'd done to him was out of character for me. It seemed like a good idea at the time, when I was feeling insecure about not having money like the rest of the men at the party. I'd wanted to show Devin that I could be what he desired, at least when it came to sex.

I forced myself to meet his eyes. A bruise on his lip drew my attention, and I reached out to brush my fingers over it. "I didn't mean to bite you that hard."

He laughed. "I think you did. And I loved it, so don't worry."

Sighing, I leaned back against my pillow. "I'm not sure I can do it again. It's not my style."

"I disagree. A drunk man's actions are a sober man's thoughts, right?"

"It wasn't that. It was..." I trailed off, not really wanting to explain this to him.

Devin waited patiently, tilting his head to the side as he studied me.

"I'm not rich," I said. "And I know I'm not good enough for you. Carter was nice to me, but I don't think the rest of your family would approve of me being with you. The men at that party were all wealthy and attractive and I couldn't help but picture them with you, so I tried to give you something I know you like. It's the only thing I can give you, but now I'm not even sure about that."

The smirk faded from Devin's face. "You did that to try to keep my attention?

I nodded. "I'm sorry." I knew he was going to be disappointed, and I regretted the entire thing.

"Avery." He reached over and put a hand on my cheek. "You don't have to do anything to keep my attention. You already have it, every single moment of every single day. I don't care about money or status. The guys at Carter's party don't have anything to offer me compared to you. You're the man I want."

I felt tears spring to my eyes. Devin's words were exactly what I needed to hear, but I hadn't expected to hear them. I thought this conversation was going to go a lot differently.

"I love you," he said, leaning in and kissing me. "I'm sorry you felt that way at Carter's house and felt like you had something to prove. Have I said or done anything to make you feel like that?"

"No. Not directly, at least. It's just everything. Your dad owning an entire firm. Seeing the house you grew up in and living in this luxury condo with you. Watching how you spend money like it's nothing, when it's more money than I could dream of having. It's so different from my life and how I grew up, so it's all been kind of a shock to me."

Devin pulled me close so my head was resting on his shoulder. "Is there something I can do to help? We don't have to hang out with Carter, or go to my dad's house."

"I don't want you to change your life on account of me. I'll get more used to it eventually."

"Okay, but we can take it slow. We won't go to any yacht parties with Carter, or to horse racing or any of that stuff. I guess I thought you'd be impressed by all that, but I didn't think about how it might be overwhelming if you didn't grow up with it."

I turned my head and kissed Devin's jaw. "I think that kind of stuff could be fun to experience someday. I am happier with simple things, like hiking or kayaking or camping, but I know it's good to try new things too."

"You're a down-to-earth guy, and that's what I like about you," Devin assured me. "I like that you're different from the guys I grew up around. It was all the same until I met you."

Hesitating, I chewed on my bottom lip as I thought. "I worry that someday the newness of our relationship is going to wear off, and me being different won't be exciting anymore."

Devin scooted down the bed and pulled me on top of him. "I can't even imagine that. You're the one I want," he said firmly. "I don't love you because it's new and exciting and different. I love you because you're an incredible person and I like being around you. You make me feel something when all I felt was nothing when I was with anyone else. I like the way I feel with you. I like how you make me a better person. You're the best decision I ever made."

I stared down into Devin's pretty hazel eyes. He had that soft expression on his face, and I knew he was being sincere. He wasn't lying to me or feeding me a bunch of lines to make me feel better. He meant what he said, and I trusted him. I leaned down and kissed him gently. I still had my doubts about our relationship, but with every moment like this, I was getting closer to letting myself fall in love with him. I wasn't ready to say the words yet, but I was starting to feel them.

-Devin-

I was sad that Avery felt like he was less than anyone else. It was so far from the truth. I wrapped my arms around him, pressing his body even closer to mine as he kissed me.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to impress me," I told him, my lips still brushing his. "Biting me and pushing me down was a nice surprise, but if you don't like it, I'm not going to ask you to do it."

Avery began to roll his hips against mine. "I think we can compromise. If you like it, I want to try it once in a while."

"Right now, all I care about is taking these off," I said, pushing my hands under the soft grey shorts he was wearing.

He rolled to the side so he could pull them down, but then he stopped and frowned. "What's on your arm? And your chest and hips?"

I looked down, and that's when I saw little bruises everywhere - around my hip bones and on my pecs - and the outline of fingerprints on both of my biceps. Avery's eyes widened as they scanned my body, coming to rest on the fingertip bruises he'd left on my arms. He looked horrified.

"Devin, I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't."

"But you're bruised everywhere."

"Nothing hurt when we were in the treehouse. Well, except for you pulling my hair," I admitted, my lips quirking upwards in a smile. "And I liked that."

Avery shook his head. "I know you like this, but I don't. Especially not if you end up looking this way." He traced his fingers over the bruises on my arm. "I had bruises after the first time we hooked up, but not like this. I didn't think I was that rough with you."

I thought about it. "Honestly, you weren't. Definitely not as rough as I was with you in the beginning. I guess I just bruise easily. Don't worry about it."

Avery didn't seem convinced, and I knew he was going to keep worrying about it.

"How about taking these off?" I said, tugging at the waistband of his shorts to distract him. "Or are you not into it anymore?"

Avery tried to smile. "I can get back into it." He pulled off his shorts and tugged at mine. "Give me something nicer to look at than all your bruises."

I laughed and pushed my shorts down. "I hope this is nice enough for you."

"It is. You're like a work of art," Avery said, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks. He reached for me and stroked me a few times before moving his attention to the rest of my body. He kissed the bruises on my arm, so gentle that I barely felt the brush of his lips. He continued down my arm until he was kissing my palm and then each fingertip.

I groaned. "You're going to do your slow, torturous thing, aren't you?"

That got a smile out of him. "You know you like it."

I couldn't object to that. I slid my hand down his back and grabbed his ass as he kissed my chest. He made his way down my body, taking his time, and it was driving me wild by the time he placed a kiss on the side of my foot.

"I need your mouth somewhere else," I moaned.

He grabbed the lube from his side of the bed. "I can do better than that."

-

Later, I lay panting on the bed, still trying to recover. Avery had taken his time with me, riding me slowly and keeping me on the edge for what seemed like forever.

"I take it back," I told him. "You can keep doing this instead of biting me and pushing me around."

His face lit up as he smiled, staring down at me with those beautiful blue eyes. He leaned down and kissed me before rolling out of bed. "I'm going to get cleaned up, and then I'll make us breakfast."

I waited until he went into the bathroom, and then I got up and pulled my shorts on. Avery didn't need to be making breakfast for me. Sure, he was much better at cooking, but I felt like I could never keep up with the nice things he did for me.

In the kitchen, I turned the griddle on and started mixing together the ingredients for French toast. Since Avery loved cinnamon, I made a point to add double the amount. I was pulling out a slice of bread to dip in the batter when I felt arms around my waist.

"You didn't have to do this," Avery said. "I was going to cook for you."

"I know, but you cook for me all the time."

Avery kissed my back before moving to one of the bar stools at the counter. "I think you cooked more for me at camp when it involved breakfast. You were always leaving a plate of pancakes or waffles at my cabin door."

I smiled at him as I flipped some of the French toast, but I couldn't help but remember how much he missed camp. I still wasn't sure if he was happy here in the city, especially after his reaction to Carter's party.

"I know you miss it," I said. I hesitated to ask the next question, but I had to know. "Are you happy here?"

Avery nodded. "It's different and it's a big change, but I'm slowly getting used to it."

"Do you ever regret taking the job at my dad's firm and moving out here?"

I felt Avery's eyes on me, and I busied myself with getting plates out of the cabinet.

"Devin," he said softly. "Are you afraid I regret it?"

I shrugged, still avoiding looking in his direction.

"I don't. Just because I miss camp and my coworkers and the outdoors doesn't mean I wish I were there instead. I'm happy being with you. And I knew I couldn't stay at the camp for the rest of my life. I was going to have to work somewhere else eventually, or go back into the city to finish school."

"But you could have stayed there for the rest of your career. You could take over Mitch's job when he retires. I know everyone you worked with would recommend you. You'd be great at it."

"Maybe I could have, but I wanted to make a difference on a bigger scale. And I also met this great guy. I would have followed him anywhere."

I couldn't help but break into a smile. "A great guy, huh?" I slid two slices of the French toast onto a plate, and then picked up the cinnamon and shook more on top of the toast before drizzling syrup over everything. As I pushed the plate across the counter, I leaned forward and kissed Avery. 

"Enjoy your breakfast, boyfriend."